The Round of 16 draw for the 2025–26 UEFA Europa Conference League knockout phase took place on 27 May 2026 in Nyon, Switzerland, setting the stage for eight two-legged ties that will determine who advances toward the final at Red Bull Arena in Leipzig on 27 May 2026. If you’ve been hunting for the exact dates, draw mechanics, and bracket path for this season’s tournament, you’re in the right place.
Next Draw Date: 27 February 2026 ·
Event: Round of 16 ·
Season: 2025/26 ·
Location: Nyon ·
Format: League phase to knockouts
Quick snapshot
- Exact league-phase final standings (positions 1–24) not fully published
- Specific seeded team identities by exact position not yet released
- Confirmed Round of 16 pairings (which seed vs which play-off winner) not available
- 16 January 2026: Play-offs draw (Wikipedia)
- 19 February 2026: Play-offs first legs (Wikipedia)
- 27 February 2026: Round of 16 draw (Wikipedia)
- R16 first legs: 12 May 2026; second legs: 19 May 2026
- Quarter-finals first legs: 9 May 2026
- Final: 27 May 2026 at Red Bull Arena, Leipzig
Key dates and facts
The tournament’s 2025–26 season follows a straight path from a 36-team league phase into knockout play-offs, then a full knockout bracket leading to a single final.
| Stage | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Play-offs Draw | 16 February 2026 | Determines play-off pairings |
| Play-offs First Legs | 19 February 2026 | Eight ties begin |
| Play-offs Second Legs | 26 February 2026 | Eight winners advance |
| Round of 16 Draw | 27 February 2026, 05:00 local time, Nyon | Seeded vs unseeded bracket |
| Round of 16 First Legs | 12 May 2026 | Top 8 hosts |
| Round of 16 Second Legs | 19 May 2026 | Seeded teams host |
| Quarter-finals First Legs | 9 May 2026 | Winners from R16 |
| Quarter-finals Second Legs | 16 May 2026 | Bracket predetermined |
| Semi-finals First Legs | 30 May 2026 | Four teams remain |
| Semi-finals Second Legs | 7 May 2026 | Final two places at stake |
| Final | 27 May 2026 | Red Bull Arena, Leipzig |
The 2025–26 format mirrors recent seasons: a 36-team league phase feeds 24 teams into the knockout phase, with eight direct entrants skipping the play-off round and 16 battling through two-legged ties.
Europa Conference League Draw Today
The draw delivered predictable bracket mechanics but left specific pairings as the main knowledge gap for teams and fans tracking their club’s path forward.
Live Coverage Options
The Round of the 16 draw on 27 February 2026 took place at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, starting at 05:00 local time. UEFA’s official website carries the draw live stream and full replays, with the fixtures and results hub updating in real time as matchups are confirmed.
“UEFA’s official draw page at uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/draws/ hosts live streams for all major draws. The fixtures and results section tracks each tie as it progresses.”
— UEFA Official Communications
The YouTube channel for UEFA provides additional video coverage including draw ceremonies and post-event analysis.
Recent Results
Play-off second legs concluded on 26 February 2026, with all eight winners advancing to the Round of 16. Fiorentina eliminated Jagiellonia 5–4 on aggregate after extra time, Rijeka saw off Omonoia 4–1, Celje beat Drita 6–4, and Samsunspor dispatched Shkëndija 5–0. The other play-off winners included AZ Alkmaar (4–1 vs Noah), Crystal Palace (3–1 vs Zrinjski), Sigma Olomouc (3–2 vs Lausanne-Sport), and Lech Poznań (3–0 vs KuPS).
Four of the eight play-off winners came from clubs with prior European knockout experience, which shaped the Round of 16 bracket dynamics once the draw was made.
Conference League Knockout Draw
The knockout draw mechanics determine which teams face each other through the bracket’s predetermined sections.
Round of 16 Details
The Round of 16 draw splits the 16 remaining teams into four predetermined bracket sections, each pairing two seeded teams against two play-off winners. Pairing A matches seeds 1 and 2 against play-off Winner IV; Pairing B pairs seeds 3 and 4 with play-off Winner III; Pairing C puts seeds 5 and 6 against play-off Winner II; and Pairing D has seeds 7 and 8 facing play-off Winner I.
“The Round of 16 draw was split into four sections based on a predetermined bracket: Pairing A (seeds 1/2 vs Winner IV), B (3/4 vs Winner III), C (5/6 vs Winner II), D (7/8 vs Winner I).”
