NYON, Switzerland (AP) – Teams from former Iron Curtain countries continue their strongest challenge to win the Conference League, a competition meant to give them more chances to progress on and off the field.
The 24-team knockout tournament featured 10 teams from Eastern Europe, the most since the continent’s third-tier club competition began five years ago, with nine teams from Eastern Europe. knockout playoff draw Friday.
Crystal Palace and Fiorentina will face elimination in the East in the play-offs as both pre-season favorites won the title. The beginning is toughcould not be obtained. Ranking of top 8 Last month, they advanced directly to the Round of 16.
Palace are away in the first leg against Bosnian champions Zrinjski Mostar, while twice-defeated finalists Fiorentina travel to Poland to face Jagiellonia Bialystok.
Kosovo reached the knockout stages for the first time in nine seasons of participation in UEFA club competitions. Drita will play at home against Celje of Slovenia.
North Macedonia’s Shkendija will be paired with Türkiye’s Samsunspor, while Armenian champions Noah will first host Dutch side AZ Alkmaar.
“That’s exactly what the conference league was designed for,” UEFA competition director Giorgio Marchetti told The Associated Press. “We believe we need these three levels.”
The first leg of the play-offs will be played on February 19th, with the match a week later.
Teams that have already qualified for the Round of 16 draw on February 28 will include Strasbourg (manager Liam Rosenior left this month to join parent club Chelsea), Shakhtar Donetsk, Rayo Vallecano and Mainz.
Millions in prize money
The competition, created by UEFA in 2021 to give lower-ranked clubs more opportunities to play in the second half of the season, will distribute a total of 285 million euros (approximately 33.1 billion yen) in prize money.
“This competition is exactly for teams like us. We love it,” Drita President Valon Murselli told The Associated Press. His club is using millions of dollars in UEFA prize money to build two soccer fields, one grass and one artificial. “For us, it’s a big deal.”
Jagiellonia are looking to quickly build on the club’s tradition in Europe by learning from the host clubs they visit, including Fiorentina, who won the Polish league title in 2024 and will play the second leg on February 26.
“We’re trying to become a big club. It’s a great opportunity for everyone,” Jagiellonian spokesman Emil Kaminsky told The Associated Press, highlighting the knowledge the team has gained from watching how their opponents run their youth academies and commercial operations.
European soccer goes west
After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the 1995 Bosman legal ruling that transformed the transfer market, football in former Iron Curtain countries struggled to keep pace with wealthier Western countries.
The European Court of Justice’s ruling gives players the freedom to move at the end of their contracts without paying a transfer fee to the club. The flow of talent to wealthier clubs accelerated, reducing income for those left behind.
No team from the East has reached the Champions League or European Cup finals since Red Star Belgrade won the title in 1991.
The last time a team from the East won a European title was Shakhtar’s Europa League win in 2009.
The last finalists were Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk from Ukraine, who lost to Unai Emery’s Sevilla for the Europa League title in 2015. Four years later, Dnipro went bankrupt.
create a third way
UEFA created the Conference League to help clubs that were eliminated from the Champions League and Europa League. Now, they can continue to participate and win prizes beyond February.
Last season, Legia Warsaw earned around 11 million euros (about $12.8 million) after reaching the quarterfinals of the conference league, while Moldova’s Petrocab Hincesti earned about 4 million euros (about $4.6 million) from the group stage.
The tournament’s commitment to Eastern Europe is evidenced by the fact that three of the previous four finals have been held in Albania, the Czech Republic and Poland. The next final will be held on May 27th in Leipzig, a city in former East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall.
building blocks
The ideal path to progress in European football is shown by Norway’s Bod/Glimt. They reached the Conference League quarter-finals in 2022, the Europa League semi-finals last season, and are playing in the main phase of the Champions League for the first time this season.
“We believe there is more hidden power in Europe,” Marchetti said.
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