Drawn pairings of the 1st qualifying round of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League in the 2026/27 season has received its first qualifying pairings. According to UEFA's official announcement, the draw for the first qualifying round was held on Tuesday, 16 June 2026, and 12 clubs took part in it, divided into six seeded and six unseeded teams. Six ties were drawn to open the main qualifying path of the competition, and the winners will secure a place in the second qualifying round. The first legs are scheduled for 9 July 2026, while the return legs are set for 16 July 2026. This is the first step in the qualifying part of the competition that leads toward the league phase of the Europa League, but also an important safety point for the clubs because defeat in that round does not mean the end of the European season.
Six ties at the start of the qualifying path
The official draw produced pairings from different parts of European club football, from clubs with long continental experience to teams entering this phase with the ambition of making a step forward in UEFA competitions. UEFA announced the following first qualifying round pairings:
- FC Dynamo Kyiv (Ukraine) – FC Universitatea Cluj (Romania)
- Qarabağ FK (Azerbaijan) – Vestri (Iceland)
- HNK Hajduk Split (Croatia) – MŠK Žilina (Slovakia)
- PFC CSKA Sofia (Bulgaria) – Derry City FC (Ireland)
- FC Sheriff Tiraspol (Moldova) – NK Aluminij (Slovenia)
- FK Vojvodina (Serbia) – Ferencvárosi TC (Hungary)
The order of home advantage in the first match was determined by the draw, while the final fixture schedule and any administrative adjustments are confirmed according to UEFA procedures. In practice, this means that after the draw the clubs coordinate stadium, security, television and travel obligations before the final confirmation of the dates. Competitively, the rules are clear: each tie is played over two matches, at home and away, and the team that has the better aggregate score after both matches progresses. According to UEFA's regulations for the 2026/27 season, if the aggregate score after two matches is level, the rules of the knockout system apply, which include extra time and, if necessary, a penalty shoot-out.
Dates that determine the rhythm of the start of the season
The first qualifying round of the Europa League comes very early in the summer schedule and therefore represents a demanding start to the season for the clubs taking part in it. UEFA stated in the competition calendar that Europa League qualifying begins on 9 July 2026, and the return legs of the first qualifying round follow a week later, on 16 July. The winners will continue without a longer break toward the second qualifying round, whose matches are scheduled for 23 and 30 July. The third qualifying round is expected to be played on 6 and 13 August, while the play-off matches are planned for 20 and 27 August.
Such a schedule leaves very little room for errors in preparations, especially for clubs that start the season after a short summer break or after the competitive rhythm of domestic leagues that are played according to a different calendar. Alongside the sporting part, early qualifying dates also mean the rapid organization of international travel, player registration for UEFA lists, stadium confirmation and the adjustment of domestic schedules. For clubs from the first qualifying round, the financial aspect is also important, because each additional round brings a greater number of international matches, greater visibility and better chances of entering the final stages of qualifying. Nevertheless, UEFA's system simultaneously increases competitive pressure because progression is decided in just two matches, often before teams reach full form.
What progression brings, and what defeat brings
The winners of the six first qualifying round ties enter the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League. This is a direct continuation of the main qualifying path, in which the winners are joined by clubs and pairings that entered the competition at a later stage according to UEFA's access list. According to UEFA's explanation of the format, 12 clubs enter the league phase of the Europa League through qualifying and the play-off, while the remaining part of the total of 36 participants in the league phase is filled by clubs that qualify directly, the titleholder spot for the Conference League winner and teams transferring from the Champions League.
For those defeated in the first qualifying round, the European path does not end immediately. According to UEFA's system of transfers between competitions, clubs that are eliminated from this phase continue the season in the UEFA Conference League qualifying, in the main path of the second qualifying round. This rule gives additional weight to the first qualifying round of the Europa League: victory keeps the team in UEFA's second-strongest club competition, while defeat redirects ambitions toward the third European competition. For clubs, the draw is therefore important not only because of the opponent in the first two July weeks, but also because of the broader European plan that can last until the end of August.
The potential opponents in the second qualifying round are also known
As the draw for the second qualifying round of the Europa League was also held on 17 June 2026, the winners of the first six pairings already know their next obstacle. UEFA announced that 18 clubs or pairings took part in the second qualifying round draw, namely nine seeded and nine unseeded teams. The first legs of the second qualifying round are scheduled for 23 July, and the return legs for 30 July 2026. The qualifying path has thereby received a clearer framework, although the names of some participants will only be known after the completion of the first qualifying round.
