Conference League
I have no idea what's going to happen in the next week. If the worst happens; how does Conference League compare to Europa League?
Not getting taken out of the Conference League
Blizter owns shares in both Brondby and Palace. It was reported by Matt Slater in The Athletic that the shareholding isn’t enough to be an issue for UEFA. So at least Palace would be in the Europa Conference League.
Away ticket prices
Last season, UEFA brought in an away ticket cap. Next season it will be €35 in Europa and €20 in the Conference League. At least the max price would be €15 less per game. But in practice, most teams will not charge the maximum price.
“This will be further reduced in the 2025/26 season to a maximum price of €50 in the UEFA Champions League, €35 in the UEFA Europa League and still €20 in the UEFA Conference League.”
Below is a table for Chelsea’s trips, and it normally costs around 17 pounds per game. Away ends vary from under a thousand to three thousand. The highest being in Greece, with Panathinaikos being the highest.
Just for reference, on Spur’s run, the tickets were more expensive.
Starting in a playoff
Palace would have to start in a play-off before the group games. No team goes straight into the league phase. The draw would be on August 4th. This will be seeded. Palace will be seeded and should face an unseeded team. Last season, the higher-profile unseed teams were Panathinaikos, Kilmarnock, Puskás, and St Patrick's Athletic. It’s going to be hard to find out the teams this season as it includes 16 teams that drop down from qualifiers of the Europa League qualifiers. Teams coming from the Champions League qualifiers only play teams from the Champions section, so Palace cannot face them. I would be very unhappy if Palace goes out before the league phase.
But fewer games in the league stage. This includes six games, with three at home and three away. The teams are split into 6 pots, and you get to play a team from each pot. The pots are based on UEFA coefficients. The idea is that you get to play a mixture of teams.
Kick-off times
The Europa League is quite consistent with 8 pm kick-off times. With the Conference League, it’s based on location. UK games kick off at 8 pm, but the away games vary. Chelsea last season had kick-off times of 15:30 (1), 17:45 (4), and 19:30 (1). So might have to duck straight from work to the pub/home for those away games.
Chance of winning less quality after the Swiss system
Back when West Ham won the Conference League. The group stage for the Champions League and Europa League now has 36 teams each, up from 32 teams each. So, in theory, the standard was dropped by eight teams since West Ham won the competition. In the final, they played ACF Fiorentina. They qualified by finishing 7th the year before. Now every season since they finish between 8th and 6th but still end up in the conference league. West Ham beat AZ Alkmaar in the semi-final, and they finished 5th in the Netherlands. AZ are back in the competition but finished 6th last season. So just happens that same teams have qualified this season.
Easier than the FA Cup
Last year, Chelsea won it without breaking a sweat. Part of that was just how deep their squad is and how many youngsters they used. It won't be that easy for Palace. But the FA Cup is a much harder competition. Palace had to beat Villa (Champions League quarter-finalists) and Man City (Champions League knockout stages).
Given the English teams’ prior experiences. I would expect either Palace or Forest to get to a least the Semi-final. The only English team not to get that stage was Tottenham, and they played very weak teams in the group stage.
Hardest teams
Fiorentina (6th) - Been in this tournament 4 out possible 5 getting to the final two times. Seria A won twice, Coppa Italia six times, and the Cup Winners’ Cup winner.
Rayo Vallecano (8th) - Madrid team that used to yo-yo side, Played in UEFA Cup in the 2000–01 season, no major honors
Mainz 05 (6th) - Has qualified for five times, no major honours
France Strasbourg (7th) - Played 52 games in Europe, not played there since 2020, Won Ligue 1 once, Coupe de France three times,
Biggest budget
Deloitte Football Money League 2025 has Palace as the 26th largest revenue. None of the other teams are close. Fiorentina's wage bill is estimated at €61.6m from Calcio e Finanza. From Palace’s investment summary, the players’ wage bill for 23/24 was £101m (€117m). Palace’s wage bill isn’t far off double that of a two-time finalist of this competition.
Keeping hold of players
I think the pull for players isn't one season in Europe. The club needs to constantly be in Europe to get the pull effect. Now with Eze and other players currently at Palace. European football may encourage them to stay one more year. Not sure conference league has any status with players. Neither Europa nor Conference is the Champions League
Squad needs
With lower quality. The squad can rotate more and have less depth needed. Palace could give minutes to more youth players. I would use the Conference to give minutes to França and other players close to the first team.
Prize Money
Chelsea won around £15m by winning this cup last season. Palace won £3.91m from the FA Cup last season. But a league spot in the Premier League is worth £3m. So Conference League is worth about 5 league positions. Tottenham has won £26.5m from the Europa League.