UEFA coefficients

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In European football, the UEFA coefficients are statistics used for ranking and seeding teams in club and international competitions.

The coefficients are calculated by UEFA, who administer football within Europe. It uses three different coefficients:

The national team coefficients use three points for a win and one for a draw, while the league and club coefficients, two points are awarded for a win and one point for a draw.

Contents

[edit] The coefficients

[edit] National team coefficient

The national team coefficient is derived from the results of the national football team of a nation. It is calculated dividing the number of points scored (three points for a win, one for a draw) by the number of matches played in the last two qualification rounds of the World Cup or European Championship. Play-off match results are ignored. For some countries only one qualifying round will be taken into account, if they were hosts of one of the last two events.

This coefficient is used by UEFA to determine in which "pot" a national team will be for the qualification tournaments of the World Cup and European Championship, and the final tournament of the European Championship. Each team in a pot is drawn into a separate qualifying group, thus keeping the bigger teams apart until the later stages of the competition.

If two or more associations have the same coefficient, the following criteria will be applied:

  1. coefficient from the matches played in its most recent qualifying competition,
  2. average goal difference,
  3. average number of goals scored,
  4. average number of away goals scored,
  5. drawing of lots.

[edit] Current ranking for the EC 2008 qualifying rounds

Rank Team Coefficient
1 Greece[1] 1.950
2 Netherlands 2.550
3 Portugal 2.500
4 England 2.500
5 Czech Republic 2.450
6 France 2.444
7 Sweden 2.278
8 Germany 2.250
9 Croatia 2.222
10 Italy 2.222
11 Turkey 2.100
12 Poland 2.056
13 Spain 2.056
14 Romania 1.950
15 Serbia and Montenegro 1.889
16 Russia 1.850
17 Denmark 1.850
18 Norway 1.778
19 Bulgaria 1.778
20 Ukraine 1.750
21 Slovakia 1.650
22 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1.611
23 Ireland 1.556
24 Belgium 1.556
25 Latvia 1.550
26 Israel 1.500
27 Scotland 1.500
28 Slovenia 1.444
29 Hungary 1.389
30 Finland 1.300
31 Estonia 1.250
32 Wales 1.167
33 Lithuania 1.111
34 Albania 1.050
35 Iceland 0.944
36 Georgia 0.850
37 Macedonia 0.750
38 Belarus 0.722
39 Armenia 0.700
40 Northern Ireland 0.667
41 Cyprus 0.667
42 Moldova 0.611
43 Liechtenstein 0.450
44 Azerbaijan 0.389
45 Andorra 0.250
46 Malta 0.222
47 Faroe Islands 0.111
48 Kazakhstan 0.083
49 Luxembourg 0.000
50 San Marino 0.000

Austria (1.333) and Switzerland (1.833) are already assured of places at Euro 2008 as host nations.

[edit] League coefficient

The league coefficient is used to rank the leagues of Europe, and thus determine the number of clubs from a league that will participate in competitions such as the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Champions League.

This coefficient is determined by the results of the clubs of the leagues over the past five seasons. The number of points awarded each season (two for each win by a club from that league, one for a draw) is divided by the number of teams that participated for that nation in that season. This number is then rounded down to three decimal places (e.g. 2 2/3 will be rounded to 2.666).

For the league coefficient the season's league coefficients for the last five seasons must be added up. In the preliminary rounds of both the awarded points are halved. Bonus points are allocated for:

  • Qualifying for the Champions League group phase. (3 bonus points)
  • Reaching the second round of the Champions league.
  • Reaching the quarter, semi and final of both Champions League and UEFA cup.

The bonus points are added to the number of points scored in a season.

[edit] Current ranking

The UEFA ranking determines the number of teams competing in the season after the next, not in the first season after the publication of the ranking. Thus, the 2006 ranking determines the proportion in 2007–08, not 2006–07.

Note: UEFA only publish country rankings at the end of each football season. While some independent web sites are proficient at applying UEFA calculations to give interim figures during the season, these should be taken as unofficial estimates, and not as categorical fact.

Here's the table showing the 2006 ranking:

Rank League Coeff. CL places UEFA Cup places
1 Spain Spain 72.748 4 3
2 Italy Italy 66.731
3 England England 63.486
4 France France 50.781 3
5 Germany Germany 48.364
6 Portugal Portugal 44.041
7 Netherlands Netherlands 41.331 2 4
8 Greece Greece 32.081
9 Russia Russia 31.833 2
10 Romania Romania 39.832
11 Scotland Scotland 30.375
12 Belgium Belgium 30.250
13 Ukraine Ukraine 26.600
14 Czech Republic Czech Republic 26.575
15 Turkey Turkey 26.166
16 Switzerland Switzerland 25.875 1 3
17 Bulgaria Bulgaria 24.290
18 Israel Israel 21.541
19 Norway Norway 20.975
20 Austria Austria 20.375
21 Serbia Serbia 19.999
22 Poland Poland 18.500 2
23 Denmark Denmark 16.950
24 Hungary Hungary 14.665
25 Croatia Croatia 14.083
26 Sweden Sweden 13.249
27 Slovakia Slovakia 12.332
28 Cyprus Cyprus 10.165
29 Slovenia Slovenia 10.165
30 Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina 8.165
31 Finland Finland 7.373
32 Latvia Latvia 7.164
33 Moldova Moldova 6.832
34 Georgia (country) Georgia 6.331
35 Lithuania Lithuania 5.832
36 Republic of Macedonia FYR Macedonia 5.331
37 Iceland Iceland 4.832
38 Liechtenstein Liechtenstein[2] 4.500 0 1
39 Belarus Belarus 4.415 1 2
40 Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland 4.331
41 Albania Albania 3.665
42 Armenia Armenia 2.998
43 Estonia Estonia 2.665
44 Malta Malta 2.665
45 Wales Wales 2.332
46 Northern Ireland Northern Ireland 2.332
47 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan 1.999
48 Luxembourg Luxembourg 1.832
49 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan 1.666
50 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands 1.665
51 San Marino San Marino 0.000 0 1
52 Andorra Andorra 0.000

[edit] Club coefficient

The club coefficient is determined by the results of a club in European club competition in the last five seasons, and the league coefficient. The club coefficient is 33% of the league coefficient plus the number of points earned by the club in the five seasons. The points earned by a club in the preliminary rounds are not counted.

This ranking is used by UEFA to determine which pot the club belongs to in the preliminary and first rounds of the Champions League, and the preliminary, first and second rounds of the UEFA Cup.

Note, UEFA only publish club rankings at the end of each football season. While some independent web sites are proficient at applying UEFA calculations to give interim figures during the season, these should be taken as unofficial estimates, and not as categorical fact.

The estimated top 10 clubs as of May 2006 (following the UEFA Champions League final) are as follows:

Position Club Country Coefficient
1 AC Milan Flag of Italy Italy 129.020
2 FC Barcelona Flag of Spain Spain 127.006
3 Real Madrid Flag of Spain Spain 120.006
4 Internazionale Flag of Italy Italy 112.020
5 Juventus Flag of Italy Italy 107.020
6 Liverpool Flag of England England 105.950
7 Arsenal Flag of England England 101.950
8 Manchester United Flag of England England 100.950
9 Valencia Flag of Spain Spain 95.006
10 Lyon Flag of France France 89.757
  • A full list can be found Here

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Greece will be first seeded, as European champion
  2. ^ Liechtenstein Football Association doesn't organize any league competition, and the only competitor from Liechtenstein in the international competitions is the Liechtenstein cup winner, that qualifies for the UEFA Cup. All of the Liechtenstein teams play in the Swiss league competitions.

[edit] External links