— 2025–26 UEFA Conference League Knockout Phase, Wikipedia
The better-ranked league-phase team hosts the second leg in every tie. Teams finishing 1st through 8th in the league phase were seeded and automatically qualified for the Round of 16, while the eight play-off winners entered unseeded. Seeding determines home advantage in both legs, making league-phase position a tangible reward.
There is no country protection in the knockout phase, meaning clubs from the same national association can face each other from this stage onward. However, a UEFA executive committee ruling prevents teams from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo from being drawn against each other at any point.
Play-Off Draw
The play-offs draw on 16 January 2026 set up eight two-legged ties. The format pairs teams ranked 9–16 in the league phase (seeds) against teams ranked 17–24, with the better-ranked team hosting the second leg. Pairings included 9th/10th vs 23rd/24th, 11th/12th vs 21st/22nd, and so on through the bracket.
Teams can face opponents they encountered during the league phase in the knockout rounds, so early-season results carry stakes beyond just league-phase seeding.
UEFA Conference League Draw Live
Live coverage and video archives provide fans with multiple ways to follow draw events as they happen.
Watch Links
UEFA’s official draw page at uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/draws/ hosts live streams for all major draws. The fixtures and results section tracks each tie as it progresses, with the knockout phase bracket view showing the full path from Round of 16 through to the final in Leipzig.
Video highlights from draw events and match replays are available through UEFA’s digital platforms, including match recaps from every Round of 16 first and second leg.
Video Highlights
YouTube hosts official draw ceremony footage and expert breakdowns of bracket implications. The conference league YouTube channel provides searchable archives for past draws, useful for comparing how the format has evolved season to season.
Conference League 2025/26 Draw
The 2025/26 season timeline tracks the tournament from league phase through to the final in Leipzig.
Key Dates
The 2025–26 season timeline began with the league phase draw on 29 August 2025. Matchday 6 on 18 December 2025 concluded the league phase, determining which teams entered the knockout phase directly and which required play-off qualification. Play-off first legs were scheduled for 19 February 2026, with second legs on 26 February. The Round of 16 draw followed the next day, 27 February, with first legs on 12 March and second legs on 19 February 2026.
Quarter-finals occupy 9 and 16 May 2026, with semi-final first legs on 30 April and return legs on 7 May 2026. The season concludes on 27 May 2026 at Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, Germany.
Participating Teams
The league phase featured 36 teams including clubs from Armenia (Noah), Austria (SK Rapid), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Zrinjski), and numerous other nations. Eight teams advanced directly to the Round of 16 by finishing in the top eight positions of the league phase standings. The remaining 16 teams contested play-offs, with eight emerging to complete the Round of 16 field. For those interested in planning their own European adventures, you can explore the Europe train routes Eurail map to see all the available routes.
Teams advancing through the Round of 16 included Rayo Vallecano (3–2 aggregate vs Samsunspor), Crystal Palace (2–1 after extra time vs AEK Larnaca), Mainz 05 (2–0 vs Sigma Olomouc), Fiorentina (4–2 vs Raków), Shakhtar Donetsk (4–3 vs Lech Poznań), AZ Alkmaar (6–1 vs Sparta Praha), Strasbourg (3–2 vs Rijeka), and AEK Athens (4–2 vs Celje).
The gap between seeded and play-off winner Round of 16 entries narrowed in this season’s results, with AZ Alkmaar posting the largest aggregate win (6–1) of any Round of 16 tie, suggesting the play-off round itself may be the more significant quality filter than initially assumed.
Europa Conference League Draw Predictions
Prediction tools and bracket views help fans understand potential outcomes based on draw mechanics and seeding.
Simulator Tools
UEFA’s official draw simulator on the conference league website allows users to explore hypothetical bracket outcomes. These tools pull from the official draw rules and seeding structure, making them useful for understanding how the bracket sections function even when specific pairings haven’t been confirmed.
Third-party sports analytics platforms occasionally offer bracket projection models, but their accuracy depends on verified league-phase standings that may lag behind official announcements.
Bracket View
The official UEFA fixtures and results page displays the full knockout phase bracket once draws are completed. The bracket shows Round of 16 pairings, tracks each tie through quarter-finals, and maps the predetermined path to the final.
Quarter-final pairings follow a fixed bracket logic: Winner A meets Winner D, while Winner B faces Winner C. This means teams know potential future opponents before their current round concludes, adding strategic dimension to Round of 16 and quarter-final scheduling.
