UEFA coefficient

In European football, the UEFA coefficients are statistics used for ranking and seeding teams in club and international competitions. Introduced in 1979,^[1] the coefficients are calculated by UEFA, who administer football within Europe.

For men's competitions (discussed in this article), three different sets of coefficients are calculated:

• National team coefficient: used to rank national teams, for seeding in the UEFA Euro qualifying and finals tournaments
• Country coefficient: used to rank the collective performance of the clubs of each member association, for assigning the number of places, and at what stage clubs enter the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League
• Club coefficient: used to rank individual clubs, for seeding in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League

While not discussed in this article, coefficients are calculated in a similar fashion for women's competitions such as the UEFA Women's Euro^[2] and the UEFA Women's Champions League,^[3][4] as well as for youth tournaments such as the UEFA Euro U-21 tournament.^[5]

National team coefficient

The UEFA national team coefficient is derived from the results of each European national football team, and only calculated by UEFA every second year in November; defined as being the point of time when all UEFA nations have completed the qualification stage of the upcoming World Cup or European Championship tournament.

The purpose of calculating the coefficients is to compile an official UEFA rank, to be used as seeding criteria for the European nations, when drawing up qualification groups and the final tournament groups of the European Championship. Previously, up until 2006, the UEFA national team coefficient was also used for the seeded draw of World Cup qualification groups in Europe, while the draw for final tournament groups of the World Cup was always seeded on the basis of the official FIFA World Rankings. The reason why UEFA stopped using UEFA national team coefficients for the seeding of World Cup qualification groups was a request from FIFA to only use the official FIFA ranking for all seeded draws related to the World Cup tournament.

Old ranking and calculation method

It was first introduced in 2003 and used for seeding the 2004 European Final tournament and 2006 World Cup qualification. Until the end of the Euro 2008 tournament, the UEFA national team coefficient was calculated by dividing the number of all points scored (three points for a win, one for a draw) by the number of all matches played, in the last two qualification rounds of the World Cup or European Championship. Results from the final tournaments, Play-off matches and friendly games were all ignored. In those cases where a nation did not take part at one of the two latest qualifying rounds, due to being directly qualified as a host, only one qualifying round would be taken into account.

If two or more nations ended up with exactly the same coefficient, the following ranking criteria was applied:

1. Highest coefficient from the matches played in the most recent qualifying competition.
2. Biggest average goal difference per game, found by dividing the sum of all goal differences by the number of ranked matches.
3. Highest average number of goals scored per game.
4. Highest average number of away goals scored per game.
5. Drawing of lots.

The last three times UEFA used this calculation method was for the final UEFA coefficients in 2003, 2005 and 2007.^[6]

Current ranking and calculation method

On 20 May 2008, UEFA announced changes to the coefficient ranking system.^[7][8][9] The ranking will continue to be calculated every second year in November, but under the new system, teams now gain ranking points for each game played in the most recently completed full cycle (defined as all qualifying games and final tournament games) of both the World Cup and European Championship, with addition of ranking points for each game played at the latest completed half cycle (defined as all games played in the latest qualifying round). Ranking points for all games played inside those two and a half cycles, will be awarded according to the rules listed below.

1. 10,000 points are awarded for each match played, regardless of the match result.
2. Each team earns an additional 30,000 for winning and 10,000 for drawing.
3. In case of a game decided by penalty shoot out, the points are allocated as a draw, with the winner of the shoot-out gaining an additional 10,000 points.
4. Each match at the final tournament, or play-offs to determine qualification, are also granted some extra bonus points, ranging from 6,000 points for all play-offs or World Cup group stage games, to 38,000 points for playing a final.
5. 501 points are earned for each goal scored, and -500 are given for each goal conceded.
6. Coefficients are calculated for each two and a half cycle, by dividing the sum of earned points with the number of games played.
7. When calculating the overall average coefficient for the cycles, the latest full cycle and half cycle will each have double the weight, compared to the oldest full cycle.
8. Special arrangements are in place for those nations that did not participate in one of the previous qualifying tournaments due to hosting the competition.

