A total of 160 teams competed in the qualifying system of the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League, which included the qualifying phase and the play-off round, with 23 teams in the Champions Path and 137 teams in the Main Path. The 22 winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage, to join the 10 losers of the Europa League play-off round.[2]
Times are CEST (UTC+2), as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).
The Champions Path included league champions which were eliminated from the Champions Path qualifying phase of the Champions League and the Champions Path qualifying phase of the Europa League and consisted of the following rounds:
Third qualifying round (10 teams): 8 winners of the second qualifying round and 2 losers of the Champions League first qualifying round which were drawn to receive byes.
Below were the participating teams of the Champions Path (with their 2023 UEFA club coefficients, not to be used as seeding for the Champions Path, however),[3] grouped by their starting rounds.
The Main Path included league non-champions and consisted of the following rounds:
First qualifying round (62 teams): 62 teams which entered in this round.
Second qualifying round (90 teams): 59 teams which entered in this round and 31 winners of the first qualifying round.
Third qualifying round (54 teams): nine teams which entered in this round and 45 winners of the second qualifying round.
Play-off round (34 teams): seven teams which entered this round (including two losers of the Europa League Main Path third qualifying round) and 27 winners of the third qualifying round.
Below were the participating teams of the League Path (with their 2022 UEFA club coefficients),[3] grouped by their starting rounds.
UEL MP Q3 Losers of Europa League third qualifying round (Main Path).
Format
Each tie was played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scored more goals on aggregate over the two legs advanced to the next round. If the aggregate score was level at the end of normal time of the second leg, extra time would be played and if the same number of goals are scored by both teams during extra time, the tie would be decided by a penalty shoot-out.[4]
Schedule
The schedule of the competition was as follows (all draws were held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland).[1]
Schedule for the qualifying phase of the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League
Round
Draw date
First leg
Second leg
First qualifying round
20 June 2023
13 July 2023
20 July 2023
Second qualifying round
21 June 2023
27 July 2023
3 August 2023
Third qualifying round
24 July 2023
10 August 2023
17 August 2023
Play-off round
7 August 2023
24 August 2023
31 August 2023
First qualifying round
The draw for the first qualifying round was made on 20 June 2023.
Seeding
A total of 62 teams took part in the first qualifying round. Seeding of teams was based on their 2023 UEFA club coefficients.[3] Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other.
Prior to the draw, UEFA formed five groups of five seeded and five unseeded teams and one group of six seeded and six unseeded teams in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. The first team drawn in each tie was the home team of the first leg.
The draw for the second qualifying round was made on 21 June 2023.
Seeding
A total of 106 teams took part in the second qualifying round. They were divided into two paths:
Champions Path (16 teams): The teams, whose identity was not known at the time of draw, was seeded as follows:
Seeded: 13 of the 15 losers of the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League first qualifying round (two of the teams received byes to the third qualifying round).
Unseeded: 3 losers of the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League preliminary round.
Main Path (90 teams): 59 teams which entered in this round and 31 winners of the first qualifying round. Seeding of teams was based on their 2023 UEFA club coefficients.[3] For the winners of the first qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of the draw, the club coefficient of the highest-ranked remaining team in each tie was used. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other.
Prior to the draw, UEFA formed three groups in the Champions Path with two groups of five seeded teams and one unseeded team, one group of three seeded teams and one unseeded team, and nine groups in the Main Path of five seeded teams and five unseeded teams, in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. In each group of the Champions Path, firstly, a seeded team was drawn against the only unseeded team, and then, the remaining seeded teams were drawn against each other. In the Main Path, numbers were pre-assigned for each team by UEFA, with the draw held in one run for Groups 1–9 with ten teams. The first team drawn in each tie was the home team of the first leg.
† Winners of the first qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of draw. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
Summary
The first legs were played on 25, 26 and 27 July, and the second legs were played on 1, 2 and 3 August 2023.
The winners of the ties advanced to the third qualifying round of their respective path. The losers were eliminated from European competitions for the season.
The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 24 July 2023.
Seeding
A total of 64 teams took part in the third qualifying round. They were divided into two paths:
Champions Path (10 teams): eight winners of the second qualifying round (Champions Path), whose identity was not known at the time of the draw and two losers from the first qualifying round of the Champions League which received byes to this round. There was no seeding.
Main Path (54 teams): nine teams that entered in this round and 45 winners of the second qualifying round (Main Path). Seeding of teams were based on their 2023 UEFA club coefficients.[3] For the winners of the second qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of the draw, the club coefficient of the highest-ranked remaining team in each tie was used. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other.
Prior to the draw, UEFA formed groups of seeded teams and unseeded teams in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. The first team drawn in each tie was the home team of the first leg.
† Winners of the main path second qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of draw. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
†† Winners of the champions path second qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of draw.
Summary
The first legs were played on 9 and 10 August, and the second legs were played on 16 and 17 August 2023.
The winners of the ties advanced to the play-off round of their respective path. The losers were eliminated from European competitions for the season.
The draw for the play-off round was held on 7 August 2023.
Seeding
A total of 44 teams took part in the play-off round. They were divided into two paths:
Champions Path (10 teams): The teams, whose identity was not known at the time of the draw, were seeded as follows:
Seeded: five losers of the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round (Champions Path).
Unseeded: five winners of the third qualifying round (Champions Path).
Main Path (34 teams): five teams which entered in this round, 27 winners of the third qualifying round (Main Path) and two losers of the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round (Main Path). Seeding of teams were based on their 2023 UEFA club coefficients.[3] For the winners of the third qualifying round and losers of the Europa League third qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of the draw, the club coefficient of the highest-ranked remaining team in each tie was used. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other.
Prior to the draw, UEFA formed groups of seeded teams and unseeded teams in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. The first team drawn in each tie became the home team of the first leg.
† Winners of the third qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of draw. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
†† Losers of the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of draw.
Summary
The first legs were played on 23 and 24 August, and the second legs were played on 31 August 2023.
The winners of the ties advanced to the group stage. The losers were eliminated from European competitions for the season.
