uefa europa conference league

The UEFA Europa Conference League (abbreviated as UECL or sometimes, UEFA ECL), which will be renamed the UEFA Conference League (sometimes referred to as simply the Conference League) prior to the 2024–25 season, is an annual football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It is the third tier of continental club football in Europe, behind the second-tier Europa League, and the first-tier Champions League. First contested in the 2021–22 season, the competition serves as the bottom level of the Europa League, which was reduced from 48 to 32 teams in the group stage. The competition is primarily contested by teams from lower-ranked UEFA member associations. No teams qualify directly to the group stage, with 10 teams eliminated in the Europa League play-offs and the rest coming from the Europa Conference League qualifiers. The winners of the competition are awarded a position in the Europa League the following season, unless they qualify for the Champions League. Roma were the inaugural winners of the competition, having beaten Feyenoord 1–0 in the 2022 final.