Final ranking in 2015

The coefficients from 2015, to be used for the seeding and pot placements in the draw for UEFA Euro 2016 groups, were calculated for each country by averaging:

• 40% of the average ranking points per game earned in the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying stage
• 40% of the average ranking points per game earned in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying stage and final tournament
• 20% of the average ranking points per game earned in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying stage and final tournament.

The seeding and pot placements of the teams in the draw for UEFA Euro 2016 were based on UEFA coefficients, determined on 13 October 2015, which are as follows:^[10]

1.  Germany 40,236 2.  Spain 37,962 3.  England 35,963 4.  Portugal 35,138 5.  Belgium 34,442 6.  Italy 34,345 7.  Netherlands 33,679 8.  France 33,599 9.  Russia 31,345 10.   Switzerland 31,254 11.  Austria 30,932 12.  Croatia 30,642 13.  Bosnia and Herzegovina 30,367 14.  Ukraine 30,313

15.  Czech Republic 29,403 16.  Sweden 29,028 17.  Poland 28,306 18.  Romania 28,038 19.  Slovakia 27,171 20.  Hungary 27,142 21.  Denmark 27,140 22.  Turkey 27,033 23.  Republic of Ireland 26,902 24.  Greece 26,654 25.  Norway 26,439 26.  Slovenia 25,441 27.  Iceland 25,388 28.  Wales 24,521

29.  Israel 24,162 30.  Scotland 23,259 31.  Albania 23,216 32.  Montenegro 22,971 33.  Northern Ireland 22,961 34.  Serbia 22,127 35.  Finland 21,181 36.  Bulgaria 20,766 37.  Armenia 19,476 38.  Estonia 19,429 39.  Lithuania 19,278 40.  Belarus 18,666 41.  Georgia 17,786

42.  Azerbaijan 16,941 43.  Latvia 16,911 44.  Cyprus 16,898 45.  Moldova 16,621 46.  Macedonia 15,521 47.  Kazakhstan 14,101 48.  Luxembourg 13,821 49.  Liechtenstein 12,725 50.  Faroe Islands 12,681 51.  Malta 11,310 52.  Andorra 8,520 53.  San Marino 8,110 54.  Gibraltar 7,300

Country coefficient

Map of UEFA countries whose teams have reached the group stage of the UEFA Champions League

  UEFA member country that has been represented in the group stage

  UEFA member country that has not been represented in the group stage

  Not a UEFA member

The country coefficient is used to rank the football associations of Europe, and thus determine the number of clubs from an association that will participate in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League.

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 rankings at the end of the 2015–16 season determine the team allocation by association in the 2017–18 (not 2016–17) UEFA season; however, the actual teams that will be participating in the 2016–17 UEFA season are determined at the end of the 2015–16 season when the individual association classifications and national cups are finalized.

This coefficient is determined by the results of the clubs of the associations in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League games over the past five seasons. Two points are awarded for each win by a club, and one for a draw (points are halved in the qualifying and playoff rounds). Results determined by extra time do count in determining the allocation of points, but results determined by penalty-shootouts do not affect the allocation of points, other than for bonus points given for qualification into the latter rounds of the Champions League or the Europa League. The number of points awarded each season is divided by the number of teams that participated for that association in that season. This number is then rounded down to three decimal places (e.g. 2⅔ would be rounded to 2.666).^{[11] [12]}

To determine a country's coefficient for a particular season, the coefficients for the last five seasons are added. Bonus points are added to the number of points scored in a season. Bonus points are allocated for:

• Clubs that reach the quarter-finals, semi-finals, or final of either the UEFA Champions League or the UEFA Europa League (1 bonus point).
• Clubs that qualify for the group stage of the Champions League (4 bonus points).
• Clubs that qualify for the round of 16 of the Champions League (5 bonus points).

Current ranking

The ranking below takes into account of each association's performance in European competitions from 2011–12 to 2015–16, with the 2015–16 season currently taking place.

The final ranking at the end of the 2015–16 season will be used to determine the number of places for each association in the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League and 2017–18 UEFA Europa League.

