UEFA Europa Conference League group stage draw: Where is it, when is it, who is involved?

The 2022/23 UEFA Europa Conference League group stage draw is streamed live from 14:30 CET on 26 August. It takes place in Istanbul, Türkiye.

Which teams will line up in the group stage draw?

Pot 1

Villarreal (ESP)
Basel (SUI)
Slavia Praha (CZE)
AZ Alkmaar (NED)
Gent (BEL)
İstanbul Başakşehir (TUR)
Partizan (SRB)
West Ham (ENG)

Pot 2

CFR Cluj (ROU)
Molde (NOR)
FCSB (ROU)
Fiorentina (ITA)
Köln (GER)
Hapoel Beer-Sheva (ISR)
Apollon Limassol (CYP)
Slovan Bratislava (SVK)

Pot 3

Nice (FRA)
Anderlecht (BEL)
Žalgiris Vilnius (LTU)
Austria Wien (AUT)
Hearts (SCO)
Shamrock Rovers (IRL)
Sivasspor (TUR)
Vaduz (LIE)

Pot 4

Dnipro-1 (UKR)
Lech Poznań (POL)
Slovácko (CZE)
Silkeborg (DEN)
Djurgården (SWE)
Pyunik (ARM)
RFS (LVA)
Ballkani (KOS)

The draw features the 22 UEFA Europa Conference League play-off winners and ten sides transferring from the UEFA Europa League play-offs.

How the Europa Conference League group stage draw works

• For the group stage draw, the 32 clubs are seeded in four pots of eight, in accordance with the club coefficient rankings established at the beginning of the season.

• The first pot comprises the top eight clubs in the club coefficient rankings, the second pot the next eight clubs in the rankings, and so on for groups 3 and 4.

• To ensure that paired clubs from the same association kick off at different times as per the aforementioned pairing principles, the eight groups will be distinguished by colour: groups A to D will be red and groups E to H blue.

• When a paired club is allocated, for example, to a red group (A, B, C or D), the other paired club – once it has been drawn – will automatically be assigned to one of the four blue groups (E, F, G or H).

• Red group matches will not be played at the same time as blue group matches.

Why are some clubs paired?

In the case of associations with two representatives, these clubs will be paired so that their matches kick off at different times.

In the case of associations with three representatives, only two clubs will be paired.

In the case of associations with one representative in the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage and one representative in the UEFA Europa League group stage, these clubs will also be paired so that their matches kick off at different times.

In the case of associations with one representative in the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage and three representatives in the UEFA Europa League group stage, the unpaired UEFA Europa League club will be paired with the club in the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage.

In the case of associations with three representatives in the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage and one representative in the UEFA Europa League group stage, the unpaired UEFA Europa Conference League club will be paired with the club in the UEFA Europa League group stage.

All these pairings will be based on TV audiences.

A Slavia Praha & Slovácko
B Gent & Anderlecht
C Crvena zvezda & Partizan (UECL)
D Dynamo Kyiv & Dnipro-1 (UECL)
E İstanbul Başakşehir & Sivasspor
F CFR Cluj & FCSB
H Malmö & Djurgården (UECL)
I Midtjylland & Silkeborg (UECL)
J Bodø/Glimt & Molde (UECL)
M Nantes & Nice (UECL)
N Sturm Graz & Austria Wien (UECL)
P Zürich & Basel (UECL)

What happens next?

The group stage is played on Thursdays from 8 September to 3 November on the same night as the UEFA Europa League games, kicking off at 18:45 CET and 21:00 CET.

Group winners Advance directly to the round of 16.

Group runners-up Progress to the knockout round play-offs, where they will face one of eight teams transferring from the UEFA Europa League having finished third in their groups.

What are the Europa Conference League group stage dates?

Group stage
Matchday 1: 8 September 2022
Matchday 2: 15 September 2022
Matchday 3: 6 October 2022
Matchday 4: 13 October 2022
Matchday 5: 27 October 2022
Matchday 6: 3 November 2022

Knockout phase
Knockout round play-offs: 16 & 23 February 2023
Round of 16: 9 & 16 March 2023
Quarter-finals: 13 & 20 April 2023
Semi-finals: 11 & 18 May 2023
Final: 7 June 2023