Headline: Draw for 2026-27 Conference League Scheduled for August 28 in Monaco
The draw for the league phase of the 2026-27 Conference League is set to occur on Friday, August 28, at 12:00 BST in Monaco. This event will take place alongside the Europa League draw, with the Conference League expected to follow as the second of the two draws.
Similar to the Champions League and Europa League, the Conference League will feature 36 clubs. However, unlike its counterparts, each team will compete in six league phase matches rather than eight.
During the draw, the 36 participating teams will be organized into six pots, with pot one containing the highest-ranked teams and pot six comprising the lowest. Pot placements will rely on the UEFA club coefficient rankings accumulated over the five seasons concluding with the end of the 2025-26 season.
Each team will face one club from each of the six pots but cannot compete against another team from the same country. The top eight teams will progress to the last 16 of the Conference League, while those finishing between ninth and 24th place will enter the play-off knockout round. Teams ranked from 25th to 36th will exit the competition once the league phase is complete.
Who is in each pot?
Atalanta, Braga, Ajax, Freiburg, Monaco, and Copenhagen represent a strong top pot, filled with clubs ranked among the top 50 in Europe. Brighton and Hove Albion, the sole representative from England, earned the last spot in pot two, joining Midtjylland, Red Star Belgrade, Gent, Panathinaikos, and Pafos.
Getafe from La Liga is among the teams in pot three, alongside Lugano, KuPS, Twente, Lincoln Red Imps, and Borac Banja Luka. Scottish club Heart of Midlothian is the British interest in pot four, which also includes Sint-Truiden, Brann, Kairat, Trabzonspor, and Universitatea Craiova.
In pot five, Jablonec, who qualified after defeating Rangers on penalties, will face Riga, Hadjuk Split, Nordsjaelland, AGF, and Inter d’Escaldes. Lastly, pot six features Thun and CSKA Sofia, along with four clubs making their full debut in European competitions: Kauno Zalgiris, Mjallby AIF, Iberia 1999, and Egnatia.
Which teams are in this season’s Conference League?
Pot one
**Pot two**
**Pot three**
**Pot four**
**Pot five**
**Pot six**
The league phase draw for the 2026-27 Conference League takes place on Friday, 28 August at 12:00 BST in Monaco.
The draw will take place in a joint event alongside the Europa League, with the Conference League expected to take place as the second of the two draws.
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As with both the Champions League and Europa League, the Conference League will consist of 36 clubs.
Unlike the other two competitions, each team will play six league phase matches instead of eight.
For the draw, the 36 teams will be placed into six pots, with pot one being the highest-ranked and six being the lowest. The pot placements are based on the club’s Uefa club coefficient ranking from the five-season period ending at the conclusion of the 2025-26 season.
Each team will face one team from each of the six pots and cannot face a team from the same country as themselves.
The teams who finish in the top eight places will qualify for the Conference League’s last 16. Those between ninth and 24th place will enter the play-off knockout round. The 12 teams ranked between 25th and 36th place will exit the competition when the league phase is concluded.
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Who is in each pot?
Atalanta, Braga, Ajax, Freiburg, Monaco and Copenhagen form a strong top pot which is full of teams inside Europe’s 50 highest ranked clubs.
Brighton and Hove Albion, England’s sole representative in the Conference League, earned the final spot in two. They are joined by Midtjylland, Red Star Belgrade, Gent Panathinaikos and Pafos.
La Liga side Getafe are among the six teams in pot three. They are joined by Lugano, KuPS, Twente, Lincoln Red Imps and Borac Banja Luka.
Scottish side Heart of Midlothian are the British interest in pot four. Sint-Truiden, Brann, Kairat, Trabzonspor and Universitatea Craiova complete that pot.
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Jablonec, who beat Rangers on penalties to qualify, feature in pot five. Riga, Hadjuk Split, Nordsjaelland, AGF and Inter d’Escaldes are alongside them.
In pot six, Thun and CSKA Sofia are joined by four clubs who will be making their full debut in a European club competition, Kauno Zalgiris, Mjallby AIF, Iberia 1999 and Egnatia make up pot six.
Which teams are in this season’s Conference League?
Pot one
Pot two
Pot three
Pot four
Pot five
Pot six
This article is the latest from BBC Sport’s Ask Me Anything team.
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