The 2020–21 UEFA Europa League qualifying phase and play-off round began on 18 August and ended on 1 October 2020.
A total of 178 teams competed in the qualifying system of the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League, which includes the qualifying phase and the play-off round, with 35 teams in Champions Path and 143 teams in Main Path. The 21 winners in the play-off round (8 from Champions Path, 13 from Main Path) advanced to the group stage, to join the 18 teams that enter in the group stage, the 6 losers of the Champions League play-off round (4 from Champions Path, 2 from League Path), and the 3 League Path losers of the Champions League third qualifying round.
Times are CEST (UTC+2), as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).
Teams
Champions Path The Champions Path includes all league champions which are eliminated from the Champions Path qualifying phase of the Champions League, and consists of the following rounds: Second qualifying round (20 teams): 20 teams which enter in this round (3 losers of the Champions League preliminary round and 17 losers of the Champions League first qualifying round). Third qualifying round (18 teams): 8 teams which enter in this round (8 of the 10 losers of the Champions League second qualifying round), and 10 winners of the second qualifying round. Play-off round (16 teams): 7 teams which enter in this round (2 of the 10 losers of the Champions League second qualifying round and 5 losers of the Champions League third qualifying round), and 9 winners of the third qualifying round.
Below are the participating teams of the Champions Path (with their 2020 UEFA club coefficients), grouped by their starting rounds.
Key to coloursWinners of play-off round advance to group stage +Play-off roundTeam Dinamo Zagreb33.500 Ludogorets Razgrad26.000 Young Boys25.500 Red Star Belgrade22.750 Qarabağ21.000 Dynamo Brest3.775 Tirana1.475+Third qualifying roundTeam Celtic34.000 Legia Warsaw17.000 Sheriff Tiraspol12.750 CFR Cluj12.500 Sūduva6.750 Sarajevo4.750 KÍ2.750 Celje2.600+Second qualifying roundTeam Astana29.000 Dundalk8.500 Slovan Bratislava7.000 Dinamo Tbilisi4.750 Fola Esch4.750 Djurgårdens IF4.550 Linfield4.250 Budućnost Podgorica4.250 Flora4.000 Riga3.500 Connah's Quay Nomads3.250 Europa2.750 Ararat-Armenia2.500 KuPS2.500 KR2.500 Tre Fiori1.500 Drita1.500 Sileks1.475 Floriana1.150 Inter Club d'Escaldes0.566 Notes
Main Path The Main Path includes all cup winners and league non-champions which do not qualify directly for the group stage, and consists of the following rounds: Preliminary round (16 teams): 16 teams which enter in this round. First qualifying round (94 teams): 86 teams which enter in this round, and 8 winners of the preliminary round. Second qualifying round (72 teams): 25 teams which enter in this round, and 47 winners of the first qualifying round. Third qualifying round (52 teams): 16 teams which enter in this round (including 3 League Path losers of the Champions League second qualifying round), and 36 winners of the second qualifying round. Play-off round (26 teams): 26 winners of the third qualifying round.
Below are the participating teams of the Main Path (with their 2020 UEFA club coefficients), grouped by their starting rounds.
Key to coloursWinners of play-off round advance to group stage
+Third qualifying roundTeam Beşiktaş54.000 Sporting CP50.000 PSV Eindhoven37.000 Viktoria Plzeň34.000 AEK Athens16.500 LASK14.000 Rostov12.000 Rijeka11.000 Charleroi7.580 Desna Chernihiv7.220 Alanyaspor6.720 SønderjyskE5.850 Anorthosis Famagusta5.350 St. Gallen5.280 Vojvodina5.100 Lokomotiva Zagreb4.975+Second qualifying roundTeam Tottenham Hotspur85.000 Basel58.500 Copenhagen42.000 VfL Wolfsburg36.000 BATE Borisov24.000 Galatasaray23.500 Standard Liège20.500 Granada20.456 Milan19.000 Rangers16.250 Reims11.849 Rio Ave9.889 Dynamo Moscow9.109 Slovan Liberec8.000 Hajduk Split7.500 Kolos Kovalivka7.220 Willem II7.150 Jablonec7.000 Hartberg6.585 Aris5.260 OFI5.260 Osijek4.975 IFK Göteborg4.550 Viking4.350 Kaisar3.850+First qualifying roundTeam APOEL27.500 Malmö FF22.000 Partizan22.000 FCSB20.500 Maribor14.000 Hapoel Be'er Sheva14.000 Rosenborg13.500 Apollon Limassol12.500 MOL Fehérvár10.500 Shkëndija7.250 The New Saints7.000 Dinamo Minsk7.000 Lech Poznań7.000 Aberdeen6.500 Zrinjski Mostar6.250 Alashkert6.000 Kairat6.000 Žalgiris6.000 AGF5.850 Motherwell5.575 Vaduz5.500 Kukësi5.500 Servette5.280 Valletta5.250 Ventspils5.250 Olimpija Ljubljana5.250 TSC5.100 Universitatea Craiova5.000 Nõmme Kalju5.000 Shakhtyor Soligorsk4.750 Hammarby IF4.550 FH4.500 Bodø/Glimt4.350 Progrès Niederkorn4.250 Riteriai4.250 CSKA Sofia4.000 Sutjeska4.000 Honvéd4.000 Maccabi Haifa3.925 Beitar Jerusalem3.925 Ordabasy3.850 Neftçi3.750 Shamrock Rovers3.750 Keşla3.750 Sumgayit3.750 Lokomotiv Plovdiv3.475 Slavia Sofia3.475 Botoșani3.340 Piast Gliwice3.325 Cracovia3.325 FCI Levadia3.250 Hibernians3.250 DAC Dunajská Streda3.175 Ružomberok3.175 Žilina3.175 Željezničar3.000 Laçi2.750 Mura2.600 Puskás Akadémia2.575 Saburtalo Tbilisi2.000 Shkupi2.000 Petrocub Hîncești2.000 Differdange 031.600 Union Titus Pétange1.600 Kauno Žalgiris1.575 RFS1.525 Shirak1.525 Valmiera1.525 Noah1.525 Renova1.475 Teuta1.475 Borac Banja Luka1.375 Sfîntul Gheorghe1.350 Dinamo-Auto1.350 Derry City1.340 Bohemians1.340 Inter Turku1.300 Ilves1.300 Honka1.300 Breiðablik1.250 Bala Town1.250 Dinamo Batumi1.150 Sirens1.150 Locomotive Tbilisi1.150 Víkingur Reykjavík1.075 Paide Linnameeskond0.875+Preliminary roundTeam Lincoln Red Imps5.250 FC Santa Coloma4.500 B363.750 La Fiorita3.000 Tre Penne2.250 NSÍ2.250 HB2.000 Engordany2.000 St Joseph's1.750 Prishtina1.750 Zeta1.250 Coleraine1.250 Barry Town United1.000 Glentoran0.975 Iskra0.875 Gjilani0.800 Notes
Format In a change to the format as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, each tie is played as a single-legged match hosted by one of the teams decided by draw. If scores are level at the end of normal time, extra time is played, followed by a penalty shoot-out if the scores remain tied.
