Two leagues will be rewarded with an additional place in next season's UEFA Champions League (UCL) based on performance in Europe this season.
Last season, Borussia Dortmund of the German Bundesliga and Bologna of the Italian Serie A were the lucky winners, with clubs from Germany and Italy edging out those from England, France and Spain.
With the league stage of the UEFA Conference League (UCoL) now complete, with the first clubs eliminated and key bonus points earned, we can get our first snapshot of the standings.
However, we are a long way from knowing who will get the two places, and the next key moment comes when the first stage of the UEFA Europa League (UEL) ends on January 23, followed by the UCL on January 29.
How does it work?
It is about the collective performance of all the teams from each country participating in Europe this season. The two leagues with the best average coefficient obtain an extra place.
Regardless of the competition, each win is worth two coefficient points, a draw gives you one point, and you get nothing for a loss.
If a match goes to extra time, the result after 120 minutes is used. Penalties are not taken into account if the match ends in a tie, as they are used to determine the tie and not the individual match.
The points obtained by all the clubs are added and that total score is divided by the number of clubs a country has in Europe during the season. That gives the average coefficient. For example, if a country has 60 coefficient points and seven teams in Europe, its score for the table is 8.571 (60/7).
The additional place is for the first team in the classification outside the UCL places. Thus, in the Premier League he would move to fifth place. It's one spot above the regular allocation, so if a league usually has seven spots in Europe, it will have eight next season.
So wins aren't worth more in the Champions League?
No, the coefficient system is essentially designed to evaluate the overall strength of leagues. The victories are the same in all competitions. Otherwise, it would be impossible for those leagues with few or no teams in the UCL group stage to move up the coefficient rankings.
What about the new bonus points system?
This is where things have changed and performance in the UCL has become much more valuable than in the UEL, and also in the UCoL.
In the old system, the maximum bonus points for a club in the UCL was 12, and now it is 18 (+6). In the UEL it has gone from eight to 10 (+2). At UCoL it has gone from four to six (+2).
Additionally, each club participating in the UCL earns a minimum of six bonus points just for participating (up from four). In UEL, you must finish first to get six bonus points. In the UCoL, Chelsea got four points for first place. There is no bonus in the UEL or UCoL if you finish outside the top 24.
Then there are bonus points for reaching each of the knockout rounds, again weighted by the competition.
In addition to those high position bonus points, teams that finish in the top eight of each league are guaranteed another 1.5 for reaching the round of 16.
There are no bonus points for participating in the February knockout playoffs in any of the competitions, but you do get points for the result of each match that is not available for the top eight. The results of the playoffs count towards the overall coefficient of the league, but not for the club.
Is that then an advantage for leagues with five UCL teams?
Yes and no.
While Serie A and the Bundesliga have five teams in the Champions League, they also have eight teams in Europe.
Each win and bonus point, on average, is worth less than in the other leagues. And if some teams have difficulties, there is no chance to compete for the top two.
Italian clubs are holding up well, but German teams have struggled, with VfB Stuttgart and RB Leipzig outside the UCL top 24 and TSG Hoffenheim 26th in the UEL.
Won't this simply translate into extra places for two major leagues?
The new bonus points system gives a greater advantage to leagues with more teams in the UCL.
Looking back at the previous six seasons, England and Spain occupy seven of the 12 spots, while Italy and Germany occupy two each. Only in 2021-22 did one of the countries with fewer than four teams in the Champions League (the Netherlands) finish in the top two in average coefficient.
History already tells us that it is very likely that two of the major leagues will get five places for the Champions League. Now that has been strengthened.
2023-24: Italy and Germany
2022-23: England and Italy
2021-22: England and Holland
2020-21: England and Spain
2019-20: Spain and Germany
2018-19: England and Spain
How did the Conference League develop?
Lens failed to qualify for the league stage, leaving Ligue 1's hopes of fighting for the extra UCL places in tatters.
