2016–17 UEFA Europa League

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2016–17 UEFA Europa League
Solna hosted the final
Tournament details
DatesQualifying:
28 June – 25 August 2016
Competition proper:
15 September 2016 – 24 May 2017
TeamsCompetition proper: 48+8
Total: 155+33 (from 54 associations)
Final positions
ChampionsEngland Manchester United (1st title)
Runners-upNetherlands Ajax
Tournament statistics
Matches played205
Goals scored565 (2.76 per match)
Attendance4,494,039 (21,922 per match)
Top scorer(s)Edin Džeko (Roma)
Giuliano (Zenit Saint Petersburg)
8 goals each
Best player(s)Paul Pogba (Manchester United)[1]

The 2016–17 UEFA Europa League was the 46th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the eighth season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.

The

Manchester United qualified for the

.

As the title holders, Sevilla qualified for the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League. Having won the last three Europa League tournaments, Sevilla were unable to defend their titles as they reached the Champions League knockout stage, where they were eliminated by Leicester City in the round of 16.

Association team allocation

A total of 188 teams from 54 of the 55 UEFA member associations were expected to participate in the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League (the exception being Kosovo, whose participation was not accepted in their first attempt as UEFA members). The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients was used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:[6]

  • Associations 1–51 (except Liechtenstein) each had three teams qualify.
  • Associations 52–53 each had two teams qualify.
  • Liechtenstein and Gibraltar each had one team qualify (Liechtenstein organises only a domestic cup and no domestic league; Gibraltar as per decision by the UEFA Executive Committee).[7]
  • Moreover, 33 teams eliminated from the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League were transferred to the Europa League.

The UEFA Executive Committee approved in December 2014 changes to the rewards given according to the Respect Fair Play ranking, and starting from the 2016–17 season, the three Fair Play berths were no longer allocated to the Europa League.[8]

Association ranking

For the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League, the associations were allocated places according to their 2015 UEFA country coefficients, which took into account their performance in European competitions from 2010–11 to 2014–15.[9][10]

Apart from the allocation based on the country coefficients, associations could have additional teams participating in the Europa League, as noted below:

  • (CL) – Additional teams transferred from Champions League
  • (EL) – Vacated berth due to Europa League title holders playing in Champions League
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
1 Spain Spain 99.999 3 +1(CL)
−1(EL)
2 England England 80.391 +1(CL)
3 Germany Germany 79.415 +1(CL)
4 Italy Italy 70.510 +1(CL)
5 Portugal Portugal 61.382
6 France France 52.416 +1(CL)
7 Russia Russia 50.498 +1(CL)
8
Ukraine
45.166 +1(CL)
9 Netherlands Netherlands 40.979 +1(CL)
10 Belgium Belgium 37.200 +1(CL)
11 Switzerland Switzerland 34.375 +1(CL)
12 Turkey Turkey 32.600 +2(CL)
13 Greece Greece 31.900 +2(CL)
14 Czech Republic Czech Republic 29.125 +2(CL)
15 Romania Romania 26.299 +2(CL)
16 Austria Austria 25.675 +1(CL)
17 Croatia Croatia 23.500
18 Cyprus Cyprus 22.300 +1(CL)
19 Poland Poland 21.500 +1(CL)
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
20 Israel Israel 21.000 3 +1(CL)
21 Belarus Belarus 20.750 +1(CL)
22 Denmark Denmark 19.800 +1(CL)
23 Scotland Scotland 17.900
24 Sweden Sweden 17.725
25 Bulgaria Bulgaria 16.750 +1(CL)
26
Norway
14.375 +1(CL)
27 Serbia Serbia 13.875 +1(CL)
28 Slovenia Slovenia 13.625
29 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan 12.500 +1(CL)
30 Slovakia Slovakia 11.250 +1(CL)
31 Hungary Hungary 11.000
32
Kazakhstan
10.375 +1(CL)
33 Moldova Moldova 10.000
34 Georgia (country) Georgia 9.375 +1(CL)
35 Finland Finland 8.200
36 Iceland Iceland 8.000
37 Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina 7.500
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
38 Liechtenstein Liechtenstein 6.000 1
39 North Macedonia Macedonia 5.875 3
40 Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland 5.750 +1(CL)
41 Montenegro Montenegro 5.625
42 Albania Albania 5.375 +1(CL)
43 Luxembourg Luxembourg 5.125
44 Northern Ireland Northern Ireland 4.875
45 Lithuania Lithuania 4.500
46 Latvia Latvia 4.250
47 Malta Malta 4.208
48 Estonia Estonia 3.500
49 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands 3.500
50 Wales Wales 2.875
51 Armenia Armenia 2.750
52 Andorra Andorra 0.833 2
53 San Marino San Marino 0.499
54 Gibraltar Gibraltar 0.250 1
55 Kosovo Kosovo[Note KOS] 0.000 0
Notes
  1. ^
    Kosovo (KOS): Kosovo became a UEFA member on 3 May 2016.[11] UEFA decided that their domestic cup winners could participate in the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League only if they could meet licensing criteria under article 15 of the UEFA Club Licensing & Financial Fair Play regulations, which would be confirmed following the assessment made by the UEFA administration within the deadline of 31 May 2016.[12] However, Kosovo's entry, Prishtina (as the winners of the 2015–16 Kosovar Cup), was denied by UEFA in June due to the club failing licensing requirements, and also because the club could not provide a suitable stadium and UEFA did not allow them to play their home matches in a foreign country.[13][14]

