Does 5th place in the Premier League qualify for Champions League? Why Tottenham will miss out on 2024/25 place – Sporting News
The UEFA Champions League will undergo major changes for the 2024/25 season with Premier League sides impacted both in qualifying and the competition itself.
UEFA opted to end their long-standing group-stage format and move to a league-style structure, with a knockout-stage campaign included in the second half of the campaign.
The changes have been met with a mixed reaction from fans, managers and clubs, with Europe’s governing body accused of not involving them in the decision-making process.
However, as part of the updates, the number of teams competing has also increased from 32 to 36, with the potential opportunity for a fifth Premier League team to qualify.
Yet Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund’s performances struck a decisive blow to the hopes of English top-flight teams.
MORE: When is the 2023/24 Champions League final?
It was confirmed on May 1, 2024 that the Premier League will not be one of the leagues to benefit from an extra UEFA Champions League spot in 2024/25. That’s because their coefficient ranking isn’t strong enough.
That means Tottenham, who finished fifth in the Premier League in 2024/25, will qualify for the UEFA Europa League instead.
UEFA’s own data indicates that the European Performance Spots — two of the additional four places in the expanded Champions League, which will be awarded to the leagues with the best coefficients in 2023/24 — will be going to Italy and Germany. That would mean the fifth-place teams in Serie A and the German Bundesliga would take the European Performance Spots and thereby qualify for the 2024/25 Champions League.
This is all because Italy and Germany had been performing better in UEFA’s coefficient rankings thanks to the performances of their club teams in Europe this season. The Premier League was hurt by Manchester United and Newcastle United finishing bottom of their respective Champions League groups, and Arsenal's quarterfinal exit to Bayern Munich swung things further in Germany’s favour.
Borussia Dortmund’s progress to the semifinals was another huge boost for the Bundesliga, and it was their victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg that sealed the Premier League’s fate. Italy’s claim to one of those top-two spots weakened with Napoli and Inter Milan exiting the competition in the Round of 16, but not sufficiently.
With Real Madrid eliminating Manchester City, also at the quarterfinal stage, England’s rankings took a further hit, although it was somewhat mitigated by the fact City did not lose either leg but went out on penalties.
Next season could have been the first time since 2005/06 that five English clubs qualified for the Champions League. That season, it was due to Liverpool winning the 2005 final and finishing fifth in the Premier League with UEFA granting them a ‘champions’ spot.
UEFA’s coefficient rankings will determine which country earns a fifth Champions League qualifying spot next season. The top two will gain one of the extra places.
The standings are worked out by taking the country’s coefficient points and dividing them by the number of their teams in UEFA competitions to gain an average figure.
This table will be updated again once the quarterfinals of the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League are concluded.
*Figures correct as of May 1
*The top two will gain an extra UEFA Champions League place for 2024/25
UEFA coefficient rankings are worked out based on the performances of each association/league in European club competitions within five-year cycles.
Each association/league are awarded points based on how well their teams do in Europe, which are all added into a final total.
Points are awarded as follows:
The 2023/24 season is the final campaign in the current five-year period and will be crucial in deciding if the Premier League is granted an extra spot for the incoming years.
Points are earned by teams remaining in European competition, and the Premier League saw Manchester United and Newcastle eliminated from Europe after bowing out at the Champions League group stage, both finishing bottom of their groups.
Six from eight Spanish sides reached the knockout stages across those three European club tournaments, seven from seven for Italy/Serie A, and six from seven for Germany/Bundesliga. For English teams, it’s six from eight.
As it stands Germany and Italy will receive 5th place spots for Champions League qualification, but how does the UEFA coefficient work ❓
Mark McAdam explains the points system for Champions League places next season 📝 pic.twitter.com/oQKZqWGe6u
The 2024/25 Champions League will involve a 36-team league with each team playing eight games — an increase of two from the previous group stage format — to decide if the qualify for the Round of 16 knockouts.
The top eight teams in the league will qualify automatically with those placed from ninth to 24th competing in two-legged playoffs to secure their place.
With the coefficient table still taking shape, UEFA has confirmed which league will be receiving automatic places in the 2024/25 Champions League.
The Premier League’s top four from 2023/24 will qualify for the Champions League in 2024/25, with four spots also given to Spain. Germany and Italy will get five, as detailed above.
The move to boost the number of teams from 32 to 36 comes via two extra spots from coefficients, an extra playoff qualifier and third place in France’s Ligue 1 being upgraded from a qualifying round spot to a place in the competition.
As of May 19, these are the English teams occupying the qualifying spots for European competitions in 2024/25. The FA Cup final result will determine the final outcome.
Champions League: Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa
Europa League: Tottenham, Chelsea (if Man City win FA Cup final)
Conference League: Chelsea, Newcastle (if Man City win FA Cup final)
Feargal is a content producer for The Sporting News.
