French
Deutsch2016–17 UEFA Europa League
.jpg) Friends Arena in Solna hosted the final | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | Qualifying: 28 June – 25 August 2016 Competition proper: 15 September 2016 – 24 May 2017 |
| Teams | Competition proper: 48+8 Total: 155+33 (from 54 associations) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Manchester United (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Ajax |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 205 |
| Goals scored | 565 (2.76 per match) |
| Attendance | 4,494,039 (21,922 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Edin Džeko (Roma) Giuliano (Zenit Saint Petersburg) 8 goals each |
| Best player(s) | Paul Pogba (Manchester United)[1] |
The 2016–17 UEFA Europa League was the 46th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the eighth season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.
The final was played between Ajax and Manchester United at the Friends Arena in Solna, Sweden.[2][3] Manchester United beat Ajax 2–0 to win their first title.[4] With this victory, they became the fifth club – after Juventus, Ajax, Bayern Munich and Chelsea – to have won all three major European trophies (European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League, and the now-defunct Cup Winners' Cup).[5]
Manchester United qualified for the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, and also earned the right to play against the winners of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League, Real Madrid, in the 2017 UEFA Super Cup.
As the title holders, Sevilla qualified for the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League. Having won the last three Europa League tournaments, Sevilla were unable to defend their titles as they reached the Champions League knockout stage, where they were eliminated by Leicester City in the round of 16.
Association team allocation[edit]
A total of 188 teams from 54 of the 55 UEFA member associations were expected to participate in the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League (the exception being Kosovo, whose participation was not accepted in their first attempt as UEFA members). The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients was used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:[6]
- Associations 1–51 (except Liechtenstein) each had three teams qualify.
- As the winners of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League, Sevilla qualified for the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League; the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League berth they would otherwise have earned for finishing 7th in the 2015–16 La Liga was vacated and not passed to another Spanish team.
- Associations 52–53 each had two teams qualify.
- Liechtenstein and Gibraltar each had one team qualify (Liechtenstein organises only a domestic cup and no domestic league; Gibraltar as per decision by the UEFA Executive Committee).[7]
- Moreover, 33 teams eliminated from the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League were transferred to the Europa League.
The UEFA Executive Committee approved in December 2014 changes to the rewards given according to the Respect Fair Play ranking, and starting from the 2016–17 season, the three Fair Play berths were no longer allocated to the Europa League.[8]
Association ranking[edit]
For the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League, the associations were allocated places according to their 2015 UEFA country coefficients, which took into account their performance in European competitions from 2010–11 to 2014–15.[9][10]
Apart from the allocation based on the country coefficients, associations could have additional teams participating in the Europa League, as noted below:
- (CL) – Additional teams transferred from Champions League
- (EL) – Vacated berth due to Europa League title holders playing in Champions League
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- Notes
- ^ Kosovo (KOS): Kosovo became a UEFA member on 3 May 2016.[11] UEFA decided that their domestic cup winners could participate in the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League only if they could meet licensing criteria under article 15 of the UEFA Club Licensing & Financial Fair Play regulations, which would be confirmed following the assessment made by the UEFA administration within the deadline of 31 May 2016.[12] However, Kosovo's entry, Prishtina (as the winners of the 2015–16 Kosovar Cup), was denied by UEFA in June due to the club failing licensing requirements, and also because the club could not provide a suitable stadium and UEFA did not allow them to play their home matches in a foreign country.[13][14]
Distribution[edit]
In the default access list, Sevilla enter the third qualifying round (as the seventh-placed team of the 2015–16 La Liga).[6][15] However, since they qualified for the Champions League as the Europa League title holders, the spot which they qualified for in the Europa League third qualifying round is vacated, and the following changes to the default allocation system are made:[16][17]
- The domestic cup winners of association 18 (Cyprus) are promoted from the second qualifying round to the third qualifying round.