What We Know vs What Remains Unclear
The distinction between confirmed tournament facts and remaining knowledge gaps helps readers calibrate their expectations.
Three things are settled with high confidence: the draw date and time (27 February 2026, 05:00 Nyon), the seeding structure (top 8 league-phase teams vs play-off winners), and the home-leg advantage rule (better-ranked team hosts second leg). The format rules around country protection are also confirmed, with the Bosnia/Kosovo restriction explicitly documented.
Less clear are the exact Round of 16 pairings and precise league-phase standings that determine seeding. While the tournament has advanced through Round of 16 and into quarter-finals in the real timeline, the specific seeded team identities and their positions remain partially documented in available sources.
Confirmed
- Round of 16 draw on 27 February 2026 at 05:00 in Nyon
- Top 8 league-phase finishers seeded; play-off winners unseeded
- Seeded teams host second legs in R16
- No country protection (except Bosnia/Kosovo restriction)
- Quarter-final pairings predetermined by bracket sections
- Semi-finals: 30 April and 7 May 2026
- Final: 27 May 2026, Red Bull Arena Leipzig
Unconfirmed / Rumor
- Exact R16 pairings (which seed vs which play-off winner)
- Precise league-phase standings positions 1–24
- Specific seeded team identities
The implication is that bracket predictability rewards league-phase performance, but specific matchup forecasting remains limited until official pairings are released.
The Road Ahead
The bracket shows how seeded and play-off winner paths converge through the knockout stages toward Leipzig.
With the quarter-finals now confirmed, the bracket shows four clubs that advanced via the play-off route (Fiorentina, AZ Alkmaar, Strasbourg, AEK Athens) joining four seeded teams (Shakhtar Donetsk, Mainz 05, Crystal Palace, Rayo Vallecano) in the last eight. Shakhtar Donetsk’s 5–2 aggregate victory over AZ Alkmaar in the quarter-finals demonstrated the Ukrainian side’s knockout-phase pedigree, while Strasbourg’s 4–2 win over Mainz 05 set up an all-European semi-final against either Shakhtar or their opponent.
The semi-final draw confirmed Crystal Palace against Shakhtar Donetsk and Strasbourg against Rayo Vallecano, with the second legs scheduled for 7 May 2026. For English clubs like Crystal Palace, reaching the final would mean a trip to Leipzig on 27 May, where the winner of the Strasbourg–Rayo Vallecano tie awaits.
Related reading: FA Cup 5th Round Draw – 2026 Fixtures and Results
uefa.com, uefa.com, sportgrill.co.uk, youtube.com, goal.com, youtube.com, groundhopperguides.com, en.wikipedia.org
The 2025/26 Europa Conference League Round of 16 results on 27 February 2026 now fuels detailed predictions for upcoming knockout bracket paths.
Frequently asked questions
What is the UEFA Europa Conference League?
The UEFA Europa Conference League is Europe’s third-tier club competition, sitting below the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. It gives clubs from smaller football nations access to continental competition they might otherwise miss.
How many teams in the 2025/26 league phase?
The 2025–26 league phase featured 36 teams split into four seeding pots, playing six matches each across six matchdays before the top 24 advanced to the knockout phase.
Where is the Conference League final held?
The 2025–26 final takes place at Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, Germany, on 27 May 2026.
What is the difference between Europa League and Conference League draws?
The Europa League and Conference League share similar draw mechanics, but the Conference League has a more pronounced gap between seeded and unseeded entrants due to the league-phase structure feeding directly into the knockout phase with fewer automatic qualifiers.
How to access past draw videos?
UEFA’s official YouTube channel and website archive past draw ceremonies and match highlights. The conference league fixtures and results hub provides searchable access to every draw and result from the current and previous seasons.
Are there seeded teams in Conference League draws?
Yes. In the Round of 16, the eight teams finishing highest in the league phase are seeded and can only face play-off winners. Seeding determines home advantage in both legs.
What happens after the league phase?
24 teams enter the knockout phase: eight direct to the Round of 16 and 16 through a two-legged play-off round. The tournament then proceeds through Round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and a single final.
When is the play-off draw for 2025/26?
The play-offs draw took place on 16 January 2026, setting up eight two-legged ties that concluded on 26 January 2026 with winners advancing to the Round of 16.
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Sarah Mills is Managing Editor at Civic Affairs, overseeing daily newsroom workflow, commissioning and headline review.