Note: Starting from the 2015–16 season, all associations will have a maximum of three teams entering the Europa League.^[13]

As of 10 December 2015 the coefficients are as follows:^[14]

Rank 2016	Rank 2015	Mvmt.	Member association (L: League, C: Cup, LC: League cup1)	2011–12	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15	2015–16	Coeff.	Teams	CL places	EL places	Total
1	1	—	Spain (L, C)	20.857	17.714	23.000	20.214	13.500	95.285	7/7	4	3	7
2	3	+1	Germany (L, C)	15.250	17.928	14.714	15.857	11.571	75.320	6/7
3	2	–1	England (L, C, LC1)	15.250	16.428	16.785	13.571	10.625	72.659	6/8
4	4	—	Italy (L, C)	11.357	14.416	14.166	19.000	10.333	69.272	5/6	3		6
5	6	+1	France (L, C, LC1)	10.500	11.750	8.500	10.916	9.583	51.249	3/6
6	5	–1	Portugal (L, C)	11.833	11.750	9.916	9.083	8.500	51.082	4/6
7	7	—	Russia (L, C)	9.750	9.750	10.416	9.666	11.300	50.882	3/5	2		5
8	8	—	Ukraine (L, C)	7.750	9.500	7.833	10.000	6.800	41.883	2/5
9	10	+1	Belgium (L, C)	10.100	6.500	6.400	9.600	6.600	39.200	2/5
10	9	–1	Netherlands (L, C)	13.600	4.214	5.916	6.083	5.416	35.229	1/6
11	12	+1	Turkey (L, C)	5.100	10.200	6.700	6.000	5.400	33.400	2/5
12	11	–1	Switzerland (L, C)	6.000	8.375	7.200	6.900	4.500	32.975	2/5
13	14	+1	Czech Republic (L, C)	5.250	8.500	8.000	3.875	5.700	31.325	1/5
14	13	–1	Greece (L, C)	7.600	4.400	6.100	6.200	5.400	29.700	1/5
15	15	—	Romania (L, C)	4.333	6.800	6.875	5.125	2.250	25.383	0/4
16	16	—	Austria (L, C)	7.125	2.250	7.800	4.125	3.800	25.100	1/5	1		4
17	17	—	Croatia (L, C)	3.750	4.375	4.375	6.875	4.500	23.875	0/4
18	19	+1	Poland (L, C)	6.625	2.500	3.125	4.750	5.500	22.500	0/4
19	18	–1	Cyprus (L, C)	9.125	4.000	2.750	3.300	3.000	22.175	0/4
20	21	+1	Belarus (L, C)	3.125	4.500	1.750	5.500	5.125	20.000	0/4
21	24	+3	Sweden (L, C)	2.900	5.125	3.200	3.900	4.750	19.875	0/4
22	26	+4	Norway (L, C)	2.300	4.900	2.600	2.200	6.750	18.750	1/4
23	20	–3	Israel (L, C)	6.000	3.250	5.750	1.375	2.250	18.625	0/4
24	22	–2	Denmark (L, C)	3.100	3.300	3.800	2.900	5.000	18.100	1/4
25	23	–2	Scotland (L, C)	2.750	4.300	3.250	4.000	3.000	17.300	0/4
26	29	+3	Azerbaijan (L, C)	1.375	3.000	2.500	3.625	4.375	14.875	0/4
27	27	—	Serbia (L, C)	2.125	3.000	2.500	2.750	4.250	14.625	0/4
28	32	+4	Kazakhstan (L, C)	1.625	1.375	3.125	3.375	4.625	14.125	0/4
29	25	–4	Bulgaria (L, C)	1.500	0.750	5.625	4.250	1.000	13.125	0/4
30	28	–2	Slovenia (L, C)	2.250	3.250	2.625	4.000	1.000	13.125	0/4
31	30	–1	Slovakia (L, C)	2.375	1.500	1.625	2.750	3.750	12.000	0/4
32	38	+6	Liechtenstein (C2)	2.000	0.000	1.000	2.500	5.000	10.500	0/1	0	1	1
33	31	–2	Hungary (L, C)	2.250	3.000	0.875	2.125	1.625	9.875	0/4	1	3	4
34	33	–1	Moldova (L, C)	0.500	2.250	3.375	1.750	1.250	9.125	0/4
35	36	+1	Iceland (L, C)	1.375	1.250	2.500	2.500	1.125	8.750	0/4
36	34	–2	Georgia (L, C)	2.875	1.500	1.875	1.250	0.625	8.125	0/4
37	35	–2	Finland (L, C)	1.500	2.000	0.500	2.400	1.000	7.400	0/4
38	37	–1	Bosnia and Herzegovina (L, C)	1.125	1.250	1.500	1.750	1.500	7.125	0/4
39	42	+3	Albania (L, C)	0.875	0.750	2.000	0.875	2.125	6.625	0/4
40	39	–1	Macedonia (L, C)	1.625	1.250	0.500	1.125	1.500	6.000	0/4
41	40	–1	Republic of Ireland (L, C)	1.500	1.000	0.250	2.000	0.700	5.450	0/5
42	46	+4	Latvia (L, C)	0.625	1.250	1.625	0.250	1.625	5.375	0/4
43	43	—	Luxembourg (L, C)	1.125	1.375	1.500	0.500	0.750	5.250	0/4
44	41	–3	Montenegro (L, C)	0.500	1.375	1.250	0.750	1.000	4.875	0/4
45	45	—	Lithuania (L, C)	1.000	1.125	1.250	0.500	0.750	4.625	0/4
46	44	–2	Northern Ireland (L, C)	0.500	1.000	0.875	1.375	0.750	4.500	0/4
47	48	+1	Estonia (L, C)	0.375	0.375	1.000	1.500	1.000	4.250	0/4
48	51	+3	Armenia (L, C)	0.125	0.875	1.125	0.375	1.625	4.125	0/4
49	49	—	Faroe Islands (L, C)	0.500	0.500	0.875	1.375	0.375	3.625	0/4
50	47	–3	Malta (L, C)	0.833	0.875	0.875	0.125	0.875	3.583	0/4
51	50	–1	Wales (L, C)	0.625	0.500	0.750	0.125	1.500	3.500	0/4
52	54	+2	Gibraltar (L3, C)	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.250	0.750	1.000	0/2		1	2
53	52	–1	Andorra (L, C)	0.000	0.000	0.333	0.500	0.166	0.999	0/3		2	3
54	53	–1	San Marino (L, C)	0.000	0.000	0.333	0.000	0.000	0.333	0/3