- The domestic cup winners of associations 27 (Serbia) and 28 (Slovenia) are promoted from the first qualifying round to the second qualifying round.
| Teams entering in this round | Teams advancing from previous round | Teams transferred from Champions League | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First qualifying round (96 teams) |
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| Second qualifying round (66 teams) |
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| Third qualifying round (58 teams) |
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| Play-off round (44 teams) |
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| Group stage (48 teams) |
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| Knockout phase (32 teams) |
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Redistribution rules[edit]
A Europa League place is vacated when a team qualifies for both the Champions League and the Europa League, or qualifies for the Europa League by more than one method. When a place is vacated, it is redistributed within the national association by the following rules (regulations Articles 3.03 and 3.04):[6]
- When the domestic cup winners (considered as the "highest-placed" qualifier within the national association with the latest starting round) also qualify for the Champions League, their Europa League place is vacated. As a result, the highest-placed team in the league which have not yet qualified for European competitions qualify for the Europa League, with the Europa League qualifiers which finish above them in the league moved up one "place".
- When the domestic cup winners also qualify for the Europa League through league position, their place through the league position is vacated. As a result, the highest-placed team in the league which have not yet qualified for European competitions qualify for the Europa League, with the Europa League qualifiers which finish above them in the league moved up one "place" if possible.
- For associations where a Europa League place is reserved for the League Cup winners, they always qualify for the Europa League as the "lowest-placed" qualifier. If the League Cup winners have already qualified for European competitions through other methods, this reserved Europa League place is taken by the highest-placed team in the league which have not yet qualified for European competitions.
Teams[edit]
The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:[18][19][20]
- CW: Cup winners
- 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, etc.: League position
- LC: League Cup winners
- RW: Regular season winners
- PW: End-of-season European competition play-offs winners
- CL: Transferred from Champions League
- GS: Third-placed teams from group stage
- PO: Losers from play-off round
- Q3: Losers from third qualifying round
Notably two teams took part in the competition that were not playing in their national top division, Zürich (2nd tier) and Hibernian (2nd tier).
- Notes
- ^ Albania (ALB): Partizani were transferred to the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round following the exclusion of Skënderbeu by UEFA for match-fixing.[21]
- ^ Azerbaijan (AZE): Zira and Inter Baku would have qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round as the runners-up and fourth-placed team of the 2015–16 Azerbaijan Premier League respectively, but Zira failed to obtain a UEFA licence as the club has existed professionally for fewer than three seasons,[22][23] and Inter Baku were excluded from participating in the 2016–17 European competitions by the UEFA Club Financial Control Body.[24] As a result, the berths were given to the fifth-placed team Kapaz and the sixth-placed team Neftçi Baku.
- ^ Bulgaria (BUL): CSKA Sofia would have qualified for the Europa League second qualifying round as the winners of the 2015–16 Bulgarian Cup, but were excluded from participating in the 2016–17 European competitions by the UEFA Club Financial Control Body.[25] As a result, the runners-up of the 2015–16 A Group, Levski Sofia, entered the second qualifying round instead of the first qualifying round, and the first qualifying round berth was given to the fourth-placed team Slavia Sofia.
- ^ Greece (GRE): Panionios would have qualified for the Europa League second qualifying round as the fifth-placed team of the 2015–16 Superleague Greece, but were excluded from participating in the 2016–17 European competitions by UEFA for financial reasons.[26] As a result, the berth was given to the sixth-placed team PAS Giannina.
- ^ Latvia (LVA): Skonto would have qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round as the runners-up of the 2015 Latvian Higher League, but failed to obtain a UEFA licence.[27][28] As a result, the berth was given to the fifth-placed team Spartaks Jūrmala.
- ^ Malta (MLT): Sliema Wanderers would have qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round as the winners of the 2015–16 Maltese FA Trophy, but failed to obtain a UEFA licence.[29] As a result, the berth was given to the fourth-placed team of the 2015–16 Maltese Premier League, Balzan.
