Meet the UEFA Conference League round of 16 contenders

The stage is set for the round of 16 of the 2025/26 UEFA Conference League. Meet the teams involved.

Round of 16

AEK Athens (GRE)

League phase position: 3
Last season: Third qualifying round (L2-3agg to Noah)
Best Conference League performance: Third qualifying round (2024/25)

AEK stands for Athletic Union of Constantinople, with the Athens club founded in 1924 by Greek refugees from what is now Istanbul. The Double-Headed Eagle won the most recent of their 13 Greek titles in 2022/23, while the most successful of their past European campaigns took them to the semi-finals of the 1976/77 UEFA Cup.

AEK Larnaca (CYP)

League phase position: 8
Last season: Second qualifying round (L0-5agg vs Paks)
Best Conference League performance: Round of 16 (2022/23)

This AEK stands for Athletic Union Kition, a reference to an ancient city in Cyprus which was destroyed by earthquakes in the 300s. Founded in 1994 following the merger of two local clubs, EPA Larnaca and Pezoporikos, AEK won their third Cypriot Cup in 2024/25 but have yet to win a league title, though they have been runners-up on six occasions.

AZ Alkmaar (NED)

League phase position: 14
Knockout phase play-offs: 4-1agg vs Noah
Last season: Europa League round of 16 (L2-3agg vs Tottenham)
Best Conference League performance: Semi-finals (2022/23)

The Kaasboeren (Cheese Farmers) have won two Dutch titles, their long European history including reaching the final of the 1980/81 UEFA Cup, which they lost to Ipswich Town over two legs. The initials AZ stand for Alkmaar Zaanstreek, the club representing the city of Alkmaar in the north of Netherlands and the wider Zaan region.

Celje (SLO)

League phase position: 13
Knockout phase play-offs: 6-4agg vs Drita
Last season: Quarter-finals (L3-4agg vs Fiorentina)
Best Conference League performance: Quarter-finals (2024/25)

Founded in 1991, Celje are two-time Slovenian champions, and reached last season's Conference League quarter-finals – a first for a Slovenian side in a major UEFA club competition. The team are sometimes referred to as Grofje (The Counts) as a nod to the Counts of Celje who were the most powerful magnates in their area in the Middle Ages.

Crystal Palace (ENG)

League phase position: 10
Knockout phase play-offs: 3-1agg vs Zrinjski
Last season: N/A
Best Conference League performance: Debut

From Croydon, south London, Crystal Palace are (along with Millwall) one of only two London sides from south of the River Thames to play in Europe. Founded in 1905, Palace were named after a spectacular iron and glass exhibition centre that stood from 1851 to 1936. This is only their second season in Europe; they previously played in the 1998 UEFA Intertoto Cup.

Fiorentina (ITA)

League phase position: 15
Knockout phase play-offs: 5-4agg vs Jagiellonia
Last season: Semi-finals (L3-4agg vs Real Betis)
Best Conference League performance: Final (2022/23, 2023/24)

Two-time champions of Italy either side of their European Cup Winners' Cup triumph of 1960/61, the Viola have been Conference League runners-up twice since the advent of the tournament in 2021/22.

Lech Poznań (POL) 

League phase position: 11
Knockout phase play-offs: 3-0agg vs KuPS Kuopio
Last season: N/A
Best Conference League performance: Quarter-finals (2022/23)

Founded in 1922, Lech were closely associated with the Polish state railway company for much of their history, hence their nickname Kolejorz (the Railwaymen). The club won their ninth Polish title in 2024/25 and are one of striker Robert Lewandowski's former teams, the Barcelona man departing for Dortmund in 2011.

Mainz (GER)

League phase position: 7
Last season: N/A
Best Conference League performance: Debut

Known as the Karnevalsverein (carnival club) due to the months-long festivities in the city of Mainz over the winter, the team have yet to win a major senior honour, but have made it through a league phase for the first time after falling just short in the 2016/17 Europa League. A special carnival tune, the Narrhallamarsch, is played every time Mainz score a home goal.

