UEFA Conference League knockout phase play-off draw: Where was it, when was it, who was involved?

The 2024/25 UEFA Conference League knockout phase play-off draw took place on Friday 20 December at 13:00 CET.

While the top eight sides in the league phase qualified automatically for the round of 16, the teams finishing in ninth to 24th place kick off the knockout stages. They compete in a two-legged knockout phase play-off to secure their path to the last 16.

From the knockout phase play-offs onwards the tournament is a bracket. The teams that finished the league phase between ninth and 16th were seeded for the first draw for the knockout phase, and face a team placed 17th to 24th. The seeded team, in principle, plays the return leg at home.

Potential opponents were also pre-defined by pairings of teams' final league positions. For example, teams finishing ninth and tenth face the sides that ended 23rd or 24th; teams finishing 11th or 12th were drawn against either the 21st or 22nd-placed sides and so on.

The eight clubs that prevail in the knockout phase play-offs progress to the round of 16.

What was the Conference League knockout phase play-off draw?

Gent vs Real Betis
TSC vs Jagiellonia
Celje vs APOEL
Víkingur R. vs Panathinaikos

Copenhagen vs Heidenheim
Molde vs Shamrock Rovers
Omonoia vs Pafos
Borac vs Olimpija

Which teams are in the Conference League knockout phase play-off draw?

The teams that finished between ninth and 24th in the inaugural league phase compete in a two-legged knockout phase play-off to secure their path to the last 16 of the competition.

Seeded teams
9. Jagiellonia Białystok (POL)
10. Shamrock Rovers FC (IRL)
11. APOEL FC (CYP)
12. Pafos FC (CYP)
13. Panathinaikos FC (GRE)
14. NK Olimpija Ljubljana (SVN)
15. Real Betis Balompié (ESP)
16. 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 (GER)

Unseeded teams
17. KAA Gent (BEL)
18. F.C. Copenhagen (DEN)
19. Víkingur Reykjavík (ISL)
20. FK Borac (BIH)
21. NK Celje (SVN)
22. Omonoia FC (CYP)
23. Molde FK (NOR)
24. TSC Bačka Topola (SRB)

How could I watch the draw?

The draw was streamed live on UEFA.com.

Where was the Conference League knockout phase play-off draw?

The draw took place at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland.

How did the draw work?

The draw was carried out using a seeding bracket (see below) with each pair of teams allocated two predefined potential positions according to their league phase rankings (as explained in the draw procedure below). The draw saw one of each pair of teams allocated to one of the pre-determined positions.

Eight bowls were prepared for the draw, with the balls containing the names of the seeded and unseeded teams placed in the corresponding marked bowls according to the league phase rankings.

The draw started with the unseeded teams, allocating each team from a pair of unseeded teams to one of the relevant pre-determined positions in the bracket, starting with the sides ranked 23/24 and finishing with those in 17/18.

One ball was taken from the bowl containing the two relevant ranked teams (i.e. the teams ranked 23 and 24) and was opened to display the team. The first team drawn from this bowl was placed in their reserved spot on the silver side of the bracket. The other unseeded team of the pairing was then drawn and displayed, and allocated in the corresponding reserved spot on the green side of the bracket.

The same procedure was carried out with the remaining unseeded teams.

Once all the pairings of unseeded teams had been drawn and assigned to an appropriate position on the bracket, the draw continued with the seeded teams, starting with the pairing ranked 15/16. The process was the same as described above for the unseeded teams, with the first team drawn from the relevant bowl allocated to the reserved designated spot on the silver side of the bracket and the second team on the green side.

The procedure was repeated for the remaining pairings, finishing with the teams ranked 9/10 to complete the pairings for the knockout phase play-offs.

Can teams from the same national association face each other in the Conference League knockout phase play-offs?

Sides can face another team from the same national association in the knockout phase play-offs. Clubs can also face opponents they met during the league phase.

When do the knockout phase play-off games take place?

The knockout phase play-offs are played over the course of two weeks:

First legs: 13 February 2025
Second legs: 20 February 2025

However, the UEFA administration decides on match dates and fixture reversals on a case-by-case basis and in accordance with the applicable principles set by the Club Competitions Committee.

If matches are impacted by stadium or city clashes, these are resolved in accordance with the applicable principles set by the Club Competitions Committee.

Calendar elaboration (Paragraphs 23.01 and 24.02 and 24.03 of the official UEFA Conference League regulations)

23.01: All matches are played in accordance with the UEFA Match Calendar (see Annex C). These dates are final and binding on all concerned, subject to the provisions of Paragraph 24.01 to Paragraph 24.02. The following principles apply to this competition:

a) Matches in the competition are played on Thursdays, apart from the final, which is played on a Wednesday. Exceptions to this rule can be made by the UEFA administration.

b) From the league phase onwards, the UEFA administration decides the match schedule of each round.

24.02: If two or more clubs from the same city, within a radius of 50km of each other and/or playing in the same stadium, take part in any of the UEFA club competitions, and if the association and the clubs concerned explicitly declare when entering the clubs that their matches cannot be played on the same day or on consecutive days, the UEFA administration may alter or confirm dates and kick-off times in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee.

24.03: The UEFA administration decides on match dates and fixture reversals on a case-by-case basis and in accordance with the applicable principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. In any case, the UEFA administration reserves the right to impose a match date if the circumstances so require.

The calendar of all matches will be available on the evening of Friday 20 December. The kick-off times of the matches will be announced on 31 January 2025.