Ten debutants as Conference League groups set: see the clashes | OneFootball

In addition to the draw for the Champions League and the Europa League, the matchups for the first phase of the Conference League were determined this Friday, at the Grimaldi Forum, in Monaco. Following the other continental competitions, the tertiary tournament of UEFA also uses the league format, instead of the traditional groups.

The clubs were manually drawn, and subsequently, a computer machine randomly decided the six opponents of the teams. The process continued until the 36 teams had their opponents defined.

Highlights

Fiorentina, the title favorite, had a smooth draw. At home, they will face Dynamo Kiev-UCR, AEK Athens-GRE, and Sigma Olomouc-RTC. Away, they will face Rapid Vienna-AUT, Mainz 05-GER, and Lausanne-Sport-SUI.

Another sensation of the tournament is Shakhtar Donetsk, with striker Kevin, former Palmeiras, and twelve other Brazilians. The Ukrainian team will host Legia Warsaw-POL, Rijeka-CRO, and Breiðablik-ISL, while visiting Shamrock Rovers-IRL, Aberdeen-SCO, and Hamrun Spartans-MLT.

Debutants in the Conference League

Created in 2021, the Conference League is one of the tournaments that promotes the most debuts of alternative teams. And in this edition, ten teams will play a continental competition for the first time in their history. In addition, the tournament promotes a great diversity of countries: 29 federations are represented in the 36 teams.

Crystal Palace (England), Drita (Kosovo), Hamrun Spartans (Malta), KuPS (Finland), Rayo Vallecano (Spain), Samsunspor (Turkey), Shelbourne (Ireland), Shkendija (North Macedonia), Sigma Olomouc (Czech Republic), and Universitatea Craiova (Romania) are the debutants in UEFA tournaments.

Despite the defined games, the dates and times have not yet been announced by UEFA. The announcement of the detailed table will be this Sunday.

The first phase of the Europa League begins on October 2 and is expected to run until December 18.

The grand final, played in a single match, will take place at the Red Bull Arena, in Leipzig, Germany, on May 27, 2026.

Schedule of games and expected dates

Round 1: October 2, 2025 Round 2: October 23, 2025 Round 3: November 6, 2025 Round 4: November 27, 2025 Round 5: December 11, 2025 Round 6: December 18, 2025

Playoffs of the round of 16: February 19 and 26, 2026 Round of 16: March 12 and 19, 2026 Quarterfinals: April 9 and 16, 2026 Semifinals: April 30 and May 7, 2026 Final: May 27, 2026.

See how the pots were

Pot 1: Fiorentina (Italy), AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia), Rapid Vienna (Austria) and Legia Warsaw (Poland)

Pot 2: Sparta Prague (Czech Republic), Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine), Crystal Palace (England), Lech Poznań (Poland), Rayo Vallecano (Spain) and Shamrock Rovers (Ireland)

Pot 3: Omonia (Cyprus), Mainz (Germany), Strasbourg (France), Jagiellonia Białystok (Poland), Celje (Slovenia) and Rijeka (Croatia)

Pot 4: Zrinjski (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Lincoln Red Imps (Gibraltar), KuPS Kuopio (Finland), AEK Athens (Greece), Aberdeen (Scotland) and Drita (Kosovo)

Pot 5: Breiðablik (Iceland), Sigma Olomouc (Czech Republic), Samsunspor (Turkey), Raków (Poland), AEK Larnaca (Cyprus) and Shkëndija (North Macedonia)

Pot 6: Häcken (Sweden), Lausanne-Sport (Switzerland), Universitatea Craiova (Romania), Hamrun Spartans (Malta), Noah (Armenia) and Shelbourne (Ireland).

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.