The UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) — the newest and third tier of UEFA's three club competitions — kicks off its league phase on Thursday 15 October, and it runs to a different rhythm to the Champions League and Europa League above it: six matchdays, not eight, with all 36 clubs split into six pots of six and every side facing exactly one opponent from each pot. Smaller pool, shorter league phase, same structure of promotion into the knockouts: finish in the top 8 and you go straight to the round of 16, 9th-24th fight it out in a February play-off round, and 25th down is out.
The final: Beşiktaş Park, Istanbul, 2 June 2027
The 2027 Conference League final is at Beşiktaş Park in Istanbul on Wednesday 2 June — the same stadium that hosted last season's Europa League final, and the third and final leg of UEFA's three-final week, played the week after both the Europa League final in Frankfurt and just days before the Champions League final in Madrid.
Defending champions: Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace are the reigning Conference League champions, having beaten Rayo Vallecano 1-0 in the 2025/26 final in Leipzig — Jean-Philippe Mateta's winner delivering Palace their first ever major trophy and making them the fifth different club to lift the Conference League since it launched in 2021/22. Because they won it, Palace have been promoted a tier and now play in the Europa League this season rather than defending their Conference League crown directly.
Top 3 favourites to win the Conference League 2026/27
This remains the most wide-open of UEFA's three club competitions by some distance, but a clear leading trio has emerged now the league phase field is finalised.
- 1. Brighton — the clear favourites, and by a wider margin than the gap between anyone else in this list. Carlos Baleba, one of the most sought-after midfielders in Europe this past summer, is the engine of a Brighton side built to dominate the ball against Conference League opposition.
- 2. Atalanta — favourites on UEFA coefficient alone, dropping into this competition after two straight seasons in the Champions League, a serious step up in pedigree here. With Ademola Lookman having left for Atlético Madrid in February, the attacking burden now falls on Charles De Ketelaere and Gianluca Scamacca.
- 3. Monaco — the leading Ligue 1 name in the draw. Monaco came close to losing midfielder Lamine Camara to Chelsea on transfer deadline day before pulling out of the deal at the last minute, meaning their best player this season stays exactly where their run at this trophy needs him.
- English clubs have actually won the last two editions outright — Chelsea beat Real Betis 4-1 in the 2024/25 final, and Crystal Palace won it the season after — so Brighton carry some genuine recent history with them too.
How the format works — and why it differs from the Champions League
- All 36 clubs sit in a single league table, but across just 6 matchdays, not 8.
- Clubs are split into 6 pots of 6 teams each, based on UEFA club coefficient.
- Every side plays exactly 6 league-phase matches — one against a team from each of the 6 pots.
- The league phase runs Matchday 1 on Thursday 15 October through Matchday 6 on Thursday 17 December 2026 — finished well before Christmas, unlike the Champions League and Europa League which both run into late January.
- Top 8 advance straight to the round of 16.
- 9th-24th enter a two-legged play-off round in February.
- 25th to 36th are eliminated once the league phase ends.
The pot draw: who plays who
The league phase draw, held in Monaco on 28 August, put Atalanta, Braga, Ajax, Freiburg, Monaco and Copenhagen into Pot 1 — the clear standard-bearers for this season's field. Brighton headline Pot 2 alongside Midtjylland, Red Star Belgrade, Gent, Panathinaikos and Pafos. Brighton's own six fixtures give a good flavour of how the format spreads a season out: Monaco (home), Panathinaikos (away), Universitatea Craiova (home), Getafe (away), Kauno Žalgiris (home) and Jablonec (away) — one true heavyweight test, several winnable away trips, and nothing that looks like a guaranteed three points on paper.
Play free UEFA competition games on FootballDream
FootballDream tracks all three UEFA club competitions from one place — follow the Conference League table and fixtures as the season builds towards Matchday 1 in October, alongside live coverage of the Champions League, which kicked off this week.