UEFA Europa League third qualifying round draw

The 2024/25 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round draw was held at 13:00 CET on Monday 22 July at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland. Fixtures will take place on 8 and 15 August.

2024/25 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round draw

Champions Path

Malmö FF (SWE) or KÍ Klaksvík (FRO) vs PAOK FC (GRE) or FK Borac Banja Luka (BIH)
UE Santa Coloma (AND) or FC Midtjylland (DEN) vs FK Bodø/Glimt (NOR) or FC RFS (LVA)
NK Celje (SVN) or ŠK Slovan Bratislava (SVK) vs Shamrock Rovers FC (IRL) or AC Sparta Praha (CZE)
FK Panevėžys (LTU) or Jagiellonia Białystok (POL) vs Fotbal Club FCSB (ROU) or Maccabi Tel Aviv FC (ISR)
APOEL FC (CYP) or FC Petrocub (MDA) vs Ferencvárosi TC (HUN) or The New Saints FC (WAL)
PFC Ludogorets 1945 (BUL) or FC Dinamo Minsk (BLR) vs Lincoln Red Imps FC (GIB) or Qarabağ FK (AZE)

Main Path

FC Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) or FK Partizan (SRB) vs FC Lugano (SUI) or Fenerbahçe SK (TUR)
Molde FK (NOR) or Silkeborg IF (DEN) vs Kilmarnock FC (SCO) or Cercle Brugge KSV (BEL)
Panathinaikos FC (GRE) or PFC Botev Plovdiv (BUL) vs AFC Ajax (NED) or FK Vojvodina (SRB)
MFK Ružomberok (SVK) or Trabzonspor A.Ş. (TUR) vs Wisła Kraków (POL) or SK Rapid Wien (AUT)
SC Braga (POR) or Maccabi Petah Tikva FC (ISR) vs Servette FC (SUI)
CS Corvinul 1921 Hunedoara (ROU) or HNK Rijeka (CRO) vs FC Sheriff Tiraspol (MDA) or IF Elfsborg (SWE)
FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih (UKR) vs FC Viktoria Plzeň (CZE)

Seeded teams in bold.

Match dates and kick-off times to be announced by: 26 July (first and second legs)

DRAW PROCEDURE

Based on Article 14 of the UEFA Europa League Regulations (UEL Regulations), the following draw procedure was adopted by the Club Competitions Committee.

Match system

The qualifying phase and play-offs follow the knockout system, whereby each team plays each opponent twice, in home and away matches.

Draw system and conditions

A draw between the same number of seeded and unseeded clubs determines the ties for the qualifying phase and play-offs. Clubs are seeded for these draws in accordance with the club coefficient rankings established at the beginning of the season and with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. If, for any reason, any of the participants in the rounds concerned are not known at the time of the draw, the coefficients of the two clubs involved in the undecided tie are used for the purposes of the draw. For the club advancing to the next round of the competition as winner of the tie, the coefficient of the club with the higher coefficient of the two clubs involved is used for the purposes of the draw. For the other club, which is fed into the relevant round of the competition from another competition, the lower coefficient of the two clubs in the pairing of the other competition is used for the purposes of the draw.

The UEFA administration may form groups for the draw in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. Clubs from the same association cannot be drawn against each other.

A draw is conducted to determine the ties of each match and which team plays the first-leg match at home.

In accordance with the relevant decisions of the UEFA Executive Committee, teams from the following associations may not be drawn against each other:

Armenia – Azerbaijan
Gibraltar – Spain
Kosovo – Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo – Serbia
Kosovo – Russia*
Ukraine – Russia*
Ukraine – Belarus

* All teams from Russia are suspended until further notice by the decision of the Executive Committee of 28 February 2022, and as confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on 15 July 2022.

Draw system (Champions Path)

The 12 pairings (12 pairings of teams participating in the Champions League second qualifying round, indicated for the purposes of this draw as Pairings 1 to 12) were divided into two groups of six pairings, with an equal number of seeded and unseeded pairings in each group.

As the teams entering the competition from the second qualifying round of the Champions League were not known at the time of the draw, the coefficient of the team with the lower coefficient of the two teams involved in each undecided Champions League second qualifying round tie was used for the seeding for the purposes of the draw.