¹ The winners of the league cups of England and France are given a place in the UEFA Europa League by special permission from UEFA.
² The Liechtenstein Football Association does not organize a national league competition as it does not have the necessary amount of national clubs. As a result, the only competitor from Liechtenstein in European competitions is the Liechtenstein Cup winners, who qualify for the UEFA Europa League.
³ The Gibraltar Football Association has only one place in each of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League as per decision by the UEFA Executive Committee.^[15] This will be reviewed in February 2016. ^[16]

UEFA uses this coefficient system to decide which teams gain automatic entry to the group stage and which teams must go through qualifying. The teams who occupy the top three league places in the countries ranked 1 to 3 in UEFA competition gain automatic entry into the group stages for the following season’s Champions League competition. The first and second placed teams in the countries ranked 4 to 6 also gain automatic entry, as do the champions in the countries ranked 7 to 12. The Champions League and Europa League winners also get the chance to participate in the following season’s competition, with the Champions League title holders guaranteed an automatic entry into the group stage.

Further information on Liechtenstein's status and similar cases.

According to the UEFA regulations a National League needs to consist of at least eight clubs to be considered valid, otherwise no participants of such a league will be allowed to enter European competitions. There are only seven clubs that are active in Liechtenstein, all of which play in neighbouring Switzerland's league competitions. Note: prior to the introduction of the Welsh Premier League in 1992 Wales also had a single participant, the winner (or best placed Welsh team as several English teams also competed) of the Welsh Cup, in the European competitions.