Distribution

In the default access list, Sevilla enter the third qualifying round (as the seventh-placed team of the 2015–16 La Liga).[6][15] However, since they qualified for the Champions League as the Europa League title holders, the spot which they qualified for in the Europa League third qualifying round is vacated, and the following changes to the default allocation system are made:[16][17]

  • The domestic cup winners of association 18 (Cyprus) are promoted from the second qualifying round to the third qualifying round.
  • The domestic cup winners of associations 27 (Serbia) and 28 (Slovenia) 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
(96 teams)
  • 26 domestic cup winners from associations 29–54
  • 35 domestic league runners-up from associations 18–53 (except Liechtenstein)
  • 35 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 16–51 (except Liechtenstein)
Second qualifying round
(66 teams)
  • 10 domestic cup winners from associations 19–28
  • 2 domestic league runners-up from associations 16–17
  • 6 domestic league fourth-placed teams from associations 10–15
  • 48 winners from first qualifying round
Third qualifying round
(58 teams)
  • 6 domestic cup winners from associations 13–18
  • 9 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 7–15
  • 5 domestic league fourth-placed teams from associations 5–9
  • 3 domestic league fifth-placed teams from associations 4–6 (League Cup winners for France)
  • 2 domestic league sixth-placed teams from associations 1–3 (League Cup winners for England) (except Europa League title holders)
  • 33 winners from second qualifying round
Play-off round
(44 teams)
  • 29 winners from third qualifying round
  • 15 losers from Champions League third qualifying round
Group stage
(48 teams)
  • 12 domestic cup winners from associations 1–12
  • 1 domestic league fourth-placed team from association 4
  • 3 domestic league fifth-placed teams from associations 1–3
  • 22 winners from play-off round
  • 10 losers from Champions League play-off round
Knockout phase
(32 teams)
  • 12 group winners from group stage
  • 12 group runners-up from group stage
  • 8 third-placed teams from Champions League group stage

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 (regulations Articles 3.03 and 3.04):[6]

  • When the domestic cup winners (considered as the "highest-placed" qualifier within the national association with the latest starting round) also qualify for the Champions League, their Europa League place is vacated. As a result, the highest-placed team in the league which have not yet qualified for European competitions qualify for the Europa League, with the Europa League qualifiers which finish above them in the league moved up one "place".
  • When the domestic cup winners also qualify for the Europa League through league position, their place through the league position is vacated. As a result, the highest-placed team in the league which have not yet qualified for European competitions qualify for the Europa League, with the Europa League qualifiers which finish above them in the league moved up one "place" if possible.
  • For associations where a Europa League place is reserved for the League Cup winners, they always qualify for the Europa League as the "lowest-placed" qualifier. If the League Cup winners have already qualified for European competitions through other methods, this reserved Europa League place is taken by the highest-placed team in the league which have not yet qualified for European competitions.

Teams

The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:[18][19][20]

