What Is the Europa League Qualification and How Do English Clubs Qualify?

Complete guide to the Europa League covering what it is, how English clubs qualify, the format of the competition and how it differs from the Champions League. Timely as European competition reaches the knockout stages in April. Captures a different search audience to the existing Champions League qualification article.

The Europa League sits below the Champions League in the UEFA competition pyramid but it's no consolation prize. Thirty-six clubs from across Europe compete for a trophy that carries genuine prestige and, crucially, a guaranteed spot in the following season's Champions League for whoever wins it. Here's how it works, how English clubs get in, and what happens once they do.

How do English clubs qualify for the Europa League?

English clubs can earn Europa League qualification through three routes, all decided by the end of the Premier League season.

The most straightforward is through the league. The Premier League allocates Europa League places to clubs that finish below the Champions League qualifying positions but high enough to earn a UEFA place. The exact cut-off can shift slightly depending on how many English clubs are in European competition that season and how the cup competitions play out, but finishing fifth or sixth in the Premier League will typically get a club into the competition.

The FA Cup winner earns automatic Europa League qualifying entry. If the cup winner has already qualified for the Champions League through their league position, that spot passes down to the next highest eligible Premier League finisher. The same applies to the EFL Cup winner, though that route more typically feeds into the Conference League.

The Europa League format and how it differs from the Champions League

Since 2024/25 the Europa League has used a new league phase format, replacing the old group stage system. Thirty-six participating teams each play eight matches against eight different opponents, four at home and four away. All sides compete in one single table rather than separate groups.

At the end of the league phase, the top eight ranked teams go straight through to the round of 16. The round teams finishing between ninth and 24th enter a knockout play-off round to compete for the remaining places in the last 16. The clubs finishing 25th to 36th are eliminated from European competition entirely.

From the round of 16 onwards it's a straight knockout tournament. Ties are played over two legs on a home and away basis, with first legs and second legs spread across two weeks, until the one-match final at a neutral venue.

That structure mirrors the UEFA Champions League, which also uses a league phase format, but the Champions League involves 36 clubs at a higher level of competition and carries significantly more prize money and prestige. 

Winning the Europa League earns automatic entry into the following season's Champions League league phase. That has become one of the most significant rewards attached to the competition and has raised its profile considerably.

The qualifying rounds for clubs entering earlier

Not every club walks straight into the league phase. Clubs from smaller nations have to earn their place through a series of qualifying rounds that run through July and August before the main competition begins.

Second qualifying round

The second qualifying round is the earliest point most clubs enter. Ties are played over two legs, home and away, with the aggregate winner going through to the third qualifying round.

Third qualifying round

This is where the paths split. The champions path is for clubs that have come through Champions League qualifying. The main path is for everyone else. Win here and you reach the play-off round.

Play-off round

The play-off round is the last step before the league phase. It follows the same two-legged format. Winners join the league phase alongside the clubs who entered directly.

Which English clubs have won the Europa League?

English clubs have lifted the UEFA Cup or Europa League ten times across the history of the competition. Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur lead the way with three wins each.

Liverpool won it in 1973, 1976 and 2001. Tottenham won it in 1972, 1984 and most recently in 2025, when they beat Manchester United 1-0 in the final in Bilbao. Chelsea have won it twice, in 2013 and 2019. Manchester United won it once in 2017 and Ipswich Town won it in 1981. 

The 2024/25 final was an all-English affair between Tottenham and Manchester United, the third time two English clubs have met in the final after the 2019 Chelsea versus Arsenal final and the 1972 original between Tottenham and Wolves.

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