UEFA coefficient system explained and how it's calculated | OneFootball

From the 2024/25 season, the Champions League will be expanded to a 36-team league format, and as a result, two European leagues are to be rewarded with an extra place. After Manchester United and Newcastle United were eliminated from European competition, it put the Premier League's chances of earning the extra place in jeopardy. In previous seasons, the top four in the Premier League qualify for the Champions League. But the team that finishes fifth could qualify for Europe's elite competition.

There have been many who are unsure of the new format of the Champions League, and the announcement went somewhat unnoticed as it came just after the announcement of the European Super League, which caused uproar across the football world. It's something that isn't over either with Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid still involved in the project, and following a court ruling in December 2023, it was deemed both UEFA and FIFA acted unlawfully when blocking the Super League. That clears the path for the competition to get up and running. The ruling by the European Court of Justice is legally binding, and not subject to any appeal. UEFA unscrupulously announced the changes to the Champions League in the hope the initial announcement of the Super League would mask the fact that they were altering Europe's elite competition.

The extra places are determined by UEFA's coefficient rankings. These rankings are based on the results of all European clubs in UEFA competitions. Realistically, the leagues in contention for an extra Champions League position are the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, and the Bundesliga. At the time of writing, the two leagues to gain an extra spot would be the Bundesliga and Serie A. The Premier League currently sits in fourth position behind the aforementioned leagues and La Liga.

The Premier League would have gained the extra place in six out of the previous seven seasons. That is not the case during the 2023/24 season, with two English sides already knocked out of Europe completely. Countries with more points don't necessarily rank the highest as it is based on an average points system. It sounds confusing, but don't worry, we'll explain everything.

As seen from the table above, it is still all to play for about gaining the extra Champions League spot. The Premier League have their work cut out for themselves if they are to be awarded that prize. However, there's still every chance they can obtain it. Champions League holders, Manchester City and Arsenal will give the Premier League hope going forward in Europe's elite competition. While, Europa Conference League holders, West Ham United, Liverpool, and Brighton will hope to advance as far as possible in the Europa League in a bid to push the Premier League up the UEFA coefficient rankings. Aston Villa are the Premier League's sole interest in the Conference League. Should all the English sides perform well in their respective competitions, it's not beyond the realm of possibility that the Premier League could gain an extra Champions League spot, which on current league standings would go to Tottenham, who currently sit 5th in England's top flight.

How does it work?

Clubs' coefficient scores are calculated by either the sum of all points won over the previous five years or the association coefficient over the same period, whichever is higher. The scores are calculated by adding the total number of points collected in UEFA European competitions: the Champions League, Europa League and the Europa Conference League.

A club's five-season coefficient score is the combined total of the previous five campaigns' coefficient scores, or 20% of its association's five-season coefficient score, whichever is higher. This may sound confusing. However, if we take Brighton, and Aston Villa for example, who have not been in European competition over the previous five seasons, they have contributed to the Premier League coefficient score by progressing through to the next round of the Europa League and Europa Conference League respectively.

How the points are calculated

As seen from the tables above and below, the scoring system for both the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League aren't too dissimilar. This is UEFA's bid to try and make the coefficient rankings fair on all sides involved in the respective competitions. The Conference League scoring system is slightly lower in terms of points gained throughout the tournament. However, as this is a relatively new competition and the lower UEFA competition, the system is a fair one.

Every side is guaranteed a minimum of 3 points in the Europa League group stage (not added to points obtained). There are no points awarded for elimination in qualifying, as those clubs move over to the Europa Conference League and may still gain points from their involvement in that competition.

All teams are guaranteed a minimum of 2.5 points in the UEFA Conference League group stage (not added to points obtained). If a team does not qualify from the group stage, they will still be awarded 2.5 points in the UEFA coefficient rankings. For example, AEK Athens, who finished bottom of Group B will still be awarded 2.5 points. Points are not awarded for elimination in qualifying. This is because those clubs move to the Europa League and have the chance to gain points for their involvement in that competition. For example, a team could be eliminated from the Champions League Group Stage, and go into the Europa League. That team could then go on to win the competition.

The association club coefficients are calculated by the results of each association's clubs in the five previous UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League campaigns. The rankings determine the number of places allocated to an association in the following UEFA club competition. The season association club coefficient is calculated by the points collected by all its clubs in a season in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Europa Conference League.

Penalty shoot-outs do not count in the calculation of coefficient points and matches originally scheduled for two legs (home and away) but reduced to one, the calculation will be as follows: Three points will be awarded for a win (in regular or extra time). Two points for a draw (after extra time). One point for a loss (in regular or extra time).

As the table above shows, it is more beneficial for any association's teams to go deep into the respective UEFA competitions, the further the teams go the more points the associations receive. Despite all the numbers, which can be quite confusing, that is as simple as it gets. The further a specific team goes, the better the chances of an association gaining more points.

This section is up to date as of 22nd December 2023. This will be refreshed as the 2023/24 season progresses.

Despite a pretty dismal start for England's clubs in Europe with the elimination of Newcastle and Manchester United, all is not lost in the race for the extra Champions League spot. It could still go to the Premier League if the teams still involved in UEFA European competition perform well. The Premier League will hope that is the case, and they can secure that coveted prize. Italy and Germany are currently dominating the different competitions, with Spain not far behind. RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich all qualified from their respective Champions League groups, while FC Freiberg and Bayer Leverkusen advanced in the Europa League. In addition to those sides, Frankfurt advanced to the next stage of the Conference League. It's fair to say that German sides have really improved during the 2023/24 campaign and could be rewarded with the extra Champions League spot at the Premier League's expense.

The Premier League is still represented in Europe by Champions League holders, Manchester City, Arsenal, West Ham United, Brighton, Liverpool and Aston Villa. While Italy is represented on the European stage by Atalanta, Roma, AC Milan, Lazio, Inter Milan and Napoli. The likelihood of the Premier League gaining the extra Champions League place is unlikely at the time of writing, but things could change very quickly in any of the European competitions.

As seen from the tables above, wins in the Champions League are not worth more points than the Europa League or Europa Conference League. This is because the leagues with fewer teams in the Champions League would find it almost impossible to move up the coefficient rankings. UEFA have tried to make the rankings as fair as possible to ensure each side is at least on a level playing field.

Now, it's not ridiculous to think that the extra places will just go to the top two leagues. History tells us that this is the case. Only in 2021/22 did one of the countries with less than four teams in the Champions League finish in the top two of the average coefficient. That was the Eredivisie in The Netherlands.

A league will have to keep as many teams in the knockout rounds as possible. The fewer teams a league has left in each European competition will mean they are less likely to be rewarded with the additional Champions League spot. It's certainly still all to play for, and it makes for an intriguing battle at the top of UEFA's coefficient rankings.