2011–12 UEFA Europa League
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 15 September 2011 – 9 May 2012 (competition proper) 30 June – 25 August 2011 (qualifying) |
| Teams | 48+8 (competition proper) 161+33 (total) (from 53 associations) |
← 2010–11 2012–13 → | |
The 2011–12 UEFA Europa League is the third season of the competition since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup.[1] It began on 30 June 2011 with the first legs of the first qualifying round, and will end on 9 May 2012 with the final to be held at Stadionul Naţional in Bucharest, Romania.[2] As part of a trial that started in the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League, two extra officials – one on each goal line – are being used in all matches of the competition.[3] Porto are the current holders; they will play in the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League, and will not be able to defend their title unless they finish third in the group stage and are transferred to the UEFA Europa League.
Association team allocation
A total of 194 teams from 53 UEFA associations are participating in the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League. Associations are allocated places according to their 2010 UEFA league coefficient, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 2005–06 to 2009–10.[4]
Below is the qualification scheme for the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League:[5]
- Associations 1–6 each have three teams qualify
- Associations 7–9 each have four teams qualify
- Associations 10–51 each have three teams qualify, except Liechtenstein (one team)
- Associations 52–53 each have two teams qualify
- The top three associations of the 2010–11 UEFA Fair Play ranking each gain an additional berth
- Moreover, 33 teams eliminated from the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League are transferred to the Europa League
The title holder would have been given an additional entry if they did not qualify for the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League or Europa League through domestic performance; however, this additional entry will not be necessary as Porto, winners of the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League, qualified for the Champions League through domestic performance.
Association ranking
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- Notes
- (FP): Additional fair play berth (Norway, England, Sweden)[6]
- Number of teams does not include teams transferred from the Champions League
Distribution
The winners of the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League, Porto, would have been guaranteed a place in the group stage; however, as they qualified for the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League, this title holder spot reserved for them was vacated. As a result, the following changes to the default allocation system were made to compensate for the vacant title holder spot in the group stage:
- The domestic cup winners of associations 16 and 17 (Scotland and Bulgaria) are moved from the third qualifying round to the play-off round.
- The domestic cup winners of associations 28 and 29 (Belarus and Republic of Ireland) are promoted from the second qualifying round to the third qualifying round.
- The domestic cup winners of associations 52 and 53 (Malta and San Marino) and the domestic league runners-up of associations 33 and 34 (Latvia and Moldova) are promoted from the first qualifying round to the second qualifying round.
| Teams entering in this round | Teams advancing from previous round | Teams transferred from Champions League | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First qualifying round (50 teams) |
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| Second qualifying round (80 teams) |
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| Third qualifying round (70 teams) |
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| Play-off round (76 teams) |
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| Group stage (48 teams) |
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| Knockout phase (32 teams) |
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Redistribution rules
A Europa League place is vacated when a team qualifies for both the Champions League and the Europa League, or qualifies for the Europa League by more than one method. When a place is vacated, it is redistributed within the national association by the following rules:[5]
- When the domestic cup winners (considered as the "highest-placed" qualifiers within the national association) also qualify for the Champions League, their Europa League place is vacated, and the remaining Europa League qualifiers are moved up one place, with the final place (with the earliest starting round) taken by the domestic cup runners-up, provided they do not already qualify for the Champions League or the Europa League. Otherwise, this place is taken by the highest-placed league finishers that have not yet qualified for the Europa League.
- When the domestic cup winners also qualify for the Europa League through league position, their place through the league position is vacated, and the Europa League qualifiers that finish lower in the league are moved up one place, with the final place taken by the highest-placed league finishers that have not yet qualified for the Europa League.
- A place vacated by the League Cup winners is taken by the highest-placed league finishers that have not yet qualified for the Europa League.
- A Fair Play place is taken by the highest-ranked team in the domestic Fair Play table that has not yet qualified for the Champions League or the Europa League.
