Greece has an excellent range of European tickets for the 2023-2024 season, with two teams in Champions League qualification, one in the Europa League and two in the Europa Conference League, resulting in 15th place in the 2021 season -2024. Season 2022 in the UEFA ranking.

This particular season is the exception to the rule, as next year our country will take 20th place in the UEFA rankings, or even 19th, depending on the fate awaiting Russia from the European football confederation.

As if that wasn’t enough, the European map is also changing and from the 2024-2025 season the three main competitions will get a different qualifying stage and a different group stage. The new system has been analyzed in the past, but at the moment there are some open ‘fronts’ that UEFA have not clarified.

However, the ground rules have been revealed so each country largely knows what to expect from the European tickets it will offer its clubs as a prize for their progress in the 2023-2024 domestic competitions.

A place in the Champions League is lost

Greece finishes this season in 20th place in the UEFA rankings, securing their respective European spots for the 2024-2025 season’s competitions.

Tickets for this year have increased and in particular the places in the Champions League, but from next year Greece will return to four representatives, only one of which is represented in the top club competition.

This differentiation is not due to the change in the qualification process, but to our country’s loss of five places in the UEFA ranking.

The Greek champions from 2024 to 2025 will start their European journey as usual this year in the 2nd qualifying round of the champions path. AEK starts in the 3rd qualifier, but this happened due to the punishment of Russia and the absence of its teams in the new season’s competitions. If UEFA didn’t punish the Russians, Union would start from the 2nd qualifying round.

Greece wins Europa League, cup winner loses privileges

The big change is in the cup winner’s ticket. According to Scandinavian media, UEFA are changing their priorities and not putting as much emphasis on winning the domestic cup.

The previous second-best ticket for countries 16-33 in the UEFA rankings led to either the Europa League or a better round of the Europa Conference League and ended up with the cup winners (or first runner-up if the cup was won). The winner did not need it, as was the case in Hellas this year. From 2024-2025, the second-best ticket leads to the Europa League only.

In the current season, our country has had one representative in the Champions League and three in the third UEFA competition. From next year, the one ticket to the Europa Conference League will be removed and countries 16-33 in the UEFA rankings will replace it with a ticket to the 1st qualifying round of the Europa League (which will now receive the 1st and 2nd qualifying rounds ).

The Europa Conference League remains the big hope

The number of tickets for the third competition remains unchanged for Greece compared to 2023–2024, although reduced compared to this season. From three they fall and stabilize at two as long as our country is in the 16-33 field. The only way for them to move up is to fall below 33rd place if a Europa League ticket is lost and replaced with one for the Europa Conference League.

In 2023–2024, 4th and 5th place Stoiximan Super League playoffs will participate in this event, with tickets usually being awarded to 3rd and 4th place. The change comes as AEK won the Greek Novibet Cup, which doesn’t need a Europa League ticket and awards it to third-placed Olympiakos, who in turn awards the Europa Conference League ticket to fifth-placed Aris.

From 2024-2025, tickets to the Europa Conference League will be awarded to the 3rd place in the table and the winner of the cup, Greece, so there will be no change in the team that will win the cup in the second competition our country.

The movements continue

Also an important fact is the fact that there will still be moves from the eliminators of one competition to a higher round of a lower competition.

In this way, UEFA ensures that as many champions as possible remain in the group stage, as 22 of the players eliminated in Champions League qualifying definitely end up in the Europa League and Europa Conference League groups.

As for Greece, if the 2023-2024 champions are eliminated in the 2nd qualifying round of the Champions League, they will continue in the 3rd qualifying round of the Europa League. If the runner-up is disqualified from the Europa League 1st Qualifying Round, they will be admitted to the Europa Conference League 2nd Qualifying Round accordingly, with movements in a similar manner as before.