The first qualifying rounds of the 2026-2027 season in UEFA club competitions have ended, and after eliminations and progressions, 211 teams remain: 67 in the Champions League, 39 in the Europa League, and 105 in the Conference League.
Medianews.az reports that three more qualifying rounds will be played in each of the three tournaments, with teams eliminated from the Champions League moving to the Europa League, and those eliminated from the Europa League moving to the Conference League.
In the 36-team league stages, the top 8 teams are expected to advance to the round of 16, while those ranked 9th to 24th will proceed to the round of 32.
Azerbaijan competes with 4 representatives: "Sabah" in the Champions League, "Qarabağ" in the Europa League, and "Zirə" and "Neftçi" in the Conference League. "Sabah"’s opponent is KuPS (Finland), "Qarabağ"’s opponent is CSKA (Bulgaria), "Zirə"’s opponent is "Paide" (Estonia), and "Neftçi"’s opponent is "Dinamo" (Minsk, Belarus).
Azerbaijan ranks 26th in UEFA’s club ranking, which has 55 members.
The ranking is based on coefficients earned over the last five seasons of club tournaments. A win in the qualifying rounds gives 1 point, a draw half a point, and in subsequent rounds a win gives 2 points, a draw 1 point.
Teams entering the Champions League league stage receive 6 bonus points; teams finishing in the top 8 in that round receive 6 bonus points, those ranked 9th to 16th get 4 bonus points, and those ranked 17th to 24th get 2 bonus points. From the round of 16 onwards, each stage awards 1.5 bonus points.
In the Europa League league stage, teams finishing in the top 8 receive 6 bonus points, those ranked 9th to 16th receive 4, and those ranked 17th to 24th receive 2 bonus points. From the round of 16 onwards, each stage awards 1 bonus point.
In the Conference League league stage, teams finishing in the top 8 receive 4 bonus points, those ranked 9th to 16th receive 2 bonus points, and those ranked 17th to 24th receive 1 bonus point; from the round of 16 onwards, each stage gives 0.5 bonus points.
The points accumulated are divided by the number of clubs from the country qualified for continental tournaments, resulting in a coefficient with an accuracy of one-thousandth.
Azerbaijan has obtained a coefficient of 1.500 this season.
Toğrul Əli,
Medianews.az