The2025–26 UEFA Conference League league phase began on 2 October and will end on 18 December 2025. A total of 36 teams are competing in the league phase to decide the 24 places in theknockout phase of the2025–26 UEFA Conference League.
A total of 29 national associations are represented in the league phase. Poland is the first country to have four clubs play in the Conference League group stage/league phase, and it is also the first time in history that four Polish clubs compete in any edition of a UEFA competition group stage or league phase.
Each team will play six matches, three at home and three away, against six different opponents, with all 36 teams ranked in a single league table (known as theSwiss system). Teams were separated into six pots based on their2025 UEFA club coefficients, and each team will play one team from each of the six pots. The top eight teams in the standings will receive abye to the round of 16. The teams ranked from 9th to 24th will contest the knockout phase play-offs, with the teams ranked from 9th to 16th seeded for the draw. Teams ranked from 25th to 36th are eliminated from European competition.
Teams will be ranked according topoints (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If two or more teams are equal on points upon completion of the league phase, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine their rankings:[2]
While the league phase is in progress, teams are ranked according to criteria 1–5 only, and if still tied, are given equal ranking and sorted alphabetically. Criteria 6–10 are only used after the final matches have taken place.
Goal difference;
Goals scored;
Away goals scored;
Wins;
Away wins;
Higher number of points obtained collectively by league phase opponents;
Superior collective goal difference of league phase opponents;
Higher number of goals scored collectively by league phase opponents;
Lower disciplinary points total (direct red card or expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point);
The 36 teams were divided into six pots of six teams each, with teams allocated to pots based on their 2025UEFA club coefficients.[3][4] The participants include:
The draw for the league phase pairings was held at theGrimaldi Forum inMonaco on 29 August 2025, 13:00CEST, along with the draw for theEuropa League league phase.[5] The automated draw software instantly conducted the full digital draw at random, determining the home and away matches for all clubs. Each team will face one opponent from each of the six pots, three of which they will face at home and three away. For the purposes of determining match venues, adjacent pots were paired (Pot 1 with 2, 3 with 4, and 5 with 6) so that, for each pot pairing, teams would face one opponent at home and one away. Teams could not face opponents from their own association, and could only be drawn against a maximum of two sides from the same association. For political reasons, clubs fromGibraltar–Spain andKosovo–Bosnia and Herzegovina could not be drawn against each other. The draw results were then revealed pot-by-pot, starting with Pot 1, with the intention of "maintaining suspense and clarity for viewers". This is a change of format from the previous season, where teams were individually drawn before their opponents were digitally determined.[6][7]
The venue for each club's fixtures is shown in brackets below (H: home; A: away).
The fixture list was announced on 30 August 2025, the day after the draw.[10][11][12] This was to ensure no calendar clashes with teams in theChampions League andEuropa League playing in the same cities.
In principle, each team will not play more than two home matches or two away matches in a row, and will play one home match and one away match across both the first and last two matchdays. The matches will be played on 2 October, 23 October, 6 November, 27 November, 11 December and 18 December 2025 (exclusive week).[note 1] All matches will generally be played on Thursdays. In principle, the scheduled kick-off times are 16:30, 18:45 and 21:00 CET/CEST. All fixtures on the final matchday will be played simultaneously at 21:00.[13][2]
Times areCET orCEST,[note 2] as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).
^As part of the scheduling for the 2025–26 UEFA men's club season, each competition has an "exclusive week" in the calendar, with no other competitions scheduled during this week. For the Conference League, this will take place on matchday 6 (18 December 2025).
^CEST (UTC+2) for dates up to 25 October 2025 (matchdays 1–2), andCET (UTC+1) for dates thereafter (matchdays 3–6).
^abcdefDue to theRussian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian teams are required to play their home matches at neutral venues until further notice.[14] Therefore, Dynamo Kyiv will play their home matches at Arena Lublin, Lublin, Poland, instead of their regular stadium,Olympic Stadium,Kyiv, while Shakhtar Donetsk will play their home matches at Henryk Reyman Municipal Stadium, Kraków, Poland, instead of their regular stadium,Donbas Arena,Donetsk.
^abcNoah will play their home matches at Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium, Yerevan, instead of their regular stadium,Armavir City Stadium,Armavir, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
^abcKuPS will play their home matches at Tammelan Stadion, Tampere, instead of their regular stadium,Kuopio Football Stadium,Kuopio, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
^abcRaków Częstochowa will play their home matches at Zagłębie Sports Park, Sosnowiec, instead of their regular stadium,Miejski Stadion Piłkarski Raków,Częstochowa, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
^abcShelbourne will play their home matches at Tallaght Stadium, Dublin, instead of their regular stadium,Tolka Park, Dublin, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
^abcBK Häcken will play their home matches at Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg, instead of their regular stadium,Bravida Arena, Gothenburg, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
^abcBreiðablik will play their home matches at Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, instead of their regular stadium,Kópavogsvöllur,Kópavogur, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
^abcDrita will play their home matches at Fadil Vokrri Stadium, Pristina, instead of their regular stadium,Gjilan City Stadium,Gjilan, due to renovation works.[59]
^The Rijeka v Sparta Prague match was abandoned at half-time due to adverse weather conditions. The match resumed on 24 October 2025, 16:00, from the point of abandonment.
^abcShkëndija will play their home matches at Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje, instead of their regular stadium,Ecolog Arena,Tetovo, due to renovation works.[64]
^The AZ v Slovan Bratislava match, originally scheduled for 21:00, was moved forward to 18:45 due to adverse weather conditions.[71]
^abcHamrun Spartans will play their home matches at National Stadium, Ta' Qali, instead of their regular stadium,Victor Tedesco Stadium,Hamrun, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
^abcLincoln Red Imps will play their home matches at Europa Sports Park, instead of their regular stadium,Victoria Stadium inGibraltar, due to renovation works.[80]
Samsunspor
Celje
Mainz 05
AEK Larnaca
Lausanne-Sport
Rayo Vallecano
Strasbourg
Fiorentina
Crystal Palace
Shakhtar Donetsk
KuPS
Raków Częstochowa
Drita
AEK Athens
Sparta Prague
Noah
Rijeka
Universitatea Craiova
Shkëndija
Lincoln Red Imps
Zrinjski Mostar
AZ
BK Häcken
Shelbourne
Breiðablik
Aberdeen
Slovan Bratislava
Hamrun Spartans
Rapid Wien