Irish football wakes up to the reality this morning that both Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers have secured places in the UEFA Conference League league phase.

This is the first time that two clubs from the League of Ireland have made it to this stage.

They join a lineup that includes Crystal Palace (England), Fiorentina (Italy), AEK Athens (Greece), Dynamo Kyiv, and Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), as well as sides from 29 different nations, underlining the scale of their achievement.

This year’s competition will again be played under UEFA’s Swiss Model, a system that eliminates traditional group stages. Instead of being placed into groups of four, all 36 teams are drawn into a single league table. Each side plays six different opponents – three at home, three away – with fixtures determined by seeding.

The top eight teams after the league phase progress automatically to the Round of 16. Those ranked 9th to 24th will enter a play-off round, while the bottom 12 are eliminated.

We do not yet know the opponents, but we do know the dates on which the matches will be played, most likely all at Tallaght Stadium, with its higher UEFA ranking.

Matchday 1: Thursday, 2 October 2025

Matchday 2: Thursday, 23 October 2025

Matchday 3: Thursday, 6 November 2025

Matchday 4: Thursday, 27 November 2025

Matchday 5: Thursday, 11 December 2025

Matchday 6: Thursday, 18 December 2025

 

Here are all 36 of the teams that have qualified and will be in today’s draw.

Armenia Noah
Austria SK Rapid
Bosnia & Herzegovina Zrinjski
Croatia Rijeka
Cyprus AEK Larnaca, Omonoia
Czechia Sigma Olomouc, Sparta Praha
England Crystal Palace
Finland KuPS Kuopio
France Strasbourg
Germany Mainz
Gibraltar Lincoln Red Imps
Greece AEK Athens
Iceland Breidablik
Italy Fiorentina
Kosovo Drita
Malta Hamrun Spartans
Netherlands AZ Alkmaar
North Macedonia Shkëndija
Poland Jagiellonia Białystok, Lech Poznań, Legia Warszawa, Raków Częstochowa
Republic of Ireland Shamrock Rovers, Shelbourne
Romania Universitatea Craiova
Scotland Aberdeen
Slovakia Slovan Bratislava
Slovenia Celje
Spain Rayo Vallecano
Sweden Häcken
Switzerland Lausanne-Sport
Türkiye Samsunspor
Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv, Shakhtar Donetsk

From a football and a fan perspective this is brilliant but it is also very important from a financial persepective.

Looking back on last year’s competition, these are the rewards that teams are potentially in line for the more progress they make and the better resulkts they attain.

The amount secured by getting this far is likely toi be similar to last year at a level of just over €3 million.

Each win in the group phase is worth €400,000 and each draw €133,000.

Finishing in the Top 8 will get a bonus of €400,000 while coming between 9th and 24th and making it to the playoff phase for the knock out rounds is worth €200,000.

Last year’s tournament winners, Chelsea secured a bonus on top of these payments of €7 million.

Well worth the effort, even without the generational joy of the games to get this far.

 

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