UEFA Europa League 2026-27 Draw: Complete Guide
The UEFA Europa League draw is the moment when the shape of the new European campaign begins to emerge.
For the 2026/27 season, clubs will discover their opponents in the competition’s 36-team league phase, with supporters able to start looking ahead to major fixtures, long-distance trips and potential knockout-stage challenges.
The format is different from the old group-stage system. Instead of groups of four, every club will be placed in a single league table and drawn against eight different opponents.
This guide explains when the 2026/27 draw takes place, how the draw works, which teams are involved and how clubs reached the league phase.
When Is The UEFA Europa League Draw?
The UEFA Europa League 2026/27 league phase draw takes place on Friday 28 August 2026 in Monaco. The ceremony begins at 13:00 CET, which is 12:00 BST in the UK. UEFA has confirmed that the draw procedure, including the final seedings and any applicable groupings, will be available from 08:30 CET on the day of the draw.
This is the third season in which the Europa League has used its new league-phase format. The 36 clubs have been divided into four seeding pots of nine teams, with the pots determined by UEFA club coefficients at the beginning of the season.
The league phase itself begins on 16 September 2026, with eight matchdays scheduled between September and January.
What Time Is The UEFA Europa League Draw?
The 2026/27 Europa League league phase draw starts at 13:00 CET on Friday 28 August 2026, equivalent to 12:00 BST in the UK. UEFA’s official draw page lists the event as taking place in Monaco.
UEFA says the full fixture list, including match dates and kick-off times, will be communicated no later than Sunday 30 August 2026.
How Does The UEFA Europa League Draw Work?
The old group-stage format has been replaced by a 36-team league phase. There are no longer eight groups of four teams. Instead, all 36 clubs compete in one league table.
The 36 clubs are divided into four pots of nine teams according to their UEFA club coefficient rankings. Each club is then drawn against eight different opponents: two opponents from each of the four pots. One opponent from each pot is played at home and one away.
In principle, clubs cannot be drawn against another team from the same national association. A club can also face a maximum of two opponents from any one other association, subject to the detailed draw regulations. UEFA can adapt the draw conditions where necessary to avoid deadlocks or account for relevant competition constraints.
This means supporters will not be waiting to see which four teams form a particular group. Instead, the draw determines eight individual league-phase opponents for each club, creating a wider range of potential fixtures.
The league phase consists of eight matchdays. The scheduled dates for 2026/27 are 16/17 September, 15 October, 22 October, 5 November, 26 November, 10 December, 21 January and 28 January.
Which Teams Are In The UEFA Europa League Draw?
The 36 clubs in the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League league phase have now been confirmed, subject to UEFA’s final admission and licensing procedures.
The line-up includes teams that qualified through domestic competitions, the UEFA Conference League title route, Europa League qualifying and transfers from Champions League qualifying.
The confirmed teams are:
- Anderlecht — Belgium
- Ararat-Armenia — Armenia
- AZ Alkmaar — Netherlands
- Benfica — Portugal
- Beşiktaş — Türkiye
- Bournemouth — England
- Celje — Slovenia
- Celta — Spain
- Celtic — Scotland
- Crystal Palace — England
- Ferencváros — Hungary
- GNK Dinamo — Croatia
- Hapoel Be’er Sheva — Israel
- Hoffenheim — Germany
- Jagiellonia — Poland
- Juventus — Italy
- Lech Poznań — Poland
- Leverkusen — Germany
- Levski Sofia — Bulgaria
- Lillestrøm — Norway
- Lyon — France
- Marseille — France
- Milan — Italy
- N.E.C. — Netherlands
- OFI Crete — Greece
- Olympiacos — Greece
- Omonia — Cyprus
- Real Sociedad — Spain
- Rennes — France
- Salzburg — Austria
- Sparta Praha — Czechia
- Sturm Graz — Austria
- Sunderland — England
- Torreense — Portugal
- Union SG — Belgium
- Viktoria Plzeň — Czechia
These clubs will be divided into four seeding pots of nine teams for the league-phase draw. Each club will be drawn against eight different opponents, with two opponents coming from each pot.
One opponent from each pot will be played at home and the other away. In principle, clubs cannot face another team from the same national association and can face a maximum of two clubs from any other one association.
The league phase begins in September 2026, with eight matchdays running through January 2027. The competition will then progress to the knockout phase, culminating in the final at Stadion Frankfurt on 26 May 2027.
Crystal Palace enter the competition as the 2025/26 UEFA Conference League winners. Other clubs qualified through their domestic league or cup positions, Europa League qualifying or by transferring from Champions League qualifying.
The 2026/27 competition is the 56th season of the UEFA Cup/Europa League competition and the third edition to use the 36-team league-phase format. The campaign began with qualifying in July and will conclude with the final in Frankfurt on 26 May 2027.
Once the league-phase fixtures are confirmed, clubs will know their eight opponents and whether each match will be played at home or away. The teams that finish highest in the league phase will progress directly to the knockout stages, while the precise positions determine the route each club takes through the latter part of the competition.
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