This year, the three European Cup competitions are played under a new system. The Champions League, the Europa League and the Conference League each had 36 teams after the knockout preliminary rounds, which collected points for the table in eight (only six in the Conference) matches. From there, the top eight teams advance directly to the eighth round, where they await the eight winners of the knockout preliminary round. There, the teams from 9th-24th place advanced. For the rest, the cups are over. Viktoria Plzeň footballers will also enter the knockout fights, having been given a playable opponent for the Europa League eighth-final play-off. The draw at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, decided that the West Germans will face Hungary's Ferencváros.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2024/2025
Ranking | Team | Matches | Winnings | Ties | Losses | Score | Body |
1 | Liverpool F.C. | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 17 : 5 | 21 |
2 | FC Barcelona | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 28 : 13 | 19 |
3 | Arsenal F.C. | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 16 : 3 | 19 |
4 | Inter Milan | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 11 : 1 | 19 |
5 | Atlético Madrid | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 20 : 12 | 18 |
6 | Bayer 04 Leverkusen | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 15 : 7 | 16 |
7 | Lille OSC | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 17 : 10 | 16 |
8 | Aston Villa F.C. | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 13 : 7 | 16 |
9 | Atalanta Bergamo | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 20 : 6 | 15 |
10 | Borussia Dortmund | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 22 : 12 | 15 |
11 | Bayern Munich | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 20 : 12 | 15 |
12 | Real Madrid C.F. | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 20 : 12 | 15 |
13 | AC Milan | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 14 : 11 | 15 |
14 | PSV Eindhoven | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 16 : 12 | 14 |
15 | Paris Saint-Germain | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 14 : 9 | 13 |
16 | Benfica Lisbon FC | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 16 : 12 | 13 |
17 | AS Monaco | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 13 : 13 | 13 |
18 | Stade Brestois 29 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 10 : 11 | 13 |
19 | Feyenoord Rotterdam | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 18 : 21 | 13 |
20 | Juventus | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 9 : 7 | 12 |
21 | Celtic Glasgow FC | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 13 : 14 | 12 |
22 | Manchester City F.C. | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 18 : 14 | 11 |
23 | Sporting Lisbon | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 13 : 12 | 11 |
24 | FC Bruggy | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 7 : 11 | 11 |
25 | Dinamo Zagreb | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 12 : 19 | 11 |
26 | VfB Stuttgart | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 13 : 17 | 10 |
27 | FK Shakhtar Donetsk | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 : 16 | 7 |
28 | Bologna FC | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 : 9 | 6 |
29 | EN Belgrade | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 13 : 22 | 6 |
30 | SK Sturm Graz | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 5 : 14 | 6 |
31 | AC Sparta Prague | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 7 : 21 | 4 |
32 | Rasen Ballsport Leipzig | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 8 : 15 | 3 |
33 | Girona FC | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 5 : 13 | 3 |
34 | FC Red Bull Salzburg | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 5 : 27 | 3 |
35 | ŠK Slovan Bratislava | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 7 : 27 | 0 |
36 | Young Boys Bern | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 : 24 | 0 |
The course of the eight rounds already suggested that there might be a surprise. One of the favourites, Manchester City, was worried about progression until the last game. In the end, however, it defended at least the 22nd position, thus expecting a super opponent - Real Madrid or Bayern Munich - when the draw was made on Friday. The German club will eventually face Scottish side Celtic. So it's clear that the Champions League will lose one of the big favourites - 2023 winner Manchester City will challenge defending champion Real Madrid.
Sparta Prague Sparta was the only domestic club to play the main part of the Champions League, but did not qualify for the play-offs. Despite this, it collected 28.512 million euros (716 million crowns). The most significant part of Letenske's income was the bonus for participation in the league phase, with each of the 36 clubs collecting €18.62 million (CZK 468 million) after the change in the format of European competitions. The clubs receive additional funding in the so-called value pillar, which is divided into two parts. The first is the strength of the country's TV market combined with a five-year club coefficient, and the second is the coefficient for the last 10 years.
