Uefa Conference League play-off round draw LIVE: Shamrock Rovers discover fate
A knockout round play-off will take place before the last-16 begins
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Your support makes all the difference.The draw for the Uefa Conference League play-offs takes place this afternoon with the tournament entering the knockout stages in February.
Chelsea are the only Premier League club involved in the competition and they are already through to the round of 16 having won all six of their league phase matches and finished top of the table. Enzo Maresca’s men can now relax until 21st February when the draw for the round of 16 and beyond takes place.
Instead, the likes of Ireland’s Shamrock Rovers and Greece’s Panathinaikos FC will be eagerly awaiting the results of today’s draw to see who they will face in a two-legged play-off before the knockout rounds properly begin.
There are 16 teams in today’s draw but only eight can progress to the last-16. Follow the Uefa Conference League play-off draw with out live blog below:
Conference League play-off draw LIVE
There’s a reflection on stage about what the tournament means and how it provides European experience for teams that wouldn’t usually get some.
An example being Shamrock Rovers getting to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last night - they lost 5-1.
Conference League play-off draw LIVE
Giorgio Marchetti is introduced to the stage to oversee the draw and explain how it will all work including the different pot pairings and how the league position helps determine the draw for the play off rounds.
Conference League play-off draw LIVE
Here’s a reminded of the 16 clubs in the draw:
Seeded
- Jagiellonia Białystok (POL)
- Shamrock Rovers FC (IRL)
- APOEL FC (CYP)
- Pafos FC (CYP)
- Panathinaikos FC (GRE)
- NK Olimpija Ljubljana (SVN)
- Real Betis Balompié (ESP)
- 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 (GER)
Unseeded
- KAA Gent (BEL)
- F.C. Copenhagen (DEN)
- Víkingur Reykjavík (ISL)
- FK Borac (BIH)
- NK Celje (SVN)
- Omonoia FC (CYP)
- Molde FK (NOR)
- TSC Bačka Topola (SRB)
Conference League play-off draw LIVE
It’s almost time for the draw to begin. Coverage will soon be starting over on uefa.com and we’ll have all the updates in this live blog so stay tuned.
Uefa Conference League knockout phase
Knockout phase play-offs: 13 and 20 February
Round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final draws: 21 February
Round of 16: 6 and 13 March
Quarter-finals: 10 and 17 April
Semi-finals: 1 and 8 May
Final: 28 May in Wroclaw
When do the knockout phase play-off games take place?
The knockout phase play-offs are played over the course of two weeks:
First legs: 13 February 2025 Second legs: 20 February 2025
Are their any other limitations?
No, sides can face another team from the same national association in the knockout phase play-offs and clubs can also face opponents they met during the league phase.
How does the draw work?
Once all the pairings of unseeded teams have been drawn and assigned to an appropriate position on the bracket, the draw continues with the seeded teams, starting with the pairing ranked 15/16.
The process is the same as previously described for the unseeded teams, with the first team drawn from the relevant bowl allocated to the reserved designated spot on one side of the bracket and the second team on the other side.
The procedure is repeated for the remaining pairings, finishing with the teams ranked 9/10 to complete the pairings for the knockout phase play-offs.
How does the draw work?
The draw is carried out using a seeding bracket with each pair of teams allocated two predefined potential positions according to their league phase rankings.
Eight bowls are prepared for the draw, with the balls containing the names of the seeded and unseeded teams placed in the corresponding marked bowls according to the league phase rankings.
The draw starts with the unseeded teams, allocating each team from a pair of unseeded teams to one of the relevant pre-determined positions in the bracket, starting with the sides ranked 23/24 and finishing with those in 17/18.
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