- ^ Romania (ROU): CFR Cluj would have qualified for the Europa League third qualifying round as the winners of the 2015–16 Cupa României, but failed to obtain a UEFA licence after filing for insolvency in 2015.[30][31] Dinamo București would have qualified for the Europa League second qualifying round as the fourth-placed team of the 2015–16 Liga I, but failed to obtain a UEFA licence after filing for insolvency in 2014.[32][33] Dinamo București appealed to the Romanian Football Federation but the appeal was denied,[34] and an appeal to Court of Arbitration for Sport[35] was also rejected.[36] As a result, the third qualifying round berth was given to the fifth-placed team Viitorul Constanța, and the second qualifying round berth was given to the seventh-placed team CSM Politehnica Iași, since the sixth-placed team Târgu Mureș were excluded from participating in the 2016–17 European competitions by the UEFA Club Financial Control Body.[24][31][37]
- ^ Turkey (TUR): Galatasaray would have qualified for the Europa League group stage as the winners of the 2015–16 Turkish Cup, but were excluded from participating in the 2016–17 European competitions by the UEFA Club Financial Control Body.[38] As a result, the third-placed team of the 2015–16 Süper Lig, Konyaspor, entered the group stage instead of the third qualifying round, the fourth-placed team İstanbul Başakşehir entered the third qualifying round instead of the second qualifying round, and the second qualifying round berth was given to the fifth-placed team Osmanlıspor. Galatasaray appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport,[39] but it was rejected.[40]
- ^ Ukraine (UKR): Dnipro would have qualified for the Europa League group stage as the third-placed team of the 2015–16 Ukrainian Premier League, but were excluded from participating in the 2016–17 European competitions by the UEFA Club Financial Control Body.[24] As a result, the fourth-placed team Zorya Luhansk entered the group stage instead of the third qualifying round, and the third qualifying round berth was given to the sixth-placed team FC Oleksandriya.
Round and draw dates[edit]
The schedule of the competition was as follows (all draws were held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).[41][6][42]
| Phase | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying | First qualifying round | 20 June 2016 | 30 June 2016 | 7 July 2016 |
| Second qualifying round | 14 July 2016 | 21 July 2016 | ||
| Third qualifying round | 15 July 2016 | 28 July 2016 | 4 August 2016 | |
| Play-off | Play-off round | 5 August 2016 | 18 August 2016 | 25 August 2016 |
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | 26 August 2016 (Monaco) | 15 September 2016 | |
| Matchday 2 | 29 September 2016 | |||
| Matchday 3 | 20 October 2016 | |||
| Matchday 4 | 3 November 2016 | |||
| Matchday 5 | 24 November 2016 | |||
| Matchday 6 | 8 December 2016 | |||
| Knockout phase | Round of 32 | 12 December 2016 | 16 February 2017 | 23 February 2017 |
| Round of 16 | 24 February 2017 | 9 March 2017 | 16 March 2017 | |
| Quarter-finals | 17 March 2017 | 13 April 2017 | 20 April 2017 | |
| Semi-finals | 21 April 2017 | 4 May 2017 | 11 May 2017 | |
| Final | 24 May 2017 at Friends Arena, Solna | |||
Matches in the qualifying, play-off, and knockout rounds could also be played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays instead of the regular Thursdays due to scheduling conflicts.
Qualifying rounds[edit]
In the qualifying rounds and the play-off round, teams were divided into seeded and unseeded teams based on their 2016 UEFA club coefficients,[43][44][45] and then drawn into two-legged home-and-away ties. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other.
First qualifying round[edit]
The draws for the first and second qualifying round were held on 20 June 2016.[46][47] The first legs were played on 28 and 30 June, and the second legs were played on 5, 6 and 7 July 2016.
- Notes
- ^ a b c d e Order of legs reversed after original draw.