Playoffs preliminary round draw
Pairs for the preliminary round | Possible opponents in the eighth round |
Brest (18) - PSG (15) | Liverpool (1)/Barcelona (2) |
Bruggy (24) - Atalanta (9) | Lille (7)/Aston Villa (8) |
Manchester City (22) - Real Madrid (11) | Atlético Madrid (5)/Leverkusen (6) |
Juventus (20) - PSV Eindhoven (14) | Arsenal (3)/Inter Milan (4) |
Monaco (17) - Benfica (16) | Liverpool (1)/Barcelona (2) |
Sporting (23) - Dortmund (10) | Lille (7)/Aston Villa (8) |
Celtic (21) - Bayern Munich (12) | Atlético Madrid (5)/Leverkusen (6) |
Feyenoord (19) - AC Milan (13) | Arsenal (3)/Inter Milan (4) |
European Cup knockout stage dates for spring 2025
Champions League
Preliminary round - 11/12 and 18/19 February (draw on 31 January)
Eight finals - 4/5 and 11/12 March (draw on 21 February)
Quarter-finals - 8.9. and 15./16.April
Semi-finals - 29/30 April and 6/7 May
Final - 31 May (Munich)

EUROPA LEAGUE 2024/2025
Ranking | Team | Z | V | R | P | Score | Body |
1 | SS Lazio Rome | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 17 : 5 | 19 |
2 | Athletic Club Bilbao | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 15 : 7 | 19 |
3 | Manchester United F.C. | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 16 : 9 | 18 |
4 | Tottenham Hotspur F.C. | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 17 : 9 | 17 |
5 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 14 : 10 | 16 |
6 | Olympique Lyon | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 16 : 8 | 15 |
7 | Olympiakos Piraeus | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 9 : 3 | 15 |
8 | Glasgow Rangers FC | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 16 : 10 | 14 |
9 | Bodö/Glimt | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 14 : 11 | 14 |
10 | Anderlecht Brussels | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 14 : 12 | 14 |
11 | FCSB | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 10 : 9 | 14 |
12 | Ajax Amsterdam | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 16 : 8 | 13 |
13 | Real Sociedad | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 13 : 9 | 13 |
14 | Galatasaray Istanbul | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 19 : 16 | 13 |
15 | AS Rome | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 10 : 6 | 12 |
16 | FC Viktoria Plzen | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 13 : 12 | 12 |
17 | Ferencváros Budapest | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 15 : 15 | 12 |
18 | FC Porto | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 13 : 11 | 11 |
19 | AZ Alkmaar | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 13 : 13 | 11 |
20 | FC Midtjylland | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 9 : 9 | 11 |
21 | Royale Union Saint-Gilloise | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 : 8 | 11 |
22 | PAOK Thessaloniki | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 12 : 10 | 10 |
23 | Twente Enschede | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 : 9 | 10 |
24 | Fenerbahce Istanbul | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 9 : 11 | 10 |
25 | Sporting Braga | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 9 : 12 | 10 |
26 | IF Elfsborg | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 9 : 14 | 10 |
27 | 1899 Hoffenheim | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 11 : 14 | 9 |
28 | Besiktas | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 10 : 15 | 9 |
29 | Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 8 : 17 | 6 |
30 | SK Slavia Prague | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 : 11 | 5 |
31 | Malmö FF | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 10 : 17 | 5 |
32 | RFS Riga | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 : 13 | 5 |
33 | PFK Ludogorets Razgrad | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 : 11 | 4 |
34 | Dynamo Kiev | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 : 18 | 4 |
35 | OGC Nice | 8 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 7 : 16 | 3 |
36 | Karabakh FK | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 6 : 20 | 3 |
Plzeň will face Ferencváros in the first round of the Europa League play-offs. The opening match of the double-header is scheduled for 13 February in Budapest. The rematch will be played a week later, on 20 February in Plzeň. The draw was favourable for Viktoria, as besides Ferencváros it could also play against the Portuguese big club from Porto.
Slavia will earn 16.712 million euros (420 million crowns) despite not qualifying for the main stage of the Champions League and surprisingly not making the play-offs in the Europa League. It received €4.29 million (CZK 107.8 million) in "pain" for its elimination in the last Champions League round. The entry fee for the main part of the Europa League earned the current leader of the Czech top competition 4.31 million euros (108.3 million crowns).
Pilsen has so far received 12.835 million euros (322.5 million crowns). The West Bohemians will be the only Czech team to continue in the knockout phase of the cups after Thursday's finish in the league phase. Like their rivals from Eden, they have registered 4.31 million euros (108.3 million crowns) for participation in the Europa League's main stage. On the pitch, Viktoria was much more successful, collecting 1.8 million euros (45 million crowns) for the results.
