The UEFA Conference League uses different draw systems depending on the stage of the competition. During qualifying, clubs are generally divided into seeded and unseeded teams according to UEFA club coefficients.
For the league phase, the 36 clubs are divided into six pots of six, and every team receives one opponent from each pot. Once the league phase ends, the draw changes again. Club coefficients and the original pots stop determining the knockout route.
Instead, the final 36-team league ranking creates the knockout bracket. In this guide, I will explain how the Conference League draw works from qualifying through to the knockout phase.
Read Also: How Does the Conference League League Phase Work?
How Many Different Draws Are There in the Conference League?
The competition has draws for three main stages:
Qualifying rounds and play-offs
League phase
Knockout phase
The rules are different at each stage. During qualifying, club coefficients determine seeded and unseeded teams. During the league phase, coefficients divide the clubs into six pots. During the knockout phase, final league position becomes the key factor.
How Does the Conference League Qualifying Draw Work?
UEFA generally divides the participating clubs in a qualifying draw into an equal number of:
seeded teams
unseeded teams
The seeded clubs are determined according to the UEFA club coefficient rankings established at the beginning of the season.
A seeded club is then drawn against an unseeded club within the applicable qualifying route and draw group. The draw also determines which club plays the first leg at home.
Are the Main Path and Champions Path Drawn Together?
No. Where the Conference League qualifying round contains both a Main Path and a Champions Path, those routes remain separate. Main Path clubs are drawn within the Main Path.
Champions Path clubs are drawn within the Champions Path. They do not cross between those routes during qualifying. Both paths eventually produce teams for the same league phase. I explain their progression in How Do the Conference League Qualifying Rounds Work?
What Determines Whether a Team Is Seeded in Qualifying?
The main measure is the UEFA club coefficient. A club with a higher coefficient can receive seeded status, while teams with lower coefficients may be placed among the unseeded clubs. Being seeded does not guarantee an easier tie or qualification. It simply changes the pool of clubs the team can be drawn against.
Can Two Seeded Teams Be Drawn Together in Qualifying?
Normally, no. UEFA creates the draw so that a seeded club is paired with an unseeded club. This keeps the highest-ranked teams in that particular qualifying draw from being paired with each other.
However, the coefficient is based on previous European results and does not guarantee that the seeded team is stronger at the time of the match.
Read Also: How Do Teams Qualify for the UEFA Conference League?
Can Clubs From the Same Country Meet in Conference League Qualifying?
No. Clubs from the same national association cannot be drawn against each other during the qualifying phase or play-offs. For example, if two clubs from the same country are involved in the same qualifying round, UEFA's draw procedure keeps them apart. That restriction changes later in the competition.
Can UEFA Divide Qualifying Teams Into Smaller Draw Groups?
Yes. UEFA can create smaller groups before conducting a qualifying draw. This is often necessary when a round contains a large number of teams. The groups are created according to UEFA's draw principles while maintaining the applicable seeded and unseeded structure.
A club is therefore drawn from the opponents available within its assigned draw group rather than necessarily from every unseeded team in the entire round.
What Happens If a Previous Qualifying Tie Has Not Been Completed?
UEFA sometimes draws the next round before all the teams in the previous round are known. In that situation, the draw can contain an unresolved pairing rather than a confirmed club.
For a place that will be taken by the winner of an unresolved tie, UEFA uses the higher coefficient of the two clubs involved for draw purposes. This allows UEFA to establish the next round's seeding before the previous round is finished.
Why Does UEFA Use the Higher Coefficient for an Unresolved Winner?
Imagine Club A has a coefficient of 30 and Club B has a coefficient of 8. Their tie has not yet been decided when UEFA conducts the following round's draw.
Because either club could advance, UEFA treats the unresolved winner as having the higher coefficient of 30 when determining the next draw.
If Club B eventually wins the tie, it takes the position that was already drawn. Club B's own coefficient has not changed. The higher figure was used only to organise the unresolved draw position.
What About a Club Dropping From Another UEFA Competition?
There is a different rule when an unresolved tie determines which club will transfer into the Conference League from another UEFA competition. For that incoming position, UEFA uses the lower coefficient of the two clubs involved in the unresolved pairing.
So there is an important distinction:
unresolved winner continuing in the competition: higher coefficient
unresolved club transferring in after elimination from another competition: lower coefficient
This is relevant because Champions League and Europa League qualifying can feed clubs into Conference League qualifying.
Does the Qualifying Draw Decide Who Hosts the First Leg?
Yes. The draw determines both:
the two clubs in the tie
which club hosts the first match
The other team then normally hosts the second leg. This should not be confused with later knockout seeding, where certain seeded clubs normally receive the second leg at home.
How Does the Conference League League-Phase Draw Work?
