Scottish clubs confront tougher Europa League path after UEFA split

Fans of Celtic trudged past the emptying stadium after the side fell in the Champions League play‑off round, a loss that sent them straight into the Europa League this season. An SNS image captured the disappointment, and the club’s drop was noted in a report published eight minutes ago.

UEFA reshapes Europa League qualifying

UEFA announced that from next season the final qualifying round will be divided into separate champions and non‑champions paths, copying the structure used in the Champions League and the Conference League. The change aims to streamline the draw and give clearer routes for clubs based on their domestic status.

Currently the Europa League third qualifying round runs two parallel paths but merges into a single seeded draw for the final stage. Under the new system those two routes will remain distinct, meaning Scotland’s representative will no longer meet teams such as Iberia 1999, Kairat Almaty or Ararat, who previously fell into the champions path after Champions League elimination.

Scottish clubs face tougher seeding odds

The non‑champions path is already stronger, featuring league‑placed sides from Belgium, Turkey, the Czech Republic and Greece. In addition, clubs knocked out of the Champions League can drop into this route; this season Olympiakos, Sparta Prague, Sturm Graz and Union St‑Gilloise entered via that channel.

Hearts, placed on the non‑champions path this season, were eliminated by Benfica, while Rangers – seeded at the time – fell to Jagiellonia Bialystok at the same stage. With Celtic and Rangers’ five‑year coefficient sliding after poor European showings, both clubs risk entering next season unseeded, which would likely force them into draws against higher‑ranked opponents from major leagues.

Nevertheless, there is a silver lining. Should the Scottish league champions drop out of the Champions League into the Europa League qualifiers, they will face another team that has also descended from the Champions League. This season Celtic entered the Champions League at the play‑off stage, guaranteeing a Europa League league‑phase spot.

From next season, however, the Scottish champions will start in the second qualifying round and must win three ties to reach the Champions League group stage, a far tougher hurdle than the automatic drop‑down they enjoyed this year.