When Olympiakos lost 1-0 to Wolves last night it meant much more to the SPFL than it did for the Greek club as they missed out on a last eight clash with Sevilla.
UEFA’s co-efficient system can be complex but with Scotland now the 15th ranked nation for the 2021/22 season there are a number of benefits.
In a normal season the Scottish champions have to start off in the first qualifying round which starts in the second week of July.
Under the current set up the 15th placed nation will enter the competition at the Third Qualifying Round provided the holders have already qualified through their league position. This season that will be the case provided Lyon or Napoli don’t go on to win the competition.
With the competition so heavily seeded the winners almost always come from a top four nation who all have four teams going straight into the group phase.
If an outsider wins the competition the Scottish champions will start out in the second qualifying round.
The individual club co-efficient is used is used for each round, this season Celtic will be seeded in each qualifying round with that set to continue next season if they perform this season similar to the last five seasons.
This season’s league battle doesn’t require any extra edge but the winning club will get a boost for next season’s Champions League qualifiers, almost certainly entering the competition four weeks later and after the start of the domestic season.
1. Olympiakos’ loss tonight means that Scotland are guaranteed to be ranked in the top 15 for the 21/22 season.
It has a big impact on our European participation, meaning
– A 2nd Champions League place
– A place in the new look Europa League
– All teams starting in later rounds— Moravcik67 (@Moravcik67_) August 6, 2020
2. For the Scottish champion it likely means starting in the 3rd qualifying round. 14th would guarantee QR3. 15th would guarantee starting in QR2, but being promoted to QR3 if the CL winner also qualifies for the group stage via their league – which is very likely.
— Moravcik67 (@Moravcik67_) August 6, 2020
3. In a normal non-pandemic season that would mean starting either 2 or 4 weeks later – allowing a longer summer break, and more time for Peter Lawwell to infuriate us by not signing the defenders we need before our first qualifier.
— Moravcik67 (@Moravcik67_) August 6, 2020