In each draw of the Champions Path, teams (whose identity may not be known at the time of the draws) are divided into seeded and unseeded pots, which may contain different numbers of teams, based on the following principles: In the second qualifying round draw, 17 losers of the Champions League first qualifying round are seeded, and the three losers of the Champions League preliminary round are unseeded. In the third qualifying round draw, the eight losers of the Champions League second qualifying round are seeded and the ten winners of the second qualifying round are unseeded. In the play-off round draw, the five losers of the Champions League third qualifying round are seeded; the remaining two losers of the Champions League second qualifying round and the nine winners of the third qualifying round are unseeded. In the beginning of the draws, a seeded team is drawn against an unseeded team until one of the pots is empty. Afterwards, the remaining teams from the non-empty pot are drawn against each other. For each tie, a draw is made between the two teams, and the first team drawn is the home team.
In each draw of the Main Path, teams are seeded based on their 2020 UEFA club coefficients. For any team whose club coefficients are not final at the time of a draw, their club coefficients at that time, taking into account of all 2019–20 UEFA Champions League and Europa League matches played up to that point, are used (Regulations Article 13.03). Teams are divided into seeded and unseeded pots containing the same number of teams, and a seeded team is drawn against an unseeded team. For each tie, a draw is made between the two teams, and the first team drawn is the home team. If the identity of the winners of the previous round is not known at the time of the draws, the seeding is carried out under the assumption that the team with the higher coefficient of an undecided tie advances to this round, which means if the team with the lower coefficient is to advance, it simply takes the seeding of its opponent. Teams from the same association or associations with political conflicts as decided by UEFA may not be drawn into the same tie. Prior to the draws, UEFA may form "groups" in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee and based on geographical, logistical and political reasons, and they are purely for convenience of the draw and do not resemble any real groupings in the sense of the competition.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, all qualifying matches are played behind closed doors. The following special rules are applicable to the qualifying phase and play-offs: Prior to each draw, UEFA publish the list of known travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. All teams must inform UEFA if there are other existing restrictions other than those published. If a team fails to do so which as a consequence the match cannot take place, the team is considered responsible and to have forfeited the match. If travel restrictions imposed by the home team's country prevent the away team from entering, the home team must propose an alternative venue that allows the match to take place without any restrictions. Otherwise they are considered to have forfeited the match. If travel restrictions imposed by the away team's country prevent the away team from leaving or returning, the home team must propose an alternative venue that allows the match to take place without any restrictions. Otherwise UEFA decide on a venue. If after the draw, new restrictions imposed by either the home team's or away team's country prevent the match from taking place, the team of that country are considered to have forfeited the match. If either team refuses to play the match, they are considered to have forfeited the match. If both teams refuse to play or are responsible for a match not taking place, both teams are disqualified. If a team has players and/or officials tested positive for SARS-2 coronavirus preventing them from playing the match before the deadline set by UEFA, they are considered to have forfeited the match. In all cases, the two teams may agree to play the match at the away team's country or at a neutral country, subject to UEFA's approval. UEFA has the final authority to decide on a venue for any match, or to reschedule any match if necessary. If, for any reason, the qualifying phase and play-offs cannot be completed before the deadline set by UEFA, UEFA decide on the principles for determining the teams qualified for the group stage. Four countries (Poland, Hungary, Greece and Cyprus) have provided neutral venue hubs which allow matches to be played at their stadiums without restrictions.
Schedule The schedule of the competition was as follows (all draws were held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland). The tournament would originally have started in June 2020, but had been delayed to August due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe. The new schedule was announced by the UEFA Executive Committee on 17 June 2020.
RoundDraw dateMatch datePreliminary round9 August 202020 August 2020First qualifying round10 August 202027 August 2020Second qualifying round31 August 202017 September 2020Third qualifying round1 September 202024 September 2020Play-off round18 September 20201 October 2020
The original schedule of the competition, as planned before the pandemic, was as follows (all draws held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).
+RoundDraw dateFirst legSecond legPreliminary round9 June 202025 June 20202 July 2020First qualifying round16 June 20209 July 202016 July 2020Second qualifying round17 June 202023 July 202030 July 2020Third qualifying round20 July 20206 August 202013 August 2020Play-off round3 August 202020 August 202027 August 2020
Preliminary round
The draw for the preliminary round was held on 9 August 2020, 13:00 CEST.
Seeding