  • CW: Cup winners
  • 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, etc.: League position
  • LC: League Cup winners
  • RW: Regular season winners
  • PW: End-of-season European competition play-offs winners
  • CL: Transferred from Champions League
    • GS: Third-placed teams from group stage
    • PO: Losers from play-off round
    • Q3: Losers from third qualifying round
Round of 32
Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad (CL GS) Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach (CL GS) England Tottenham Hotspur (CL GS) Denmark Copenhagen (CL GS)
Turkey Beşiktaş (CL GS) Russia Rostov (CL GS) Poland Legia Warsaw (CL GS) France Lyon (CL GS)
Group stage
Spain Athletic Bilbao (5th) Italy Fiorentina (5th) Switzerland Zürich (CW)
Steaua București (CL PO
)
Spain Celta Vigo (6th) Portugal Braga (CW) Turkey Konyaspor (3rd)[Note TUR]
Roma (CL PO
)
England Manchester United (CW) France Nice (4th) Czech Republic Viktoria Plzeň (CL PO) Netherlands Ajax (CL PO)
England Southampton (6th) Russia Zenit Saint Petersburg (CW) Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva (CL PO) Switzerland Young Boys (CL PO)
Germany Schalke 04 (5th) Ukraine Zorya Luhansk (4th)[Note UKR] Cyprus APOEL (CL PO) Spain Villarreal (CL PO)
Germany Mainz 05 (6th) Netherlands Feyenoord (CW) Republic of Ireland Dundalk (CL PO)
Italy Internazionale (4th) Belgium Standard Liège (CW) Austria Red Bull Salzburg (CL PO)
Play-off round
Norway Rosenborg (CL Q3) Slovakia Trenčín (CL Q3) Serbia Red Star Belgrade (CL Q3) Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk (CL Q3)
Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi (CL Q3) Azerbaijan Qarabağ (CL Q3) Albania Partizani (CL Q3) Belgium Anderlecht (CL Q3)
Greece Olympiacos (CL Q3) Romania Astra Giurgiu (CL Q3) Greece PAOK (CL Q3) Turkey Fenerbahçe (CL Q3)
Kazakhstan Astana (CL Q3) Belarus BATE Borisov (CL Q3) Czech Republic Sparta Prague (CL Q3)
Third qualifying round
England West Ham United (7th) Russia Krasnodar (4th) Switzerland Luzern (3rd) Romania Viitorul Constanța (5th)[Note ROU]
Germany Hertha BSC (7th) Russia Spartak Moscow (5th) Turkey İstanbul Başakşehir (4th)[Note TUR] Austria Rapid Wien (2nd)
Sassuolo (6th
)
Ukraine Vorskla Poltava (5th) Greece AEK Athens (CW) Croatia Rijeka (2nd)
Portugal Arouca (5th) Ukraine FC Oleksandriya (6th)[Note UKR]
3rd
)
Apollon Limassol (CW
)
Portugal Rio Ave (6th) Netherlands AZ (4th) Czech Republic Mladá Boleslav (CW)
France Lille (5th) Netherlands Heracles Almelo (PW) Czech Republic Slovan Liberec (3rd)
France Saint-Étienne (6th) Belgium Gent (3rd) Romania Pandurii Târgu Jiu (3rd)
Second qualifying round
Belgium Genk (PW)
CSM Politehnica Iași (7th)[Note ROU]
Belarus Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino (CW) Norway Strømsgodset (2nd)
Switzerland Grasshopper (4th) Austria Austria Wien (3rd)
SønderjyskE (2nd
)
Serbia Partizan (CW)
Osmanlıspor (5th)[Note TUR]
Croatia Hajduk Split (3rd) Scotland Hibernian (CW) Slovenia Maribor (CW)
Poland Piast Gliwice (2nd) Sweden BK Häcken (CW)
Czech Republic Slavia Prague (5th) Israel Maccabi Haifa (CW) Bulgaria Levski Sofia (2nd)[Note BUL]
First qualifying round
Austria Admira Wacker Mödling (4th)
Gabala (3rd
)
Bosnia and Herzegovina Radnik Bijeljina (CW)
Sūduva Marijampolė (4th
)
Lokomotiva (4th
)
Azerbaijan Kapaz (5th)[Note AZE] Bosnia and Herzegovina Sloboda Tuzla (2nd)
Jelgava (CW
)
AEK Larnaca (2nd
)
Azerbaijan Neftçi Baku (6th)[Note AZE] Bosnia and Herzegovina Široki Brijeg (3rd) Latvia Ventspils (3rd)
Cyprus Omonia (4th) Slovakia Slovan Bratislava (2nd) Liechtenstein Vaduz (CW) Latvia Spartaks Jūrmala (5th)[Note LVA]
Poland Zagłębie Lubin (3rd) Slovakia Spartak Myjava (3rd)
Shkëndija (CW
)
Malta Hibernians (2nd)
Cracovia (4th
)
Slovakia Spartak Trnava (4th) North Macedonia Sileks (3rd) Malta Birkirkara (3rd)
Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv (2nd)
Videoton (2nd
)
North Macedonia Rabotnički (4th) Malta Balzan (4th)[Note MLT]
Israel Beitar Jerusalem (3rd) Hungary Debrecen (3rd)
2nd
)
Levadia Tallinn (2nd
)
Belarus Dinamo Minsk (2nd) Hungary MTK Budapest (4th)
3rd
)
Estonia Nõmme Kalju (3rd)
Belarus Shakhtyor Soligorsk (3rd) Kazakhstan Kairat (CW)
4th
)
Estonia Infonet Tallinn (4th)
Denmark Midtjylland (3rd) Kazakhstan Aktobe (3rd) Montenegro Rudar Pljevlja (CW) Faroe Islands Víkingur Gøta (CW)
Denmark Brøndby (4th) Kazakhstan Ordabasy (4th) Montenegro Budućnost Podgorica (2nd) Faroe Islands NSÍ Runavík (2nd)
Scotland Aberdeen (2nd)
Zaria Bălți (CW
)
Montenegro Bokelj (4th) Faroe Islands HB (4th)
Scotland Heart of Midlothian (3rd) Moldova Dacia Chișinău (2nd) Albania Kukësi (CW) Wales Bala Town (2nd)
Sweden IFK Göteborg (2nd) Moldova Zimbru Chișinău (3rd) Wales Llandudno (3rd)
Sweden AIK (3rd) Georgia (country) Samtredia (2nd)
4th
)
Wales Connah's Quay Nomads (PW)
Bulgaria Beroe Stara Zagora (3rd) Georgia (country) Dila Gori (3rd) Luxembourg Fola Esch (2nd)
Banants (CW
)
Bulgaria Slavia Sofia (4th)[Note BUL] Georgia (country) Chikhura Sachkhere (4th) Luxembourg Differdange 03 (3rd) Armenia Shirak (2nd)
Norway Stabæk (3rd) Finland IFK Mariehamn (CW) Luxembourg Jeunesse Esch (4th) Armenia Pyunik (3rd)
Norway Odd (4th)
RoPS (2nd
)
Northern Ireland Glenavon (CW) Andorra UE Santa Coloma (CW)
Serbia Čukarički (3rd) Finland HJK (3rd) Northern Ireland Linfield (2nd) Andorra Lusitanos (2nd)
Serbia Vojvodina (4th)
Valur (CW
)
Northern Ireland Cliftonville (PW)
La Fiorita (CW
)
Slovenia Domžale (3rd)
Breiðablik (2nd
)
Trakai (2nd
)
Folgore (3rd
)
Slovenia Gorica (4th) Iceland KR (3rd) Lithuania Atlantas (3rd) Gibraltar Europa (2nd)