The league-phase draw is completely different from qualifying. The 36 clubs are divided into six pots of six according to their UEFA club coefficients. Each club is then assigned:
one opponent from Pot 1
one opponent from Pot 2
one opponent from Pot 3
one opponent from Pot 4
one opponent from Pot 5
one opponent from Pot 6
That creates six different opponents for every club.
Can a Club Draw a Team From Its Own Pot?
Yes. This is one of the biggest differences from the old group-stage format. Because every club gets one opponent from each pot, a team must also play an opponent from its own pot. For example, a Pot 3 team plays:
one Pot 1 team
one Pot 2 team
one Pot 3 team
one Pot 4 team
one Pot 5 team
one Pot 6 team
Pot placement no longer prevents same-pot fixtures.
How Are Home and Away Matches Decided?
UEFA pairs the six pots:
Pots 1 and 2
Pots 3 and 4
Pots 5 and 6
Within each pair, the club receives one opponent at home and one away. For example, a team could play:
Pot 1 opponent at home
Pot 2 opponent away
Pot 3 opponent away
Pot 4 opponent at home
Pot 5 opponent at home
Pot 6 opponent away
That produces exactly:
three home matches
three away matches
The home-and-away allocation is determined as part of the draw.
Is the Conference League League-Phase Draw Digital?
For 2026/27, yes. UEFA conducted the league-phase draw fully digitally using designated automated software.
The software selected each team's six opponents and determined whether each fixture would be played at home or away. The complete digital draw process was reviewed and checked by an appointed external auditor.
Why Does UEFA Use Software for the Draw?
The league-phase draw has to satisfy several conditions simultaneously. For every club, the system must produce:
one opponent from each of six pots
three home fixtures
three away fixtures
no same-association opponent in principle
no more than two opponents from another single association
a complete valid set of fixtures for all 36 teams
Trying to complete all of those combinations through a traditional manual draw would be considerably more complicated. The software allows UEFA to generate a valid combination while respecting the draw conditions.
How Did the 2026/27 Digital Draw Proceed?
For the 2026/27 draw, the software began with clubs in Pot 1. A club was selected, and the system randomly determined its six opponents, one from each pot, together with the home or away status of each match. The process continued through the remaining Pot 1 clubs.
UEFA then moved through:
Pot 2
Pot 3
Pot 4
Pot 5
Pot 6
The software took previously determined fixtures into account as it completed the rest of the draw. The opponents were revealed pot by pot.
When Was the 2026/27 Conference League League-Phase Draw?
The draw took place on 28 August 2026 at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. Thirty-six clubs were involved. The completed draw created 108 league-phase fixtures, with 18 matches on each of the six matchdays.
Are Clubs From the Same Association Kept Apart in the League-Phase Draw?
In principle, yes. A club cannot normally be drawn against another club from its own national association during the league phase. For example, two Danish clubs would normally be prevented from facing each other at this stage. This restriction no longer applies in the same way during the knockout phase.
How Many Opponents From the Same Foreign Association Can a Club Draw?
A club can normally face a maximum of two opponents from any one other association. For example, a team could potentially face two clubs from Belgium. It would not normally be given three Belgian opponents among its six league-phase fixtures. This helps provide greater variety across each club's schedule.
Were There Any Additional Association Restrictions in 2026/27?
Yes. For the 2026/27 league-phase draw, UEFA specified that clubs from Gibraltar and Spain could not be drawn against each other.
This was an additional condition arising from UEFA Executive Committee decisions. UEFA's regulations allow the administration to adapt draw conditions when relevant constraints need to be taken into account.
Can the Same Fixture Keep Appearing Every Season?
UEFA introduced an additional condition for the 2026/27 draw. The same fixture cannot be repeated with the same home team for three consecutive league-phase seasons. Imagine Club A hosts Club B in two consecutive Conference League league phases.
If both clubs appear again the following season, Club A cannot be drawn to host Club B for a third straight league phase. The teams could still potentially meet with Club B hosting.
What Happens If the Normal Draw Conditions Create a Deadlock?
UEFA can adapt the conditions. The regulations specifically allow UEFA to change draw conditions where necessary to:
avoid a deadlock
account for relevant competition constraints
implement decisions taken by the UEFA Executive Committee
The objective is to produce a complete valid draw for all 36 teams.
Does the League-Phase Draw Decide the Exact Matchday?
No. The draw establishes:
each club's six opponents
which matches are at home
which matches are away
UEFA then creates the detailed match calendar. That later scheduling process determines the exact matchday and kick-off time for each fixture. So knowing the six opponents after the draw does not necessarily mean knowing the order in which they will be played.
Are Pots Based on Domestic League Position?
No. The six league-phase pots are based on UEFA club coefficients, not domestic league finishing positions. Domestic results help a club qualify for European competition.