The draw for the first round of the 2024/25 Europa League play-offs
Pairings for the first round of the playoffs | Possible opponents for the eighth round |
Twente (23) - Bodö/Glimt (9) | Olympiakos (7)/Rangers (8) |
Union SG (21) - Ajax (12) | Frankfurt (5)/Lyon (6) |
Alkmaar (19) - Galatasaray (14) | Manchester United (3)/Tottenham (4) |
Ferencváros (17) - Pilsen (16) | Lazio (1)/Bilbao (2) |
Fenerbahce (24) - Anderlecht (10) | Olympiakos (7)/Rangers (8) |
PAOK (22) - FCSB (11) | Frankfurt (5)/Lyon (6) |
Midtjylland (20) - Real Sociedad (13) | Manchester United (3)/Tottenham (4) |
Porto (18) - AS Roma (15) | Lazio (1)/Bilbao (2) |
European Cup knockout stage dates for spring 2025
European League
Preliminary round - 13 and 20 February (for the Europa League draw on 31 January)
Eight finals - 6 and 13 March (draw on 21 February)
Quarterfinals - April 10 and 17
Semi-finals - 1st and 8th May
Final - 21 May (Bilbao)

CONFERENCE LEAGUE 2024/2025
Ranking | Team | Z | V | R | P | Score | Body |
1 | Chelsea F.C. | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 26 : 5 | 18 |
2 | Vitória de Guimaraes | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 13 : 6 | 14 |
3 | AC Fiorentina | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 18 : 7 | 13 |
4 | SK Rapid Vienna | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 : 5 | 13 |
5 | Djurgarden | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 : 7 | 13 |
6 | FC Lugano | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 : 7 | 13 |
7 | Legia Warsaw | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 13 : 5 | 12 |
8 | Cercle Bruggy | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 14 : 7 | 11 |
9 | Jagiellonia Bialystok | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 : 5 | 11 |
10 | Shamrock Rovers | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 12 : 9 | 11 |
11 | APOEL FC | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 : 5 | 11 |
12 | Paphos FC | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 : 7 | 10 |
13 | Panathinaikos Athens | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 : 7 | 10 |
14 | Olimpija Ljubljana | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 : 6 | 10 |
15 | Real Betis | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 : 5 | 10 |
16 | 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 : 7 | 10 |
17 | K.A.A. Ghent | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 : 8 | 9 |
18 | FC Copenhagen | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 : 9 | 8 |
19 | Víkingur Reykjavík | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 : 8 | 8 |
20 | FK Borac Banja Luka | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 : 7 | 8 |
21 | NK Celje | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 13 : 13 | 7 |
22 | Omonoia Nicosia | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 : 7 | 7 |
23 | Molde FK | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 : 11 | 7 |
24 | TSC Bačka Topola | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 : 13 | 7 |
25 | FC Hearts of Midlothian | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 : 7 | 7 |
26 | Basaksehir Istanbul | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 9 : 12 | 6 |
27 | FK Mladá Boleslav | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 : 10 | 6 |
28 | FC Astana | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 : 8 | 5 |
29 | FC St. Gallen | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 : 18 | 5 |
30 | HJK Helsinki | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 : 9 | 4 |
31 | FC Noah | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 : 16 | 4 |
32 | The New Saints | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 : 10 | 3 |
33 | Dinamo Minsk | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 : 13 | 3 |
34 | Larne FC | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 : 12 | 3 |
35 | LASK Linz | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 : 14 | 3 |
36 | FC Petrocub Hincesti | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 : 13 | 2 |
Mladá Boleslav also earned a decent sum thanks to their participation in the main stage of the Conference League. The biggest part of it is 3.17 million euros (79.6 million crowns) as the "entry fee", 1.57 million euros (39.5 million crowns) will be given to the Central Bohemians for the value pillar, 800,000 euros (20 million crowns) were earned by the results. They narrowly failed to qualify for the spring fights.
The remaining fifth Czech representative in the cup season, Baník Ostrava, was eliminated in the 3rd round of the Conference League and won 725,000 euros (18.2 million crowns).
The draw for the first round of the knockout stage of the Football Conference League:
Pairings for the first round of the playoffs | Possible opponents for the eighth round |
Gent (17) - Betis Sevilla (15) | Chelsea (1)/ Vitoria (2) |
Bačka Topola (24) - Bialystok (9) | Legia (7)/ Cercle (8) |
Celje (21) - APOEL Nicosia (11) | Djurgarden (5)/ Lugano (6) |
Víkingur (19) - Panathinaikos (13) | Fiorentina (3)/ Rapid (4) |
FC Copenhagen (18) - Heidenheim (16) | Chelsea (1)/ Vitoria (2) |
Molde (23) - Shamrock Rovers (10( | Legia (7)/ Cercle (8) |
Omonia Nicosia (22) - Paphos (12) | Djurgarden (5)/ Lugano (6) |
Banja Luka (20) - Olimpija Ljubljana (14) | Fiorentina (3)/ Rapid (4) |
European Cup knockout stage dates for spring 2025
Conference league
Preliminary round - 13 and 20 February (for the Europa League draw on 31 January)
Eight finals - 6 and 13 March (draw on 21 February)
Quarterfinals - April 10 and 17
Semi-finals - 1st and 8th May
Final - 28th May (Vratislav)

UEFA/ gnews - RoZ