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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]

Men's National team coefficient

The UEFA national team coefficient is derived from the results of each European national football team, and is 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. UEFA stopped using UEFA national team coefficients for the seeding of World Cup qualification groups at the request of 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.

Current ranking and calculation method

On 20 May 2008, UEFA announced changes to the coefficient ranking system.^[6][7][8] 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 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 2017

The coefficients from 2017, to be used for the seeding and pot placements in the draw for 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, were calculated for each country by averaging:

• 40% of the average ranking points per game earned in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying stage.


• 40% of the average ranking points per game earned in the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying stage and final tournament.


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

The seeding and pot placements of the teams in the draw for the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League were based on the UEFA coefficients, determined on 11 October 2017, which are as follows:^[9]

1.  Germany 40,747 2.  Portugal 38,655 3.  Belgium 38,123 4.  Spain 37,311 5.  France 36,617 6.  England 36,231 7.   Switzerland 34,986 8.  Italy 34,426 9.  Poland 32,982 10.  Iceland 31,155 11.  Croatia 31,139 12.  Netherlands 29,866 13.  Austria 29,418 14.  Wales 29,269

15.  Russia 29,258 16.  Slovakia 28,555 17.  Sweden 28,487 18.  Ukraine 28,286 19.  Republic of Ireland 28,249 20.  Bosnia and Herzegovina 28,200 21.  Northern Ireland 27,127 22.  Denmark 27,052 23.  Czech Republic 27,028 24.  Turkey 26,538 25.  Hungary 26,486 26.  Romania 26,057 27.  Scotland 25,662 28.  Slovenia 25,148

29.  Greece 24,931 30.  Serbia 24,847 31.  Albania 24,430 32.  Norway 24,208 33.  Montenegro 23,912 34.  Israel 22,792 35.  Bulgaria 22,091 36.  Finland 20,501 37.  Cyprus 19,491 38.  Estonia 19,441 39.  Lithuania 18,101 40.  Azerbaijan 17,761 41.  Macedonia 17,071 42.  Belarus 16,868

43.  Georgia 16,523 44.  Armenia 15,846 45.  Latvia 15,821 46.  Faroe Islands 15,490 47.  Luxembourg 14,231 48.  Kazakhstan 13,431 49.  Moldova 13,130 50.  Liechtenstein 10,950 51.  Malta 10,870 52.  Andorra 10,240 53.  Kosovo 9,950 54.  San Marino 8,190 55.  Gibraltar 7,550

History

After the recalculation of the coefficient rankings for the 2007 cycle, Italy were ranked top following their FIFA World Cup victory in 2006. Runners-up France lay behind them in second place, followed by the Czech Republic. Spain overtook Italy to gain first place following their UEFA Euro 2008 win, with beaten finalists Germany moving into second; the Netherlands were third.

Spain consolidated their top spot by winning the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with the Netherlands jumping above Germany by finishing second in the tournament. In the 2013 rankings, Spain maintained top spot by winning their third major competition in a row - UEFA Euro 2012. Germany regained second, with the Dutch falling back to third place after failing to make it out of their group.

Germany climbed to the top of the 2015 rankings as a result of their 2014 FIFA World Cup success; Spain dropped behind them. England reached their highest position in the rankings - placed third. Germany held on to top spot in 2017, with new European champions Portugal in second; Belgium were third.

Year	First		Second		Third
	Team	Coeff.	Team	Coeff.	Team	Coeff.
2007[7]	Italy	36,986	France	36,219	Czech Republic	36,025
2009[10]	Spain	39,964	Germany	38,294	Netherlands	37,821
2011[11]	Spain	43,116	Netherlands	40,860	Germany	40,446
2013[12]	Spain	42,158	Germany	41,366	Netherlands	38,541
2015[13]	Germany	40,236	Spain	37,963	England	35,963
2017[9]	Germany	40,747	Portugal	38,655	Belgium	38,123

Women's National team coefficient

Old Women ranking and calculation method

Current Women ranking and calculation method

Final Women's ranking in 2017

• 
  UEFA Women's Euro 2013 final tournament and qualifying competition (20%)


• 
  2015 FIFA Women's World Cup final tournament and qualifying competition (40%)


