The first qualifying round of the 2026-2027 season in UEFA club tournaments has been completed.
Medianews.az reports that 3 out of 4 Azerbaijani teams have started. All three representatives played at home; "Sabah," competing in the Champions League, defeated Wales' "New Saints" team (2:0), "Qarabağ," competing in the Europa League, beat Iceland's "Vestri" team (3:0), and "Zira," competing in the Conference League, won against Georgia's "Torpedo" team (3:0). The second leg matches are scheduled for next week.
"Neftçi," which will start in the second round of the Conference League, will face either "Dinamo" (Minsk, Belarus) or "Sileks" (North Macedonia).
A total of 237 teams have been admitted to the club tournaments: 81 to the Champions League, 45 to the Europa League, and 111 to the Conference League.
Each of the three tournaments has four qualifying rounds. According to the regulations, teams eliminated in the first qualifying round of the Champions League move to the Conference League; those eliminated in the remaining rounds transfer to the Europa League. Teams eliminated in the Europa League qualifiers proceed to the Conference League. In the 36-team league stages, the top 8 teams advance to the round of 16, while teams placed 9th to 24th enter the round of 32.
Azerbaijan ranks 26th in the current UEFA club coefficient among 55 members.
The coefficient is based on points earned over the last five seasons of club tournaments. A win in the qualifying rounds awards 1 point, a draw 0.5 points; in later rounds, a win earns 2 points, and a draw 1 point.
Teams reaching the Champions League league stage receive 6 bonus points; in that round, teams ranked in the top 8 receive 6 bonus points, those ranked 9th to 16th get 4 bonus points, and those placed 17th to 24th earn 2 bonus points. Starting from the round of 16, each subsequent round gives 1.5 bonus points.
In the Europa League league stage, teams placed in the top 8 receive 6 bonus points, those ranked 9th to 16th get 4 bonus points, and teams placed 17th to 24th earn 2 bonus points. From the round of 16 onwards, each stage awards 1 bonus point.
In the Conference League league stage, teams ranked in the top 8 receive 4 bonus points, those ranked 9th to 16th earn 2 bonus points, and teams placed 17th to 24th get 1 bonus point. From the round of 16 onwards, each round corresponds to 0.5 bonus points.
The accumulated points are divided by the number of clubs from each country that qualified for continental tournaments, producing the coefficient with a precision of one-thousandth.
Azerbaijan has earned a coefficient of 0.750 this season.
Toğrul Əli,
Medianews.az