The fight between France and the Netherlands for 5th place in the UEFA index could end this Wednesday.
If Borussia Dortmund eliminates PSV Eindhoven in the round of 16 of the Champions League (1-1 in the first leg), France will be guaranteed to remain in this famous top 5 behind England, Spain, Germany and Italy.
What is the calculation method?
Why is 5th place nothing trivial?
We will explain everything to you.
To discover
Schedule and results Champions League
Champions League standings
How is the UEFA coefficient calculated?
The UEFA coefficient (or index) corresponds to the number of points scored by clubs according to their results in European competitions.
Win a match, draw rather than lose or skip a round: the better the performance, the more points accumulate.
To classify associations (i.e. countries), we add the number of points scored by each club, then divide the total by the number of clubs in the country that have participated in UEFA competitions (League Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League).
So that the ranking is not upset each year, we add the results of the last 5 seasons.
For example, France (64,997 points) was weighed down by the 2020-21 season (7,916) but raised its head in 2021-22 (18,416).
A very good or very bad season therefore weighs on the UEFA coefficient for several years.
Note that performing in C1 does not offer more points than performing in C3 or C4.
5th place, what difference does it make?
Until now, 5th place offered two tickets for the group stage of the Champions League, plus one for the 3rd preliminary round (given to the 3rd in the national championship).
From now on, there will be 3 directly qualified clubs, and still this ticket for the 3rd preliminary round, which would go to 4th in Ligue 1 in the case of France.
This novelty is explained by the reform of the Champions League which will no longer be contested with 32 but 36 clubs next season.
The reform makes 5th place in the UEFA index all the more prestigious.
Indeed, being 6th means remaining in the old configuration of 5th place, with less direct access to C1.
There are also repercussions on the Europa League: 5th place offers two tickets for the group stage, compared to only one plus one for the 2nd preliminary round in the country 6th in the UEFA index.
Why is this important for France?
5th place would naturally have repercussions on the influence and level of Ligue 1.
“More UEFA resources for our clubs, more visibility for our brands, and therefore better international notoriety”
, listed the president of the Professional Football League (LFP), Vincent Labrune, for
L'Équipe
in May 2023.
“We mechanically create a virtuous circle at the economic level,”
underlined Labrune.
This stronger presence in Europe will also, from our point of view, make it possible to attract significant foreign investors to strengthen the structure of our clubs.
The fewer clubs a country has qualified for Europe, the more difficult it is for them to catch up in the UEFA coefficient rankings.
The big nations start with an advantage on the starting line.
If the season ended there, who would qualify for the Champions League?
If the Ligue 1 ranking freezes on the 25th day with France retaining its 5th place, PSG, Brest and Monaco would qualify for the next Champions League, and potentially Lille after having passed the 3rd preliminary round then the play-offs.
In the event of 6th place, only Paris and Brest would play the C1, with Monaco in the preliminary round.
Lille would be satisfied with the Europa League.
Can France aim higher?
No.
Or at least not for a few years.
At the end of the 2022-23 season, England (109.570), Spain (92.998), Germany (82.481) and Italy (81.926) were far ahead of France (61.164) in the UEFA coefficient.
These four countries each have four clubs directly qualified for the Champions League, and above all have teams more likely to perform on the European scene.
We should reproduce the 2021-22 season: six French clubs had reached the round of 16 of European Cups.
Since 2018, this is the only season where France has done better than Germany and Italy.
Unless there is a collapse of these countries or a spectacular development of French football, the top 4 should not move.