Teams
The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:[7]
- TH: Title holders
- CW: Cup winners
- CR: Cup runners-up
- LC: League Cup winners
- Nth: League position
- P-: End-of-season European competition play-offs (winners or position)
- FP: Fair play
- UCL: Relegated from the Champions League
- GS: Third-placed teams from the group stage
- PO: Losers from the play-off round
- Q3: Losers from the third qualifying round
- Notes
- Republic of Ireland (IRL): Because Sporting Fingal, the fourth-placed team of the 2010 League of Ireland, returned its domestic license prior to the start of the 2011 season, St Patricks Athletic, the fifth-placed team of the league, claimed the Europa League spot in the first qualifying round.[11]
- Kazakhstan (KAZ): Because Lokomotiv Astana, the winners of the 2010 Kazakhstan Cup, did not exist for at least three years and could not obtain a UEFA license, the second-placed team of the league, Aktobe, moved up to enter the second qualifying round, and the cup runners-up, Shakhter Karagandy, claimed the vacant Europa League spot in the first qualifying round.[12]
- Lithuania (LTU): Because Žalgiris Vilnius, the third-placed team of the 2010 A Lyga, did not obtain a UEFA license for the 2011–12 European competitions, Tauras Tauragė, the fourth-placed team of the league, claimed the Europa League spot in the second qualifying round.[13]
- Romania (ROU): Because Politehnica Timişoara, the 2010–11 Liga I runners-up, were denied a domestic licence for the 2011–12 season, Vaslui, the third-placed team of the league, claimed the Champions League spot in the third qualifying round for non-champions, instead of entering the Europa League play-off round. Subsequently, Rapid Bucureşti and Dinamo Bucureşti, the fourth- and sixth-placed teams of the league, moved up to enter the play-off round and the third qualifying round respectively, and Gaz Metan Mediaş, the seventh-placed team of the league, claimed the vacant Europa League spot in the second qualifying round.[14]
Round and draw dates
All draws held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland unless stated otherwise.[15]
| Phase | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying | First qualifying round | 20 June 2011 | 30 June 2011 | 7 July 2011 |
| Second qualifying round | 14 July 2011 | 21 July 2011 | ||
| Third qualifying round | 15 July 2011 | 28 July 2011 | 4 August 2011 | |
| Play-off | Play-off round | 5 August 2011 | 18 August 2011 | 25 August 2011 |
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | 26 August 2011 (Monaco) |
15 September 2011 | |
| Matchday 2 | 29 September 2011 | |||
| Matchday 3 | 20 October 2011 | |||
| Matchday 4 | 3 November 2011 | |||
| Matchday 5 | 30 November–1 December 2011 | |||
| Matchday 6 | 14–15 December 2011 | |||
| Knockout phase | Round of 32 | 16 December 2011 | 16 February 2012 | 23 February 2012 |
| Round of 16 | 8 March 2012 | 15 March 2012 | ||
| Quarter-finals | 16 March 2012 | 29 March 2012 | 5 April 2012 | |
| Semi-finals | 19 April 2012 | 26 April 2012 | ||
| Final | 9 May 2012 at National Stadium, Bucharest | |||
Matches in the qualifying, play-off, and knockout rounds may also be played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays instead of the regular Thursdays due to scheduling conflicts.
Qualifying rounds
In the qualifying rounds and the play-off round, teams will be divided into seeded and unseeded teams based on their 2011 UEFA club coefficients,[16] and then be drawn into two-legged home-and-away ties.[17]
First qualifying round
The draw for the first and second qualifying rounds was held on 20 June 2011.[18] The first legs were played on 30 June, and the second legs were played on 7 July 2011.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
ÍF Fuglafjørður 
|
2–81 |  KR Reykjavík
|
1–3 | 1–5 |
Daugava Daugavpils 
|
1–7 |  Tromsø
|
0–5 | 1–2 |
Elfsborg 
|
5–1 |  Fola Esch
|
4–0 | 1–1 |
The New Saints 
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2–1 |  Cliftonville
|
1–1 | 1–0 |
Honka 
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2–0 |  Nõmme Kalju
|
0–0 | 2–0 |
Fulham 
|
3–0 | NSÍ Runavík
|
