"Three of the last four Conference League trophies have been won by Premier League clubs, with Crystal Palace, Chelsea and West Ham United among its previous winners." Driven by that historical ambition, 36 clubs gathered in Monaco under the new format to learn their fate in a single league table. Seeded in Pot 1, Atalanta, Braga, Ajax, Freiburg, Monaco and Copenhagen form the backbone of the European competition.
Set against those heavyweights, England's representative Brighton begin their journey from Pot 2, and they sit among the tournament favourites after thrashing Tromsø 4-0. Alongside them are Denmark's Midtjylland, Serbia's Red Star Belgrade, Belgium's Gent, Greece's Panathinaikos and Cyprus's Pafos. Firm bookmakers' odds are not available in the sources, yet experts point to the strength of the leading clubs and their Premier League status.
Yet the real battle starts in Pot 3, where sides such as Lugano, Getafe, Finland's KuPS, the Dutch club Twente, Lincoln Red Imps and Bosnia's Borac Banja Luka are grouped together. An upset is realistic. It was the Bosnian side who shattered their own jinx, despite losing all four of their previous European ties.
Pot 4 does nothing to slow that ruthless competitive tempo, with Scotland's Hearts beating Rapid Vienna 4-3 on penalties despite a red card. Fighting for position in the league table beside them are Sint-Truiden, Norway's Brann, Kazakhstan's Kairat, Turkey's Trabzonspor and Romania's Universitatea Craiova.
The drama carries into Pot 5, where Czech side Jablonec knocked Glasgow Rangers out of the competition in a nerve-shredding penalty shootout. They are joined there by Riga, Hajduk Split, Nordsjælland, Aarhus and Andorra's Inter d'Escaldes.
Crowning the whole whirlwind is Pot 6, where European football's new faces — Kauno Žalgiris, Mjällby AIF, Egnatia and Georgia's Iberia 1999 — begin their debut season alongside Thun and CSKA Sofia. The great adventure gets under way on 15 October, with the knockout play-offs set for 18 and 25 February 2027.
Istanbul's Beşiktaş Stadium hosts the final on 2 June. Football's Europe is waiting for new heroes.