Groupings (Champions Path)

Group 1

Seeded
Pairing 1: Malmö FF (SWE) or KÍ Klaksvík (FRO)
Pairing 2: Shamrock Rovers FC (IRL) or AC Sparta Praha (CZE)
Pairing 3: FK Bodø/Glimt (NOR) or FC RFS (LVA)

Unseeded
Pairing 4: PAOK FC (GRE) or FK Borac Banja Luka (BIH)
Pairing 5: NK Celje (SVN) or ŠK Slovan Bratislava (SVK)
Pairing 6: UE Santa Coloma (AND) or FC Midtjylland (DEN)

Group 2

Seeded
Pairing 7: Fotbal Club FCSB (ROU) or Maccabi Tel Aviv FC (ISR)
Pairing 8: Lincoln Red Imps FC (GIB) or Qarabağ FK (AZE)
Pairing 9: Ferencvárosi TC (HUN) or The New Saints FC (WAL)

Unseeded
Pairing 10: APOEL FC (CYP) or FC Petrocub (MDA)
Pairing 11: PFC Ludogorets 1945 (BUL) or FC Dinamo Minsk (BLR)
Pairing 12: FK Panevėžys (LTU) or Jagiellonia Białystok (POL)

Draw procedure (Champions Path)

Three bowls were prepared for the draw, with the balls containing the names of the seeded and unseeded pairings from Group 1 placed in the corresponding marked bowls.

One ball was then taken from each of these bowls and placed in the third empty central bowl, where they were shuffled. The first pairing then drawn from this bowl was considered the home team for the first leg of the first tie, which they will play against the second pairing drawn.

The process was then repeated with the remaining balls to complete all the ties for Group 1. The same procedure was then carried out to determine the ties for Group 2.

Draw system (Main Path)

The 14 teams (three that enter the competition at this stage, the nine winners of the competition's second qualifying round Main Path ties, indicated for the purposes of this draw as Winners of Pairings 1 to 9, and the two pairings coming from the Champions League second qualifying round League Path, indicated for the purposes of this draw as Pairings 1 to 2) were divided into one group of eight pairings (Group 1) and one group of six teams and/or pairings (Group 2), with an equal number of seeded and unseeded teams and/or pairings in each group.

As the teams qualifying from the second qualifying round of the Europa League were not known at the time of the draw, the coefficient of the team with the higher coefficient of the two teams involved in each undecided Europa League second qualifying round tie was used for the seeding for the purposes of the draw. Therefore, if a team in a Europa League second qualifying round tie had a coefficient that would entitle it to be seeded for the Europa League third qualifying round draw, the winner of that tie was automatically seeded for the draw.

Furthermore, as the teams entering the competition from the second qualifying round of the Champions League were not known at the time of the draw, the coefficient of the team with the lower coefficient of the two teams involved in each undecided Champions League second qualifying round tie was used for the seeding for the purposes of the draw.

Groupings (Main Path)

Group 1

Seeded
Winners of Pairing 1: AFC Ajax (NED) or FK Vojvodina (SRB)
Winners of Pairing 2: Molde FK (NOR) or Silkeborg IF (DEN)
Pairing 1: FC Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) or FK Partizan (SRB)
Winners of Pairing 3: Wisła Kraków (POL) or SK Rapid Wien (AUT)

Unseeded
Winners of Pairing 4: MFK Ružomberok (SVK) or Trabzonspor A.Ş. (TUR)
Winners of Pairing 5: Kilmarnock FC (SCO) or Cercle Brugge KSV (BEL)
Pairing 2: FC Lugano (SUI) or Fenerbahçe SK (TUR)
Winners of Pairing 6: Panathinaikos FC (GRE) or PFC Botev Plovdiv (BUL)

Group 2

Seeded
Winners of Pairing 7: SC Braga (POR) or Maccabi Petah Tikva FC (ISR)
FC Viktoria Plzeň (CZE)
Winners of Pairing 8: FC Sheriff Tiraspol (MDA) or IF Elfsborg (SWE)

Unseeded
Winners of Pairing 9: CS Corvinul 1921 Hunedoara (ROU) or HNK Rijeka (CRO)
Servette FC (SUI)
FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih (UKR)

Draw procedure (Main Path)

Three bowls were prepared for the draw, with the balls containing the names of the seeded and unseeded pairings from Group 1 placed in the corresponding marked bowls.

One ball was then taken from each of these bowls and placed in the third empty central bowl, where they were shuffled. The first pairing then drawn from this bowl was considered the home team for the first leg of the first tie, which they will play against the second pairing drawn.

The process was then repeated with the remaining balls to complete all the ties from Group 1. The same procedure was then carried out to determine the ties for Group 2.

Draw explanation (Champions Path and Main Path)

A video explaining the draw procedure was shown prior to the draw.

Calendar elaboration

The stadiums, dates and kick-off times for all qualifying matches are fixed by the home clubs in consultation with their respective associations and must be confirmed to the UEFA administration by the deadline set by the UEFA administration. The UEFA administration may alter or confirm dates and kick-off times in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee.

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.

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.

Any changes of date and fixture reversals will be communicated in writing to the clubs and their respective associations by 15:00 CET on 23 July 2024.