Teams from the Premier League, LaLiga, Serie A and Bundesliga are still active.
Chelsea won all six of their matches and finished in first place, giving them maximum points for the Premier League. Fiorentina joined Chelsea to go directly to the round of 16.
Portugal's Guimaraes finished second, which has helped the Primeira Liga compete. Belgium has two qualified teams: Cercle Brugge automatically goes to the round of 16 and Gent to the playoff round.
There is a possibility of a round of 16 meeting between Chelsea and knockout round participants Real Betis (LaLiga) or 1. FC Heidenheim (Bundesliga), which would create a head-to-head battle for the coefficient points, as well as for progress in the ranking. UCOL.
How is the coefficient table this season?
This is the top 10 as of December 19.
1. England, 14,035
2. Italy, 12,562
3.Portugal, 12,450
4. Belgium, 11,900
5. Spain, 11,892
6. Germany, 10,640
7. France, 9,928
8. Sweden, 9,375
9. Czechia, 8,700
10. Cyprus, 8,687
The top six countries still have their full roster of teams, for now.
England are in a very healthy position, but with plenty of bonus points coming from the UCL and UEL, this can change quickly.
Portugal and Belgium have had magnificent league phases, but continuing like this in the knockout rounds is difficult. When the Netherlands finished in the top two in 2021-22, they had several clubs deep in the tournaments.
When do we usually find out who gets the extra places?
In many seasons it may be obvious in March, once we know which leagues have several teams qualified for the quarterfinals of the three European competitions. But it will likely be later before there is a final confirmation.
Last season, Serie A secured an additional spot on April 18, followed by the Bundesliga on May 1.
It looked like it was going to be closer, but the terrible results of the English clubs in the quarterfinals, losing four of the five remaining teams, effectively handed second place to Germany.
However, the 2019-20 season shows that you can go all the way. Germany didn't leapfrog the Premier League for second place until Bayern Munich beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the Champions League final. If this repeats itself this season, we wouldn't know which league gets the extra second place until the UCL final on May 31.
It would leave two domestic league clubs praying for the right result in the final. In 2019-20, Bayer Leverkusen and Leicester City finished fifth in Germany and England respectively. Leverkusen would have needed Bayern to win the UCL final to qualify, while Leicester needed Bayern to lose the match.
What is the maximum number of places at UCL and in Europe?
Under the old system, a maximum of five clubs from the same federation could play in the Champions League. It meant that in the unlikely event that teams from the same league won the Champions League and Europa League, but both finished outside the UCL places domestically, then fourth place would have to give up its place and fall into the UEL.
But the limit has been removed and it will be possible for seven teams to get a place in the UCL: the top four, the fifth for their performance in the European league and the winners of the UCL and UEL.
It would also be technically possible, although highly unlikely, to have 11 teams in Europe: the usual allocation of seven, plus the extra place for the Champions League and the champions of the three European competitions.
How does the extra spot affect the other positions in the league?
If we assume that the additional places will go to one of the main leagues, it means that the fifth place will enter the Champions League and will have eight (instead of seven) places in Europe. Other European seats drop one spot.
Whichever season the Premier League achieves it, access will be:
Champions League: 1-5
European League: 6, FA Cup winners
Conference League: Carabao Cup winners
If LaLiga, Bundesliga or Serie A achieve it, access will be:
Champions League: 1-5
European League: 6, cup winners
Conference League: 7
In all cases, if a team wins the national cup and finishes in a European place in the league, the places drop one more place.
If a team wins the UEL or UCL but does not qualify for the UCL nationally, that league would have six places in the UCL: the five places for the leagues plus the UEL or UCL champions as an additional one. The league would lose the national place won by the champions.
Last season, if Borussia Dortmund had won the Champions League, Germany would have had six teams (top six) in the UCL but only one in the UEL, missing out on the place won by Dortmund.
Which teams would benefit right now?
At the moment, Manchester City occupy fifth place in the Premier League, while Lazio occupy that place in Serie A.
