The road to Europa Conference League: Sleeping giants, hungry minnows and romantic wannabes

There was a time when only two or three clubs from a nation would qualify for the following season’s European competition. You were either champion, very close to the top of the table or winner of the national cup. There were no groups and no long qualifications to enter them. It was just old-fashioned knock-out competition. Today – it’s different.

Champions League and Europa League have had three rounds of qualifications plus the play-off stage to reach group stage that’s guaranteed for the best-ranked clubs. That’s a lot of qualifications. And the introduction of an entirely new tournament called Europa Conference League has given a chance for over a hundred clubs from around Europe to test themselves against international competition.

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said that Europa Conference League makes UEFA's club competitions more inclusive than ever before.

"There will be more matches for more clubs, with more associations represented in the group stages."

You can say it again, Aleksandar.

Among those clubs, there is quite a few of those who have never had a chance to ply their trade outside the borders of their own countries. It’s a new tournament, a new competition an entirely new territory for most participants – but not for all of them. Some big names like Feyenoord, Partizan, Copenhagen, Aberdeen, Gent, Rosenborg and Anderlecht are trying to make their way to the group stage. For them, Europa Conference League is not the promised land, but rather a consolation prize for missing out on a place in more glamourous competitions like the Champions League and Europa League.

Rosenborg, the Norwegian club from the far north of Europe, was once a regular Champions League participant. And they weren’t there just to make up the numbers either. They famously beat Real Madrid, Inter, Milan, Galatasaray and other famous clubs around the turn of the century. The club from Trondheim will host Domzale of Slovenia.

Dutch giants Feyenoord, winners of the 1969/70 Champions League, have been embarrassingly poor recently, getting nowhere near the level of their biggest rivals Ajax. The best they can do this season is to try and do their best in the Conference League against Swiss team Luzern.

Partizan Belgrade, Serbian vice-champions and 1966 European vice-champions, played Arsenal in the Champions League ten years ago. Their Russian opponents Sochi were only founded in 2018 and are playing in their first-ever international competition.

Scottish club Aberdeen has a rich history in European competition as they famously lifted the now-defunct UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1983 under the leadership of future Manchester United icon Alex Ferguson. They emerged from the shadows of Scottish big-hitters Celtic and Rangers and will face the opposition of the little-known Icelandic club of Breidablik.

Whether they dream of playing in Europa Conference League or not – this is the time to stop messing around and start playing proper competitive football.

EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE

Third qualifying round - First leg

Thursday

19.00: (2.40) Kups (3.20) Astana (3.10)

19.00: (5.70) Lokomotiv Plovdiv (3.70) Copenhagen (1.65)

19.00: (2.25) Tobol Kostanay (3.40) Zilina (3.20)

19.00: (2.75) Sochi (3.10) Partizan (2.70)

19.45: (1.35) Elfsborg (4.90) Velez Mostar (9.50)

20.00: (1.30) Rosenborg (5.50) Domzale (10.0)

20.00: (3.30) AEL Limassol (2.75) Qarabag (2.55)

20.00: (2.85) CSKA Sofia (3.00) Osijek (2.70)

20.00: (2.75) Dinamo Batumi (3.05) Sivasspor (2.75)

20.00: (6.50) Laci (3.90) Anderlecht (1.55)

20.00: (1.18) Maccabi Haifa (7.25) HB Torshavn (15.0)

20.00: (1.43) Riga (4.50) Hibernians (7.75)

20.00: (1.30) Vitesse (5.70) Dundalk (9.00)

20.00: (5.30) Vojvodina (3.60) LASK (1.70)

20.30: (2.10) Trabzon (3.45) Molde (3.50)

21.00: (1.20) Ferreira (6.50) Larne (15.0)

21.00: (1.65) Kolos (3.60) Karagandy (6.00)

21.00: (6.50) Pristina (4.30) Bodo (1.50)

21.00: (2.75) Slask (3.00) Hapoel B.S. (2.80)

21.15: (3.80) Trnava (3.30) Maccabi T.A. (2.05)

21.30: (1.17) Gent (7.50) Rigas (16.0)

21.30: (2.90) Luzern (3.35) Feyenoord (2.45)

21.45: (2.65) Hibernian (3.10) Rijeka (2.80)

21.45: (6.00) TNS (4.10) Plzen (1.55)

22.00: (2.90) Cukaricki (3.10) Hammarby (2.55)

22.00: (3.50) Breidablik (3.35) Aberdeen (2.15)

22.00: (1.73) Shamrock Rovers (3.60) Teuta (5.10)

22.00: (6.50) Ujpest (4.30) Basel (1.50)

22.00: (2.75) Rakow (3.00) Rubin (2.80)

22.30: (1.55) Santa Clara (3.90) Olimpija (6.50)