- ^ Partizani replaced Skënderbeu in the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round and Slovan Bratislava proceeded directly to the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round, after Skënderbeu was excluded by UEFA for match-fixing.[48]
Second qualifying round[edit]
The first legs were played on 14 July, and the second legs were played on 20 and 21 July 2016.
- Notes
Third qualifying round[edit]
The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 15 July 2016.[49][50] The first legs were played on 28 July, and the second legs were played on 3 and 4 August 2016.
- Notes
Play-off round[edit]
The draw for the play-off round was held on 5 August 2016.[51][52] The first legs were played on 17 and 18 August, and the second legs were played on 25 August 2016.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Astana  | 4–2 |  BATE Borisov | 2–0 | 2–2 |
Arouca  | 1–3 |  Olympiacos | 0–1 | 1–2 (a.e.t.) |
Midtjylland  | 0–3 |  Osmanlıspor | 0–1 | 0–2 |
Trenčín  | 2–4 |  Rapid Wien | 0–4 | 2–0 |
Lokomotiva  | 2–4 |  Genk | 2–2 | 0–2 |
AEK Larnaca  | 0–4 |  Slovan Liberec | 0–1 | 0–3 |
Dinamo Tbilisi  | 0–5 | PAOK | 0–3 | 0–2 |
| Austria Wien | 4–2 |  Rosenborg | 2–1 | 2–1 |
Beitar Jerusalem  | 1–2 |  Saint-Étienne | 1–2 | 0–0 |
Vojvodina  | 0–3 | AZ | 0–3 | 0–0 |
Gabala  | 3–2[E] |  Maribor | 3–1 | 0–1 |
| Slavia Prague | 0–6 | Anderlecht | 0–3 | 0–3 |
Astra Giurgiu  | 2–1 | West Ham United | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Fenerbahçe | 5–0 |  Grasshopper | 3–0 | 2–0 |
| Panathinaikos | 4–1[E] | Brøndby | 3–0 | 1–1 |
Krasnodar  | 4–0 |  Partizani | 4–0 | 0–0 |
| Gent | 6–1 |  Shkëndija | 2–1 | 4–0 |
| İstanbul Başakşehir | 1–4 |  Shakhtar Donetsk | 1–2 | 0–2 |
| SønderjyskE | 2–3 | Sparta Prague | 0–0 | 2–3 |
Sassuolo  | 4–1 | Red Star Belgrade | 3–0 | 1–1 |
IFK Göteborg  | 1–3 | Qarabağ | 1–0 | 0–3 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 3–3 (4–3 p) | Hajduk Split | 2–1 | 1–2 (a.e.t.) |
- Notes
Group stage[edit]
Red: Group A; 
Yellow: Group B; 
Green: Group C; 
Dark Green: Group D;
Purple: Group E; 
Pink: Group F; 
Blue: Group G; 
Orange: Group H;
Brown: Group I; 
Deep pink: Group J; 
Cyan: Group K; 
Spring green: Group L.The draw for the group stage was held on 26 August 2016, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.[53] The 48 teams were drawn into twelve groups of four, with the restriction that teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other. For the draw, the teams were seeded into four pots based on their 2016 UEFA club coefficients.[43][44][45]
In each group, teams play against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The group winners and runners-up advance to the round of 32, where they are joined by the eight third-placed teams of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League group stage. The matchdays are 15 September, 29 September, 20 October, 3 November, 24 November, and 8 December 2016.
A total of 21 national associations are represented in the group stage. Astana, Celta Vigo, Dundalk, Hapoel Be'er Sheva, Konyaspor, Mainz 05, Manchester United, Nice, Olympiacos, Osmanlıspor, Sassuolo, Southampton and Zorya Luhansk made their debut appearances in the UEFA Europa League group stage (although Celta Vigo and Olympiacos had appeared in the UEFA Cup group stage and Manchester United and Olympiacos had already competed in the UEFA Europa League knockout phase after a third place in the UEFA Champions League group stage).[54]
