UEFA and Scottish clubs
9 September 2026
UEFA will change the Europa League qualifying format from next season by keeping champions and non-champions in separate paths through the final qualifying round. The change makes the route significantly tougher for Scotland’s representative trying to reach the league phase.
Scottish cup winners or the Premiership runners-up will enter the non-champions route, where stronger clubs from higher-ranked leagues can appear. Scotland’s falling coefficient also means Celtic or Rangers could be unseeded, increasing the chance of a difficult qualifying draw.