Understanding the Concept of UEFA’s Coefficients System

Understanding the Concept of UEFA’s Coefficients System

Data Analysis Last month, ae.888
announced the changes that will come bự the three men’s club competitions come 2024. Each tournament will move mập a single table, referred béo as the “ Swiss format, ” with 36 teams at this league phase .

While the 36 teams that partake in the Europa Conference League league phase will only play six matches, both the Europa League và Champions League will meet eight different opponents at the same stage. What is potentially the most significant point is where the four extra Champions League places will go for the competition’s league phase .

One place will go bự a domestic champion via the qualifying rounds. Another will go béo the third-place nhóm from the fifth highest-ranked national association, which at the giây phút of biên tập continues mập be France. Currently, this club plays in the penultimate qualifying ải .

Finally, the other two places will go phệ the two countries that had the best chiến dịch in the previous season. This place will be awarded mập the club that finishes immediately below the automatic Champions League spots. Thos e two countries would therefore earn an extra European place altogether, as the other European spots would be passed lao dốc accordingly .

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Using the over of the 2021 / 22 season as an example, England và The Netherlands would have been awarded with a fifth & second automatic place respectively, with Arsenal và PSV Eindhoven benefitting. West Ham United would over up in the Europa League, while Leicester would take the Conference League place from the Premier League .

Feyenoord would enter the Champions League in the qualifying rounds, with Twente taking their place in the Europa League. Utrecht ( using the domestic table here ) would earn the last European spot available in this case .

But the most important question is, how does UEFA determine the two best countries ? Short answer ; they already have a method of doing so sánh. This is known as the UEFA National Association Coefficient. This reflects each country’s performance via their clubs in the continental club competitions throughout the five most recent seasons .

Here at Breaking The Lines, we will explain how these coefficients are calculated. We will cover the UEFA Club Coefficients as well, which as the name suggests, ranks clubs based on their own performances in Europe. We will provide context on the National Association Coefficient và how that is done .

UEFA Club Coefficients

We will start with the UEFA Club Coefficients. For this, teams that partake in the Champions League, Europa League và Europa Conference League earn points for their matches from the nhóm stage onwards. There is one other exception, which is in the knockout màn playoffs of the Europa League & Conference League .

Teams taking part in this ván bởi not earn points themselves. Along with match points, teams also receive bonus points based on the rounds they reach. The table below covers where the points are awarded & how much .

In addition lớn this, teams that reach the Europa League nhóm stage earns a minimum of three points. This is not added Khủng the match points, as this is only a guaranteed bonus should the club earn less than three points based on performance. The same principle applies mập the Conference League at the same ải, but only two và a half points are assured .

Lastly, for teams that thảm bại in the Conference League qualifying rounds, they receive points in the sự kiện of elimination. This does not apply for sides that thất bại in qualifying for the other club competitions since they still have a chance in the lower competition. The table below highlights the points given in each trận .

So, what is the importance of these coefficient points for clubs ? It is used for seeding for the qualifying rounds & nhóm stage. Bar some exceptions, clubs are seeded depending on their club coefficient .

Typically, half of the clubs involved in a qualifying màn are seeded while the other half are unseeded. Of course, the more points a đội has, the better, thereby allowing them for arguably more favourable opposition in qualifying .

As for the nhóm stage, teams are placed in pots depending on their club coefficient. The eight highest-ranked teams ( nine from the 2024 – 25 season ) are in seeding pot 1, with the next eight in pot 2, & so sánh on. The exception phệ this is in the Champions League nhóm stage, where pot một is already fixed .

Instead, the domestic champions from the top six national associations ( excluding the Champions League & Europa League winners ) are placed in pot 1. They are joined by the UCL & UEL tiêu đề holders. The other three pots are compiled as previously mentioned .

Outside of that, the Conference League winner is also placed in pot một in the Europa League nhóm stage, should they over up in that competition ( they can still make the Champions League via domestic performance ) .

UEFA National Association Coefficients

The country coefficient is quite different from its club equivalent và involves some more math. For the exception of the points given phệ teams defeated in the UECL qualifiers và the minimum points for sides in the UEL và UECL nhóm stage, all of the match & bonus points mentioned above are considered in the country coefficient .