Once the league-phase participants are known, the coefficient ranking determines the pots. I explain this distinction in more detail in How Do Conference League Pots and Seeding Work?
Do the Six Pots Affect the League Table After the Draw?
No. Once the matches begin, the pots no longer affect how points are awarded. Every win is worth three points. Every draw is worth one. A win against a Pot 1 club does not earn more points than a win against a Pot 6 club. The pots exist to structure the draw.
What Happens to the Draw System After the League Phase?
The system changes again. The original six pots stop mattering. Instead, the final league-phase positions determine where the top 24 clubs enter the knockout bracket. Teams finishing:
1st to 8th go directly to the round of 16
9th to 24th enter the knockout phase play-offs
25th to 36th are eliminated
The knockout draw is therefore based on current-season league performance rather than historical club coefficient.
How Does the Knockout Phase Play-Off Draw Work?
The 16 clubs finishing ninth to 24th are paired according to their league positions. The seeded pairs are:
9th and 10th
11th and 12th
13th and 14th
15th and 16th
The unseeded pairs are:
17th and 18th
19th and 20th
21st and 22nd
23rd and 24th
The possible pairings are:
9th or 10th vs 23rd or 24th
11th or 12th vs 21st or 22nd
13th or 14th vs 19th or 20th
15th or 16th vs 17th or 18th
The draw determines the exact pairing within those position groups.
Who Hosts the Second Leg of the Knockout Phase Play-Off?
In principle, the seeded teams ranked 9th to 16th host the second leg. This is another way league-phase position affects the knockout competition. The draw therefore does not start every surviving club from an equal position.
How Does the Round-of-16 Draw Work?
The top eight are grouped according to their final positions:
1st and 2nd
3rd and 4th
5th and 6th
7th and 8th
Those paired clubs are drawn into predetermined sections of the bracket against the relevant knockout phase play-off winners. The top-eight clubs normally host the second leg of the round of 16. The draw is therefore position-based rather than completely open.
Are the Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals Redrawn From Scratch?
No. The later routes are built into UEFA's knockout bracket. League position continues to affect second-leg seeding:
bracket positions originating from 1st to 4th receive second-leg home seeding in the quarter-finals
bracket positions originating from 1st and 2nd also receive second-leg home seeding in the semi-finals
If a seeded team is eliminated, the club that eliminates it inherits that bracket position. I will cover this in detail in How Does the Conference League Knockout Draw Work?
Can Clubs From the Same Country Meet in the Knockout Phase?
Yes. The same-association protection used during qualifying and the league-phase draw does not prevent domestic matchups in the knockout phase. Teams that already faced each other during the league phase can also meet again. At that stage, the league-position-based bracket determines the possible matchups.
Does Club Coefficient Matter in the Knockout Draw?
No. Once the league phase is completed, the club coefficient and original pot no longer determine knockout seeding. The important factor is final league-phase position.
For example, a Pot 6 team finishing fourth receives the knockout position associated with fourth place. A Pot 1 team finishing 19th enters the play-offs as an unseeded club.
Common Conference League Draw Misunderstandings
Qualifying and league-phase draws do not use the same system.
Qualifying uses seeded and unseeded clubs based largely on UEFA club coefficients.
The Main Path and Champions Path remain separate during qualifying.
Clubs from the same association cannot be drawn together during qualifying.
The qualifying draw determines which team hosts the first leg.
The league phase has six pots of six clubs, not four pots.
Every club receives one opponent from each pot, including its own pot.
The 2026/27 league-phase draw was fully digital.
The draw determines home and away opponents but not the exact matchday schedule.
A club normally cannot face more than two opponents from another single association.
The six original pots do not determine the knockout bracket.
Knockout seeding comes from final league-phase position.
Conference League Draw at a Glance
During qualifying, UEFA uses club coefficients to divide teams into seeded and unseeded groups. The qualifying draw determines the tie and which club hosts the first leg. For the league phase, the 36 clubs are divided into six pots of six.
Every team receives one opponent from every pot. The pots are paired as 1–2, 3–4 and 5–6 to produce three home and three away fixtures. For 2026/27, this process was conducted fully digitally using UEFA's automated draw software.
Once the six-match league phase is complete, the pots stop mattering. Final table position creates the knockout bracket, including play-off seeding and the possible round-of-16 routes.
Final Thoughts
The Conference League does not use one draw system from beginning to end. During qualifying, club coefficients create seeded and unseeded teams. For the league phase, those coefficients divide the 36 clubs into six pots, but every team still faces one opponent from every pot.
The digital draw then determines six opponents and a three-home, three-away schedule. After Matchday 6, the logic changes completely. Historical coefficient and pot placement give way to the final league table.
For me, the easiest way to remember the system is: coefficients organise the qualifying and league-phase draws, while league-phase results organise the knockout draw.