Spain maintains lead over Germany and England
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
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Spain remains out in front in the UEFA association club coefficient rankings but although England stay second, they are in danger of losing their top-three status to Italy.
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Spain remains out in front in the UEFA association club coefficient rankings, with England and Germany also keeping the top-three slots that ensure four UEFA Champions League berths in 2016/17.
Latest UEFA association club coefficient rankings
There is no change in the top seven of the rankings, with Spain (extending their lead), England and Germany holding the first three places. That means all three nations know the top three in their top divisions next season will earn UEFA Champions League group spots, with the fourth-placed finishers headed for the play-offs.
However, the Bundesliga are within a point of the Premier League and are provisionally ahead in the summer 2016 rankings, which will decide 2017/18 UEFA club competition allocations for each country. Italy outscored England by 5.429 points this season just gone, and a repeat would comfortably take them into third above the Premier League in 12 months' time, ending Serie A's six-year exile from the premium positions.
Ukraine has edged clear of the Netherlands into eighth place, while by moving from 13th to 11th, Switzerland is now among the 12 nations guaranteed at least one 2016/17 UEFA Champions League group berth, at the expense of Greece. Romania has crept up from 16th to 15th, earning two spots in the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round rather than one.
Liechtenstein is the biggest climber, rising from 46th to 38th, though as they do not have a domestic league they will continue only to enter their cup winners into UEFA Europa League qualifying. That sole representative in 2014/15, FC Vaduz, reached the second qualifying round, single-handedly giving Liechtenstein 30th position in the single-season ranking.
FOR REFERENCE: the access list that has been used for allocation to the 2015/16 club competitions based on the association club coefficient rankings in summer 2014.
Seedings for UEFA national team competitions are decided by the UEFA National Team Coefficient Ranking: the latest interim version was released on Monday and is used to seed UEFA European Championship draws. The European FIFA World Cup qualifying draw on 25 July will be seeded by next month's FIFA World Rankings as per article 20 of the official regulations.