2024/25 Europa League all you need to know: Teams, format, dates, draws, final

The 2024/25 campaign will be the 54th season of this club competition, the 16th since it was rebranded from UEFA Cup to UEFA Europa League, and the first under the new format. It kicked off on 11 July 2024 and runs until the final on Wednesday 21 May 2025.

Please note that dates are subject to change.

What is the new Europa League format?

The biggest change is to the group stage, which will become a single 36-team league phase. Each side faces eight different teams (four at home, four away). The top eight overall advance directly to the round of 16; sides finishing from ninth to 24th will contest the knockout phase play-offs, with the victors going through to the last 16. From then on it is a straight knockout.

Which teams are involved in the 2024/25 Europa League?

Seven domestic cup winners qualify automatically along with five other teams by virtue of their domestic league placing, with the holders of the UEFA Europa Conference League also guaranteed a spot.

Automatic league phase qualifiers

2023/24 Europa Conference League winners: Olympiacos

England: Man United, Tottenham
Spain: Athletic Club, Real Sociedad
Germany: Eintracht Frankfurt, Hoffenheim
Italy: Roma, Lazio
France: Nice, Lyon
Netherlands: AZ Alkmaar
Portugal: Porto

How does 2024/25 Europa League qualifying work?

The stage at which the teams enter qualifying is based on their association club coefficient ranking. All ties are played over two legs.

Twelve sides will enter the league phase via August's Europa League play-off round, in addition to 11 losing teams from the Champions League qualifying round.

When are the 2024/25 Europa League qualifiers?

First qualifying round: 11 & 18 July 2024
Second qualifying round: 25 July & 1 August 2024
Third qualifying round: 8 & 15 August 2024
Play-offs: 22 & 29 August 2024

When are the 2024/25 Europa League league phase matches?

Matchday 1: 25/26 September 2024
Matchday 2: 3 October 2024
Matchday 3: 24 October 2024
Matchday 4: 7 November 2024
Matchday 5: 28 November 2024
Matchday 6: 12 December 2024
Matchday 7: 23 January 2025
Matchday 8: 30 January 2025

When is the 2024/25 Europa League knockout phase?

Knockout phase play-offs: 13 & 20 February 2025
Round of 16: 6 & 13 March 2025
Quarter-finals: 10 & 17 April 2025
Semi-finals: 1 & 8 May 2025
Final: 21 May 2025

When are the 2024/25 Europa League draws?

First qualifying round: 18 June 2024
Second qualifying round: 19 June 2024
Third qualifying round: 22 July 2024
Play-offs: 5 August 2024
League phase: 30 August 2024
Knockout phase play-offs: 31 January 2025
Round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final and final: 21 February 2025

Where is the Europa League final in 2025?

The 2024/25 UEFA Europa League season concludes at Bilbao's Estadio de San Mamés. The home of Athletic Club staged its first major European decider last summer, Barcelona's 2-0 win against Lyon in the 2023/24 UEFA Women's Champions League final.

The 2024/25 winners gain a place in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League, if they have not qualified via their domestic competition. They will also earn the right to play against the winners of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League in the 2025 UEFA Super Cup.