3–0 | 0–0 |
| ÍBV Vestmannaeyar
|
1–2 |  St Patrick's Athletic
|
1–0 | 0–2 |
| Käerjéng 97
|
2–61 | Häcken
|
1–1 | 1–5 |
| Aalesund
|
6–1 | Neath
|
4–1 | 2–0 |
Renova 
|
3–3 (2–3p) | Glentoran
|
2–1 | 1–2 (aet) |
Koper 
|
2–3 |  Shakhter Karagandy
|
1–1 | 1–2 |
Banga Gargždai 
|
0–7 |  Qarabağ
|
0–4 | 0–3 |
UE Santa Coloma 
|
0–51 |  Paks
|
0–1 | 0–4 |
| Narva Trans
|
1–71 | Rabotnički
|
1–4 | 0–3 |
Rad 
|
9–1 |  Tre Penne
|
6–0 | 3–1 |
Budućnost Podgorica 
|
3–4 |  Flamurtari Vlorë
|
1–3 | 2–1 |
| Ferencváros
|
5–01 |  Ulisses
|
3–0 | 2–0 |
Jagiellonia Białystok 
|
1–2 | Irtysh Pavlodar
|
1–0 | 0–2 |
| AZAL Baku
|
2–31 |  Minsk
|
1–1 | 1–2 |
Dinamo Tbilisi 
|
5–1 |  Milsami Orhei
|
2–0 | 3–1 |
Varaždin 
|
6–1 | Lusitanos
|
5–1 | 1–0 |
| Banants
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1–2 | Metalurgist Rustavi
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0–1 | 1–1 |
Birkirkara 
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1–2 | Vllaznia Shkodër
|
0–1 | 1–1 |
Široki Brijeg 
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0–3 | Olimpija Ljubljana
|
0–0 | 0–3 |
Spartak Trnava 
|
4–2 | Zeta
|
3–0 | 1–2 |
- Notes
- Note 1: Order of legs reversed after original draw.
Second qualifying round
The first legs were played on 14 July, and the second legs were played on 21 July 2011.
- Notes
- Note 2: Order of legs reversed after original draw.
Third qualifying round
The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 15 July 2011.[19] The first legs will be played on 26 and 28 July, and the second legs will be played on 4 August 2011.
- Notes
- Note 3: Order of legs reversed after original draw.
Play-off round
The draw for the play-off round will be held on 5 August 2011. The first legs will be played on 18 August, and the second legs will be played on 25 August 2011.
Group stage
The following 48 clubs will play in the group stage.
- 38 winners from the play-off round
- 10 losers from the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League play-off round (5 champions and 5 non-champions)
The 48 clubs will be allocated into pots based on their 2011 UEFA club coefficients,[16] and then be drawn into twelve groups of four, where they will play each other home-and-away. The group winners and runners-up will advance to the round of 32, where they will be joined by the 8 third-placed teams from the group stage of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League.
Knockout phase
In the knockout phase, teams play against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis, except for the one-match final.
Final
The 2012 UEFA Europa League Final will be played on 9 May 2012 at the Stadionul Naţional in Bucharest, Romania.
See also
References
- ^ "UEFA Cup to become UEFA Europa League". UEFA. 2008-03-28. Retrieved 2010-12-16.
- ^ "UEFA unveil 2011 and 2012 final venues". UEFA. 2009-01-29. Retrieved 2010-12-16.
- ^ UEFA welcomes IFAB referee trial decision, UEFA.com.
- ^ UEFA Country Ranking 2010 Bert Kassies' Site
- ^ a b Regulations of the UEFA Europa League 2011/12
- ^ Fair Play bonus for Norway, England and Sweden
- ^ Qualification for European Cup Football 2011/2012
- ^ AaFK får plass i Europa League
- ^ "Fulham handed Europa League place". official website. Premier League. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
- ^ BK Häcken till Europa League
- ^ League in new crisis as Fingal go to wall
- ^ Невыездной “Локомотив”
- ^ EFA nesuteikė "Žalgiriui" išimties dėl žaidimo Europos lygoje
- ^ "Timisoara si Bistrita nu au primit licenta si sunt retrogradate" (in Romanian). Onlinesport.ro. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
- ^ 2011/12 UEFA Europa League access list
- ^ a b UEFA Team Ranking 2011 Bert Kassies
- ^ Seeding in the Europa League 2011/2012
- ^ Fulham learn Europa League qualifying fate
- ^ Atlético meet Strømsgodset, Stoke play Hajduk
External links
- UEFA Europa League (official website)
| Global |  | |
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| Africa | ||
| Asia | ||
| Europe | ||
| North, Central America and the Caribbean | ||
| Oceania | ||
| South America | ||
See also: International women's club football | ||