The upcoming draws for the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Europa Conference League will determine the fixtures for a number of British clubs, including Bournemouth, Sunderland and Crystal Palace in the Europa League, and potentially Brighton, Hearts, Hibernian, Motherwell, Rangers and Northern Irish side Larne in the Conference League. The Europa League draw is scheduled for 12:00 pm UK time on Friday, followed immediately by the Conference League draw. The Europa League will feature twelve clubs that qualify directly for the group stage, plus an extra slot reserved for the holders of the UEFA Conference League title – Crystal Palace in this case. Another twelve places are earned through a series of play‑off matches, while the remaining spots are filled by eleven teams that drop out of the Champions League after losing in the third qualifying round or the play‑offs.
In total, thirty‑six teams will contest the Europa League group phase. Among the confirmed participants are well‑known sides such as AC Milan, AZ Alkmaar, Bayer Leverkusen, Bournemouth, Celta Vigo, Crystal Palace, Hoffenheim, Juventus, Marseille, Olympiacos, Real Sociedad, Rennes, Sparta Prague, Sturm Graz, Sunderland, Torreense and Union Saint‑Gilloise.
Additional clubs could join the competition if they are eliminated from the Champions League play‑offs; these include AEK Athens, Bodø/Glimt, Celje, Celtic, Dinamo Zagreb, Fenerbahçe, Hapoel Beer‑Sheva, LASK, Levski Sofia, Lyon, NEC Breda, Sabah, Slovan Bratislava and Viking Stavanger. Conversely, a further list of clubs may qualify by winning their Europa League play‑off ties.
This group comprises Aarhus, Anderlecht, Ararat‑Armenia, Benfica, Beşiktaş, Crvena Zvezda, CSKA Sofia, Egnatia, Ferencváros, Iberia Tbilisi, Jagiellonia, Kairat Almaty, Kauno Žalgiris, Lech Poznań, Lillestrøm, Mjällby, OFI Crete, Omonia, Salzburg, Sint‑Truidense, Thun, Trabzonspor, Union Craiova and Viktoria Plzeň. Fans with Sky Sports can follow the draws live via the Sky Sports app, while those without a subscription can still gain instant, contract‑free access to the coverage. The platform also offers free Premier League highlights and a full schedule of fixtures. The Conference League follows a similar structure, though its composition differs.
Clubs that win their Conference League play‑off matches will join the group stage, and this list includes Ajax, Atalanta, Austria Vienna, Borac, Braga, Brann, Brighton, FC Copenhagen, Dinamo City, Drita, Freiburg, Gent, Getafe, Górnik Zabrze, Hapoel Tel‑Aviv, Hajduk Split, Hearts, Hibernian, Hradec Králové, Inter Escaldes, Inter Turku, Jablonec, Klaksvík, KuPS Kuopio, Lincoln Red Imps, Larne, Lugano, Maccabi Tel‑Aviv, Midtjylland, Monaco, Motherwell, Nordsjælland, Pafos, Panathinaikos, PAOK, Partizan, Qarabağ, Raków, Rangers, Riga, Rijeka, Shamrock Rovers, Sion, SK Rapid, St Gallen, Tromsø, Twente and Víkingur R. Clubs that lose in the Europa League play‑offs may also drop into the Conference League, adding another layer of fluidity to the tournament.
Those teams include the same names listed for the Europa League play‑off winners, such as Aarhus, Anderlecht, Ararat‑Armenia, Benfica and others. During the group phase of the Europa League, each team is guaranteed eight matches – four at home and four away – against eight distinct opponents. The Conference League groups are slightly smaller, with each side playing six matches – three at home and three away – against six different clubs.
In both competitions, the top eight teams in each group progress directly to the knockout rounds. Teams finishing ninth to twenty‑fourth enter a two‑legged play‑off to fight for the remaining spots in the round of sixteen. Clubs placed twenty‑fifth to thirty‑sixth are eliminated from European competition for the season. UEFA imposes additional draw restrictions: clubs from the same national association cannot be drawn together in the same group, and a maximum of two clubs from the same country may appear in a single group.
The schedule for the Europa League group matches is as follows: Matchday 1 on 16‑17 September, Matchday 2 on 15 October, Matchday 3 on 22 October, Matchday 4 on 5 November, Matchday 5 on 26 November, Matchday 6 on 10 December, followed by two January matchdays on 21 and 28 January 2027. The Conference League follows a slightly different timetable, beginning with Matchday 1 on 15 October and concluding with Matchday 6 on 17 December. The climax of the 2026/27 Europa League will be the final on 26 May 2027 at the Stadion Frankfurt in Germany. The Conference League final is slated for 2 June 2027 at Beşiktaş Park in Istanbul, Turkey.
After the group stages, the knockout round play‑offs are set for 18 and 25 February 2027, the round of sixteen for 11 and 18 March 2027, quarter‑finals on 8 and 15 April 2027, semi‑finals on 29 April and 6 May 2027, and the respective finals on the dates mentioned above. Beyond the football action, UEFA is also promoting a "Super 6" competition where participants can enter for free for a chance to win a £1 million prize, adding an extra incentive for fans to stay engaged throughout the season.