According to UEFA's official announcement, the winner of the Qarabağ – Vestri tie will play against the winner of the CSKA Sofia – Derry City pairing. The winner of the Vojvodina – Ferencvárosi TC tie goes to FC Twente, while the better side from the Hajduk Split – Žilina meeting will play against Cyprus's Pafos FC. The winner of the Sheriff Tiraspol – Aluminij pairing awaits Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC, and the better side from the Dynamo Kyiv – Universitatea Cluj tie will play against PAOK FC. In the same draw, the ties Hammarby IF – RSC Anderlecht, Tromsø IL – FC Viktoria Plzeň, Beşiktaş JK – FC Midtjylland and FC St. Gallen 1879 – SL Benfica were also determined.
These pairings further emphasize the difference between the first and second qualifying rounds. Clubs with higher coefficients and greater international recognition enter in the second round, so the winners of the first qualifying round can generally expect a more demanding challenge. For coaching staffs, this means that preparation must be conducted in two directions: first toward the immediate opponent from the first qualifying round, and then toward the potential opponent in the second qualifying round. Such a schedule in qualifying often influences transfer window planning, player rotation and the choice of priorities in the first official matches of the season.
The Europa League in the third season of the new format
UEFA states that the 2026/27 season is the 56th edition overall of this European club competition, and the 18th since the competition has been played under the name UEFA Europa League instead of the UEFA Cup. It is also the third season after the introduction of the new format of European club competitions, in which the classic group stage was replaced by a league phase with 36 clubs. According to UEFA's calendar, the league phase of the Europa League begins on 16 and 17 September 2026, and the eighth round of that phase is scheduled for 28 January 2027. After that come the knockout play-offs, the round of 16, the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and the final.
The final of the 2026/27 season is planned for 26 May 2027 in Frankfurt, at the stadium that UEFA listed as the host of the final match. The Europa League winner, according to UEFA rules, earns the right to play in the league phase of the 2027/28 Champions League if it has not already achieved that through domestic competition, and also receives the opportunity to appear in the UEFA Super Cup against the Champions League winner. For that reason, qualifying, although played far from the latter stages of the competition, has direct sporting and economic significance. A club that successfully passes the summer rounds can reach the league phase, and with that a schedule of eight matches against different opponents in international competition.
Coefficients, seeded teams and the access list
In qualifying for UEFA club competitions, the coefficients of clubs and national associations play an important role. In the access lists, UEFA tracks who enters which competition, in which round they begin their participation and how the seeding groups are formed. For the first qualifying round of the 2026/27 Europa League, it was officially stated that there were six seeded and six unseeded teams in the draw, which determined the framework of possible pairings before the draw itself. Coefficients do not decide the outcome of matches, but they influence the structure of the draw and can significantly shape the difficulty of the qualifying path.
The access list is especially important in a season in which the qualifiers of the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League take place in parallel. UEFA's system provides for the transfer of some clubs between competitions depending on the results in earlier rounds, so the composition of individual phases changes from week to week. This is the reason why draws for the second and third qualifying rounds often list not only the names of clubs, but also the winners of previous pairings. Such practice makes it possible for the qualifying schedule to be arranged in advance before all matches of the previous round have been played.
The most important information for the first qualifying round
- The draw for the first qualifying round of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League was held on 16 June 2026.
- 12 clubs took part in the draw: six seeded and six unseeded teams.
- Six pairings were drawn, and the ties are played over two matches.
- The first legs are scheduled for 9 July, and the return legs for 16 July 2026.
- The winners progress to the second qualifying round of the Europa League, whose dates are 23 and 30 July 2026.
- The defeated teams continue the competition in the UEFA Conference League qualifying.
The first qualifying round matches thereby become the starting point of the summer European cycle in which clubs fight to remain in the competition with greater sporting and financial reach. The draw simultaneously opened a series of mutually different ties, from meetings of clubs with rich experience in UEFA competitions to pairings in which form at the very start of the season will play an important role. Although progression is formally decided only on 16 July, the announced second qualifying round pairings already give a clear picture of how quickly the qualifying path can become sharper. The first official challenge for all 12 clubs remains the same: to secure the continuation of the competition in the Europa League over two matches.
Sources:
- UEFA – official announcement of the draw for the first qualifying round of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League and the list of all pairings (link)
- UEFA – official announcement of the draw for the second qualifying round of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League and the potential opponents of the first qualifying round winners (link)
- UEFA – overview of the format, key dates, league phase and final of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League (link)
- UEFA Documents – regulations of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League, article on the match system in qualifying and the play-offs (link)
- UEFA – access lists and explanation of qualifying paths in UEFA men's club competitions for the 2026/27 season (link)