History

Ranking has been published by UEFA since 1979^[1] to identify the number of participants for each country in the UEFA Cup after the re-organization of the Inter-cities Fairs Cup in 1971. No calculation of coefficients took place prior to that. Later, for statistical purposes, various rankings were introduced to portray the history of competitions. Because the Inter-cities Fairs Cup was limited only to certain clubs and/or by invitation no coefficient calculation was necessary. According to the prorated (extended) calculation system only four leagues have succeeded in being the top European league.^[17]

Due to the Heysel Stadium disaster, all English teams were banned from UEFA competitions in 1985 and so the First Division did not gain any coefficient points until the ban was lifted after 5 seasons, directly affecting the ranking of the First Division and then the Premier League for 9 years from 1986 to 1994; top in 1985,^[18] England was unranked in 1990,^[19] and would not regain the top position until 2008.^[20]

The table shows the ranking of nations with respect to the total number of years leading in Europe:

As of 6 June 2015

League	Total
Serie A	13
La Liga	11
Bundesliga	7
First Division/Premier League	6

Club coefficient

The club coefficient rankings are determined by the results of clubs in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League over the previous five seasons, as well as by the coefficient of the clubs' association. The club coefficient is the sum of the points earned by the club over the five seasons plus 20% of the club's association coefficient.^[21][22]

The clubs receive two points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a defeat in games of the main stages of the Champions League and the Europa League. Results determined after extra-time are included in this method, however results determined after penalty shoot-outs are not (the result is considered a draw). Bonus points for entering the Europa League group stage are not additional to win/draw points; they provide a minimum points allowance for participating clubs, whereas bonus points for entering the Champions League group stage (and those for qualifying to the knockout stage) are additional to win/draw points.

Qualifying round results are only taken into account if the team is eliminated in one of the rounds (see table below). Otherwise, the qualifying round results are taken into account only for the calculation of the association's coefficient and are halved.^[21] The clubs do not receive any points for elimination in the Champions League third qualifying round or the play-off because those teams move to the Europa League and receive points from participation in that competition.^[22]

This ranking is used by UEFA to determine a club's seeding in club competition draws, including the preliminary and first rounds of the Champions League, and the preliminary, first and second rounds of the Europa League.

Before 1999 a number of strong teams in the UEFA Cup were seeded such that those teams did not meet in the first two rounds. To determine these teams, the sum of, the ratio of the number of points achieved to the number of games played by each team, was calculated for the past five years.

UEFA team ranking

The top 25 clubs as of 10 December 2015 are as follows.^[23]

Rank 2016	Rank 2015	Mvmt.	Club	Association	2011–12	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15	2015–16	Coeff.
1	1	—	Real Madrid	Spain	36.1714	29.5428	39.6000	33.0428	22.7000	161.057
2	3	+1	Bayern Munich	Germany	33.0500	36.5856	29.9428	31.1714	21.3142	152.064
3	2	–1	Barcelona	Spain	34.1714	27.5428	28.6000	38.0428	21.7000	150.057
4	4	—	Chelsea	England	33.0500	30.2856	28.3570	23.7142	20.1250	135.531
5	5	—	Atlético Madrid	Spain	34.1714	13.5428	37.6000	26.0428	20.7000	132.057
6	6	—	Benfica	Portugal	23.3666	28.3500	30.9832	9.8166	17.7000	110.216
7	11	+4	Paris Saint-Germain	France	9.1000	27.3500	26.7000	23.1832	19.9166	106.249
8	14	+6	Juventus	Italy	2.2714	25.8832	25.8332	32.8000	19.0666	105.854
9	9	—	Arsenal	England	22.0500	21.2856	21.3570	22.7142	17.1250	104.531
10	13	+3	Borussia Dortmund	Germany	10.0500	33.5856	24.9428	21.1714	9.3142	99.064
11	7	–4	Schalke 04	Germany	20.0500	22.5856	18.9428	20.1714	12.3142	94.064
12	15	+3	Zenit Saint Petersburg	Russia	19.9500	14.9500	18.0832	18.9332	21.2600	93.176
13	8	–5	Porto	Portugal	12.3666	22.3500	17.9832	26.8166	12.7000	92.216
14	17	+3	Manchester City	England	20.0500	10.2856	22.3570	17.7142	19.1250	89.531
15	12	–3	Valencia	Spain	25.1714	22.5428	26.6000	4.0428	10.7000	89.057
16	20	+4	Napoli	Italy	21.2714	8.8832	18.8332	25.8000	14.0666	88.854
17	19	+2	Basel	Switzerland	20.2000	17.6750	20.4400	16.3800	9.9000	84.595
18	16	–2	Bayer Leverkusen	Germany	19.0500	12.5856	18.9428	21.1714	11.3142	83.064
19	23	+4	Sevilla	Spain	5.6714	3.5428	26.6000	32.0428	10.7000	78.557
20	10	–10	Manchester United	England	16.0500	21.2856	26.3570	2.7142	12.1250	78.531
21	28	+7	Olympiacos	Greece	17.5200	10.8800	19.2200	12.2400	11.0800	70.940
22	21	–1	Tottenham Hotspur	England	10.0500	19.2856	18.3570	11.7142	11.1250	70.531
23	18	–5	Shakhtar Donetsk	Ukraine	9.5500	18.9000	12.5666	19.0000	7.3600	67.376
24	22	–2	Milan	Italy	22.2714	19.8832	18.8332	3.8000	2.0666	66.854
25	32	+7	Athletic Bilbao	Spain	27.1714	7.5428	4.6000	14.0428	11.7000	65.057

