UEFA Europa League play-off round draw

The 2024/25 UEFA Europa League play-off draw was held at 13:00 CET on Monday 5 August at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland. Fixtures will take place on 22 and 29 August.

2024/25 UEFA Europa League play-off draw

FC Dinamo Minsk (BLR) / Lincoln Red Imps FC (GIB) vs RSC Anderlecht (BEL)
Jagiellonia Białystok (POL) / FK Bodø/Glimt (NOR) vs Panathinaikos FC (GRE) / AFC Ajax (NED)
Qarabağ FK (AZE) / PFC Ludogorets 1945 (BUL) vs FC Petrocub (MDA) / The New Saints FC (WAL)
FK Partizan (SRB) / FC Lugano (SUI) vs Beşiktaş JK (TUR)

LASK (AUT) vs AC Sparta Praha (CZE) / Fotbal Club FCSB (ROU)
UE Santa Coloma (AND) / FC RFS (LVA) vs ŠK Slovan Bratislava (SVK) / APOEL FC (CYP)
FK Panevėžys (LTU) / Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC (ISR) vs FK TSC Bačka Topola (SRB)
Malmö FF (SWE) / PAOK FC (GRE) vs NK Celje (SVN) / Shamrock Rovers FC (IRL)

FC Midtjylland (DEN) / Ferencvárosi TC (HUN) vs KÍ Klaksvík (FRO) / FK Borac Banja Luka (BIH)
Molde FK (NOR) / Cercle Brugge KSV (BEL) vs HNK Rijeka (CRO) / IF Elfsborg (SWE)
SC Braga (POR) / Servette FC (SUI) vs Trabzonspor A.Ş (TUR) / SK Rapid Wien (AUT)
FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih (UKR) / FC Viktoria Plzeň (CZE) vs Heart of Midlothian FC (SCO)

Match dates and kick-off times will be announced by 9 August 2024.

Seeded teams in bold.

DRAW PROCEDURE

Based on Article 14 of the UEFA Europa League 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 (see Annex D) 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-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

The 24 teams (five that enter the competition at this stage; six pairings coming from the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round champions path, indicated for the purposes of this draw as Pairing 1 to 6; and the 13 winners of the third qualifying round – champions and main path – ties, indicated for the purposes of this draw as Winners of Pairing 1 to 13) were divided equally into three groups of eight teams, with an equal number of seeded and unseeded teams and/or pairings in each group.

As the teams qualifying from the third qualifying round of the UEFA 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 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round tie was used for the seeding for the purposes of the draw. Therefore, if a team in a UEFA Europa League third qualifying round tie has a coefficient that would entitle it to be seeded for the UEFA Europa League play-offs draw, the winner of that tie was automatically seeded for the draw.

Furthermore, as the teams entering the competition from the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League (champions path) 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 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round tie was used for the seeding for the purposes of the draw.

Groupings

Group 1
Seeded
Winners of pairing 1: Panathinaikos FC (GRE) / AFC Ajax (NED)
Pairing 1: Qarabağ FK (AZE) / PFC Ludogorets 1945 (BUL)
Winners of pairing 2: FK Partizan (SRB) / FC Lugano (SUI)
RSC Anderlecht (BEL)

Unseeded
Beşiktaş JK (TUR)
Winners of pairing 3: FC Dinamo Minsk (BLR) / Lincoln Red Imps FC (GIB)
Winners of pairing 4: FC Petrocub (MDA) / The New Saints FC (WAL)
Pairing 2: Jagiellonia Białystok (POL) / FK Bodø/Glimt (NOR)

Group 2
Seeded
LASK (AUT)
Winners of pairing 5: FK Panevėžys (LTU) / Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC (ISR)
Pairing 3: Malmö FF (SWE) / PAOK FC (GRE)
Pairing 4: ŠK Slovan Bratislava (SVK) / APOEL FC (CYP)

Unseeded
Pairing 5: AC Sparta Praha (CZE) / Fotbal Club FCSB (ROU)
Winners of pairing 6: NK Celje (SVN) / Shamrock Rovers FC (IRL)
Winners of pairing 7: UE Santa Coloma (AND) / FC RFS (LVA)
FK TSC Bačka Topola (SRB)

Group 3
Seeded
Winners of pairing 8: SC Braga (POR) / Servette FC (SUI)
Winners of pairing 9: Molde FK (NOR) / Cercle Brugge KSV (BEL)
Winners of pairing 10: FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih (UKR) / FC Viktoria Plzeň (CZE)
Pairing 6: FC Midtjylland (DEN) / Ferencvárosi TC (HUN)

Unseeded
Winners of pairing 11: Trabzonspor A.Ş (TUR) / SK Rapid Wien (AUT)
Winners of pairing 12: HNK Rijeka (CRO) / IF Elfsborg (SWE)
Winners of pairing 13: KÍ Klaksvík (FRO) / Borac Banja Luka (BIH)
Heart of Midlothian FC (SCO)

Draw procedure

Three bowls were prepared for the draw, with the balls containing the names of the seeded and unseeded teams and/or 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 team and/or pairing then drawn from this bowl is considered the home team for the first leg of the first tie, which they will play against the second team and/or pairing drawn.

The process was then repeated with the remaining balls to complete all the ties for the first group. The same procedure was then carried out to determine the ties for the second and the third groups.

Draw explanation

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

Calendar elaboration

The stadiums, dates (in accordance with the calendar in Annex C) 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 18:00 CET on Monday 5 August.