Raków (POL)

League phase position: 2
Last season: N/A
Best Conference League performance: Qualifying play-offs (2021/22, 2022/23)

Based in the city of Częstochowa, and traditionally associated with the local steelworks, Raków are enjoying the most successful period in their history, having followed up maiden Polish Cup triumphs in 2020/21 and 2021/22 with their first-ever Polish title in 2022/23. They have made it to the knockout phase at the end of their first league phase campaign in the Conference League.

Rayo Vallecano (ESP)

League phase position: 5
Last season: N/A
Best Conference League performance: Debut

From the Madrid suburb of Vallecas, Rayo (literally 'thunderbolt') were partly inspired by Argentinian side River Plate, hence the diagonal red flash on their white shirts. They have made it to the knockout phase in what is only their second European campaign; the first was also a success, Rayo making it to the 2001/02 UEFA Cup quarter-finals before losing to Alavés.

Rijeka (CRO) 

League phase position: 16
Knockout phase play-offs: 4-1agg vs Omonoia
Last season: Qualifying play-offs (L1-6agg vs Olimpija Ljubljana)
Best Conference League performance: Qualifying play-offs (2021/22, 2023/24, 2024/25)

The Adriatic Sea is clearly visible from Rijeka's home stadium, with their claims to fame including being the oldest extant club in Croatia (founded in 1904). Since the turn of the millennium, they have been a major force in local football, winning two league titles and seven Croatian Cups, but this is the first time they have made it through a UEFA league phase.

Samsunspor (TUR) 

League phase position: 12
Knockout phase play-offs: 5-0agg vs Shkëndija
Last season: N/A
Best Conference League performance: Debut

From the shores of the Black Sea, the Red Lightning finished third in the Turkish league in 2024/25 to earn a place in Europe for the first time since they featured in a couple of editions of the UEFA Intertoto Cup in the 1990s. They won their first three league phase games without conceding and are playing springtime European football for the first time.

Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)

League phase position: 6
Last season: Champions League league phase (27/36)
Best Conference League performance: Debut

Founded in the Donbass region of Ukraine, Shakhtar Donetsk were traditionally associated with the local coal mines, hence the name Shakhtar (Miner). UEFA Cup winners in 2008/09, Shakhtar have won 15 league titles in Ukraine since independence. They have made it to the knockout phase in their first Conference League campaign.

Sigma Olomouc (CZE) 

League phase position: 24
Knockout phase play-offs: 3-2agg vs Lausanne-Sport
Last season: N/A
Best Conference League performance: Debut

From Olomouc in the east of Czechia, Sigma have made it to the knockout rounds in their first UEFA league phase campaign. The club's name comes from their parent company, which they have been associated with since the days of Czechoslovakia. In their most famous continental campaign, they reached the 1991/92 UEFA Cup quarter-finals, losing to Real Madrid.

Sparta Praha (CZE)

League phase position: 4
Last season: Champions League league phase (31/36)
Best Conference League performance: Knockout phase play-offs (2021/22)

With 38 titles and 16 cups, Železná Sparta (Iron Sparta) are the most decorated club in Czechia, and have been a significant force in European football since the days of Czechoslovakia. Named in honour of the combative Spartans who thrived in ancient Greece, the side from the Czech capital reached the semi-finals of the 1972/73 Cup Winners Cup.

Strasbourg (FRA)

League phase position: 1
Last season: N/A
Best Conference League performance: Debut

Le Racing's youthful squad have taken the club into the spring phase of a UEFA club competition for the first time since they reached the UEFA Cup round of 16 in 2005/06. French league champions in 1978/79, the side from the Alsace region has nurtured a number of major stars, not least 1998 World Cup winners Franck Lebouef and Youri Djorkaeff.