The teams joining Chelsea in the Europa Conference League play-off round

It is to be the Europa Conference League for Chelsea in the 2024/25 season amid hopes that they would be elevated to the Europa League instead. Having secured a European place on the final day of the campaign under former boss Mauricio Pochettino, the Blues knew that the FA Cup final between Man City and Manchester United would have a huge bearing on which competition they would be playing in next term.

Needing a Man City victory at Wembley as the Europa League prize on offer for winning the FA Cup would be passed down the league standings, instead it was United who were victorious in the capital after claiming a 2-1 win. The result means that the Red Devils join Tottenham in the Europa League and Chelsea instead take a place in the Europa Conference League.

As no clubs qualify directly to the newly-formed league phase of UEFA’s third club competition, Chelsea, who could be set to appoint Enzo Maresca as Pochettino’s replacement, will have to negotiate a play-off round tie to take their place in the main stage of the competition. The double-legged tie will take place on August 22 and 29, with the west London club discovering their opponents when the play-off round draw is made on Monday, August 5.

So who else has joined Chelsea in the Europa Conference League play-off stage? football.london takes a look below.

Real Betis are Spain’s representatives in the Europa Conference League after finishing the La Liga season in seventh. The Seville-based club did have their eye on a Europa League berth but in the end it was Real Sociedad who prevailed by three points.

As things stand, Fiorentina have a Europa Conference League position for next season but that could all change depending on the outcome of this week’s Conference League final. If Viola beat Olympiacos in Athens then their prize will be Europa League qualification for the 2024/25 campaign.

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Torino, who finished the Serie A season in ninth, would be bumped up to the Europa Conference League in that scenario. German side Heidenheim are already assured of a place in the play-off round following a remarkable debut season in the Bundesliga.

Tipped to be in the relegation mix ahead of the term, Heidenheim proved the doubters wrong by finishing the season in eighth and that has resulted in European football coming to Voith-Arena. Lens have also qualified for the Europa Conference League after finishing the Ligue 1 season in seventh, one point ahead of French giants Marseille.

In terms of the teams entering in the second qualifying round, St Mirren, Vitoria de Gumaraes, Istanbul Basaksehir and Brondby are just some of the sides in there. Interestingly, Norwegian side Tromso, who Chelsea fans may recall the team playing in an Arctic blizzard in October 1997 on their way to winning the UEFA European Cup Winners Cup, are also in the second qualifying round.

Irish teams Derry City and Shelbourne are to feature in the first qualifying round and the same goes for Welsh teams Connah’s Quay Nomads, Bala Town and Caernarfon Town. Milsami Orhei of Moldova, Bruno’s Magpies of Gibraltar and Andorran side Inter Club d’Escaldes are just some of the other teams who will enter at the first stage of the competition.

With both the Champions League and Europa League adopting a new format for the 2024/25 season, the Europa Conference League will be doing the same with a 36-team league stage. Each side in the Conference League will face six different teams (three at home, three away) and the top eight sides in the league phase will advance directly to the Round of 16.

Sides finishing from ninth to 24th will contest the knockout round play-offs, with the winners progressing through to the last 16. It is a straight knockout from that point on as the sides fight it out for a place in the final in Wroclaw, Poland on Wednesday, May 28, 2025.