ONE OF THE LEAGUES BEST - UECL

Sebastian Zucchet

In December of 2018, UEFA announced the beginning of a new competition called the Europa Conference League (UECL). The competition serves as the third tier of European football behind the Champions League and Europa League. Fans of bigger clubs have constantly slighted this competition, with many even referring to it as the ‘mickey mouse trophy’

Yet the UECL is a very important competition, one that gives lower-ranked European countries a crack at achieving greatness. The way the UECL is structured enables various lower-ranked nations to have their top club teams compete, and possibly win a European trophy. The top-ranked countries that are England, Italy, France, Germany, and Spain are only allowed to have one team in the competition, allowing teams from Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, and Scotland to have dominance in Europe.

The competition starts off with three qualifying rounds, followed by a bracketed playoff to determine the thirty-two teams that will compete in the group stages. Each team receives a large sum of money after each round in the entire competition, with the money helping boost funds for improvisation within the club.

The brilliance of the conference league saw eight teams qualify for their first-ever group stage of a European competition. Alaskhert, Flora Tallinn, and Lincoln Red Imps became the first clubs to represent Armenia, Estonia, and Gibraltar in European competition for the first time in football history. The UECL allows fans of minnow teams to experience what large clubs go through on a monthly basis, such as away days in new countries and success on a large stage for their beloved club.

The group stage had 32 teams representing 27 different countries, all of which were divided into eight groups of four. The winner of each group automatically advanced to the Round of 16 while the second-place team took on the third-place team coming down from the Europa League to play for a spot in the RO16.

In its first season, the competition did not disappoint, with some entertaining fixtures and huge upsets catching many people’s attention. Bodo/Glimt, a very small team in Norway started all the way in the second qualifying round and ended up making the quarter-finals of the competition. Many people developed a soft spot for the team after they beat Roma by a 6-1 and 2-1 score, a feat that would quickly be followed up by knocking Celtic out of the competition.

Their historic and fairytale run came to an end in the quarters as Roma was able to get revenge. Slovenian club NS Mura made shockwaves around the football world as well following a victory over the Premier League “giants” Tottenham Hotspur in the 94’ minute which ultimately saw Tottenham not make it out of the group stage.

After the group stages, a playoff round for teams coming in third in the Europa League and second in the Conference League quickly ensued. The winners moved on to the round of 16, and then it was like any other competition after that. Currently, the semi-finals are to be played on April 28, and May 5, with Marseille (France) taking on Feyenoord (Netherlands), and Roma (Italy) facing Leicester City (England). The first-ever final on May 25 in Albania is set to be a cracker, as all four semi-finalists have incredible teams and electric fanbases.

The novel UECL may be looked over by fans of bigger clubs, but the competition is so important to the teams and fans that participate, and I am sure in the years to come the competition will become more respected and popular in Europe, and we may see some brilliant cinderella runs and unusual champions.