Top club by period

The following data indicate the top-ranked clubs in each 5-year period.^[24] Data prior to 1975–1979 period has been calculated, but precedes the first published by the Confederation and has merely informative value.^[24]

Years Club Coeff. 1975–1979 Borussia Mönchengladbach 8.402 1976–1980 Borussia Mönchengladbach 7.985 1977–1981 Barcelona 7.652 1978–1982 Barcelona 7.832 1979–1983 Barcelona 7.998 1980–1984 Liverpool 8.277 1981–1985 Liverpool 9.054 1982–1986 Anderlecht 7.915 Juventus 7.915 1983–1987 Juventus 8.665 1984–1988 Juventus 8.388 1985–1989 Bayern Munich 7.846 1986–1990 Bayern Munich 8.096 1987–1991 Juventus 8.291 1988–1992 Real Madrid 7.975 1989–1993 Real Madrid 7.850 1990–1994 Real Madrid 7.600 1991–1995 Real Madrid 7.266 1992–1996 Ajax 9.124

Years Club Coeff. 1993–1997 Juventus 8.719 1994–1998 Paris Saint-Germain 8.716 1995–1999 Juventus 121.606 1996–2000 Juventus 109.963 1997–2001 Real Madrid 114.605 1998–2002 Real Madrid 147.233 1999–2003 Real Madrid 151.769 2000–2004 Real Madrid 146.350 2001–2005 Real Madrid 131.326 2002–2006 Milan 129.020 2003–2007 Milan 133.808 2004–2008 Chelsea 124.996 2005–2009 Barcelona 121.853 2006–2010 Barcelona 136.951 2007–2011 Manchester United 151.157 2008–2012 Barcelona 157.837 2009–2013 Barcelona 157.605 2010–2014 Real Madrid 161.542 2011–2015 Real Madrid 171.999

Top-rated clubs listed by number of times they were top-ranked over a 5-year period since the first period officially analysed (1975–1979):

Rank	Club	Total
1	Real Madrid	11
2	Juventus	7
	Barcelona	7
4	Borussia Mönchengladbach	2
	Bayern Munich	2
	Liverpool	2
	Milan	2
8	Ajax	1
	Anderlecht	1
	Paris Saint-Germain	1
	Chelsea	1
	Manchester United	1

Criticisms

The UEFA coefficient system has been criticised for being likely to preserve the status quo for rankings and seedings, as well as for favouring teams from stronger nations.^[25]

See also

• UEFA Respect Fair Play ranking

References

External links

• Official UEFA rankings
• League and club coefficients at xs4all.nl
• UEFA Access List
• UEFA Country Ranking