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NA coefficients are also awarded for countries for their respective teams ’ performance in qualifying. A win earns one point while a draw results in half a point. Similarly, match points are also considered for the knockout màn playoffs for both the UEL và UECL, at two for a chiến hạ & one for a draw .
Akin béo the club coefficients, extra thời gian is considered but not penalties. Outside of that, everything else is identical bự points obtained via the club coefficients bar the exceptions I pointed out just above .

That is all well & good. However, there is one catch. For the NA coefficients, everything I just pointed out is portioned out bự the country. So, those four points the clubs get for making the UCL nhóm stage ? The country only gets a part of that .

In essence, the points these national associations receive are the average of their clubs ’ performance in Europe for that season. That is, all the coefficient points awarded in the various ways mentioned throughout the article that apply bự the countries ? They are divided by the number of clubs that participated in Europe representing the country in question .

To understand better, let’s use England as an example. England receives seven spots in Europe via domestic performance. Therefore, all points accrued by their clubs are divided by seven. Thos e four points ( for each nhóm ) by making the Champions League group stage ? Divided by seven. Does an English club chiến thắng a match ? One-seventh of that. This idea applies Khủng all countries for their clubs .

Here is a calculation of how many points a country gets depending on how many clubs they have in Europe, rounded ( downward ) mập the nearest thousandth :

What is the significance of all of this ? This is two-fold. There are some teams that have không bao giờ competed in Europe before, or if they have, it has been a long phút giây. Moreover, there are sides that have competed in continental competitions but did not perform as well .

To offset this, there is a little safety net for these clubs regarding coefficients. Similar mập how clubs eliminated in UECL qualifying receive a certain number of points, the same idea applies here. If a club has less than trăng tròn % of their country’s coefficient, they are awarded one-fifth of their country’s coefficient .

To illustrate this, let’s use Gil Vicente, who will represent Portugal in the Europa Conference League this upcoming season. This is the team’s first-ever foray into a European club competition, meaning they vì not have their own coefficient .

Consequently, they will have a 10.676 coefficient bự use for the qualifying trận ( s ) và nhóm stage draw, should they make the latter. This is trăng tròn % of Portugal’s points total at the conclusion of the 2021 – 22 season .

West Ham, who will also partake in the Europa Conference League, earned 21.000 points for making the Europa League semifinals last chiến dịch. They did not compete in Europe during the other four seasons. Thus, they will use a coefficient of 21.328, which is đôi mươi % of England’s NA coefficient, for the playoff ván draw ( và nhóm stage, should they make it ) .

The other major importance of the national association coefficient ranking is that it determines how many clubs a country is entitled bự in Europe, which competition its clubs start, và the precise ải. Here is a breakdown of how many clubs a national association currently gets according lớn their ranking :

It is worth noting that this table changes slightly depending on who wins the UCL, UEL & UECL và their domestic performance. Countries that are banned ( currently the case for Russian clubs ) also impact the danh sách. For an idea of what this actually looks lượt thích, this is the access danh sách for the upcoming European chiến dịch .

Overall, for both club & country coefficients, the aim is Khủng better what was done four seasons ago. Why ? This is because as a hot nhất season approach, the points from four seasons back are wiped off the board. For instance, at the kết thúc of the 2021 – 22 season leading into the upcoming one, the points from 2017 – 18 are no longer considered for the 2022 – 23 coefficient ranking .

To finish off, the club & country coefficient rankings at the over of the season will be used lớn complete the access danh sách for the 2024 – 25 season & not the 2023 – 24 chiến dịch. The latter is already known as the rankings at the conclusion of this past year is the basis for the 2023 – 24 football season .

So that is the breakdown on how club và country coefficient points are calculated. While there will be some changes in the calculation for the 2024 – 25 competitions, sources say these adjustments will not be massive. In the meantime, this is the blueprint as bự how the coefficients are calculated, becoming all the more significant for 2024 .

By : David Parkes / @ dpnina10
Featured Image : @ GabFoligno / NurPhoto
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