Europa League

Sunderland AFC will compete in the UEFA Europa League during the 2026-27 season, with the competition continuing under UEFA’s new league phase format.

All ticketing information regarding the group stage will be announced in due course via safc.com and our social media channels.
 
Here’s everything supporters need to know about how the tournament works…
 
The League Phase 

All Dates are TBC
 

The Europa League now features a single league table involving 36 clubs, replacing the traditional group stage format.
 
Each club plays eight matches in the league phase:
 
* Four at home
* Four away
 
Teams face:
 
* Two clubs from Pot 1
* Two clubs from Pot 2
* Two clubs from Pot 3
* Two clubs from Pot 4
 
Clubs can face teams from their own pot, but cannot be drawn against sides from the same country during the league phase.
 
How The Draw Works
 
The league phase draw will take place on Friday 28 August 2026 in Monaco.
 
All 36 clubs are placed into four seeding pots based on UEFA coefficient rankings before opponents are selected by a computer-assisted draw system.
 
Once the draw is complete, all eight opponents for each club are confirmed immediately.
 
Qualification For The Knockout Stage
 
The league table determines progression to the knockout rounds:
 
* Teams finishing 1st to 8th qualify automatically for the Round of 16
* Teams finishing 9th to 24th enter a two-legged knockout phase play-off
* Teams finishing 25th to 36th are eliminated from European competition
 
The knockout phase then follows a traditional two-legged format before the final.
 
The Final
 
The 2026-27 UEFA Europa League final will take place at the Waldstadion in Frankfurt on 26 May 2027.