Notably two teams took part in the competition that were not playing in their national top division, Zürich (2nd tier) and Hibernian (2nd tier).

Notes
  1. ^
    Albania (ALB): Partizani were transferred to the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round following the exclusion of Skënderbeu by UEFA for match-fixing.[21]
  2. Inter Baku would have qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round as the runners-up and fourth-placed team of the 2015–16 Azerbaijan Premier League respectively, but Zira failed to obtain a UEFA licence as the club has existed professionally for fewer than three seasons,[22][23] and Inter Baku were excluded from participating in the 2016–17 European competitions by the UEFA Club Financial Control Body.[24] As a result, the berths were given to the fifth-placed team Kapaz and the sixth-placed team Neftçi Baku
    .
  • ^
    Bulgaria (BUL): CSKA Sofia would have qualified for the Europa League second qualifying round as the winners of the 2015–16 Bulgarian Cup, but were excluded from participating in the 2016–17 European competitions by the UEFA Club Financial Control Body.[25] As a result, the runners-up of the 2015–16 A Group, Levski Sofia, entered the second qualifying round instead of the first qualifying round, and the first qualifying round berth was given to the fourth-placed team Slavia Sofia.
  • 2015–16 Superleague Greece, but were excluded from participating in the 2016–17 European competitions by UEFA for financial reasons.[26] As a result, the berth was given to the sixth-placed team PAS Giannina
    .
  • ^
    Latvia (LVA): Skonto would have qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round as the runners-up of the 2015 Latvian Higher League, but failed to obtain a UEFA licence.[27][28] As a result, the berth was given to the fifth-placed team Spartaks Jūrmala.
  • ^
    Malta (MLT): Sliema Wanderers would have qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round as the winners of the 2015–16 Maltese FA Trophy, but failed to obtain a UEFA licence.[29] As a result, the berth was given to the fourth-placed team of the 2015–16 Maltese Premier League, Balzan.
  • CSM Politehnica Iași, since the sixth-placed team Târgu Mureș were excluded from participating in the 2016–17 European competitions by the UEFA Club Financial Control Body.[24][31][37]
  • Osmanlıspor. Galatasaray appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport,[39] but it was rejected.[40]
  • ^
    Ukraine (UKR): Dnipro would have qualified for the Europa League group stage as the third-placed team of the 2015–16 Ukrainian Premier League, but were excluded from participating in the 2016–17 European competitions by the UEFA Club Financial Control Body.[24] As a result, the fourth-placed team Zorya Luhansk entered the group stage instead of the third qualifying round, and the third qualifying round berth was given to the sixth-placed team FC Oleksandriya.