• 
  UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying competition (40%)

Team Coeff Rank[14]  Germany 42,957 1  France 42,355 2  England 39,880 3  Norway 39,161 4  Sweden 38,036 5  Spain 37,655 6   Switzerland 36,629 7  Italy 34,775 8  Netherlands 34,642 9  Iceland 34,141 10  Scotland 33,632 11  Denmark 32,915 12  Austria 31,882 13  Belgium 31,213 14  Russia 30,367 15  Finland 29,815 16  Ukraine 28,579 17  Wales 25,807 18  Romania 25,602 19

Team Coeff Rank[14]  Poland 24,832 20  Czech Republic 23,874 21  Republic of Ireland 23,669 22  Portugal 22,860 23  Serbia 21,579 24  Hungary 20,362 25  Bosnia and Herzegovina 19,546 26  Belarus 19,434 27  Slovakia 18,104 28  Slovenia 17,224 29  Northern Ireland 17,051 30  Croatia 16,266 31  Turkey 15,656 32  Israel 14,641 33  Greece 13,961 34  Kazakhstan 13,350 35  Estonia 11,151 36  Albania 9,121 37  Faroe Islands 8,020 38

Team Coeff Rank[14]  Moldova 7,910 39  Bulgaria 7,817 40  Macedonia 7,768 41  Malta 7,208 42  Armenia 7,194 43  Montenegro 7,191 44  Georgia 6,316 45  Lithuania 4,818 46  Latvia 4,584 47  Luxembourg 4,109 48  Andorra 1,793 49  Kosovo — —  Azerbaijan — —  Cyprus — —  Gibraltar — —  Liechtenstein — —  San Marino — —

History

Year	First		Second		Third
	Team	Coeff.	Team	Coeff.	Team	Coeff.
2017	Germany	42,957	France	42,355	England	39,880

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 2017–18 season determine the team allocation by association in the 2019–20 (not 2018–19) UEFA season; however, the actual teams that will be participating in the 2019–20 UEFA season are determined at the end of the 2018–19 season when the individual association classifications and national cups are finalised.

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).^[15][16]

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 2014–15 to 2018–19, with the 2018–19 season currently taking place.

The final ranking at the end of the 2018–19 season will be used to determine the number of places for each association in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League and 2020–21 UEFA Europa League.

As of 13 December 2018 the coefficients are as follows:^[17][18]

Ranking			Member association (L: League, C: Cup, LC: League cup1)	Coefficient						Teams	Places in 2020–21 season
2019	2018	Mvmt		2014–15	2015–16	2016–17	2017–18	2018–19	Total		CL	EL	Total
1	1	—	Spain (L, C)	20.214	23.928	20.142	19.714	13.571	97.569	7/7	4	3	7
2	2	—	England (L, C, LC1)	13.571	14.250	14.928	20.071	12.785	75.605	6/7
3	3	—	Italy (L, C)	19.000	11.500	14.250	17.333	10.071	72.154	5/7
4	4	—	Germany (L, C)	15.857	16.428	14.571	9.857	13.071	69.784	5/7
5	5	—	France (L, C, LC1)	10.916	11.083	14.416	11.500	9.250	57.165	3/6	3		6
6	6	—	Russia (L, C)	9.666	11.500	9.200	12.600	6.750	49.716	2/6
7	7	—	Portugal (L, C)	9.083	10.500	8.083	9.666	8.500	45.832	3/5	2		5
8	9	+1	Belgium (L, C)	9.600	7.400	12.500	2.600	7.200	39.300	2/5
9	8	–1	Ukraine (L, C)	10.000	9.800	5.500	8.000	4.800	38.100	2/5
10	10	—	Turkey (L, C)	6.000	6.600	9.700	6.800	4.900	34.000	2/5
11	14	+3	Netherlands (L, C)	6.083	5.750	9.100	2.900	6.800	30.633	1/5
12	11	–1	Austria (L, C)	4.125	3.800	7.375	9.750	5.400	30.450	2/5
13	15	+2	Greece (L, C)	6.200	5.400	5.800	5.100	4.900	27.400	1/5
14	17	+3	Denmark (L, C)	2.900	5.500	8.500	5.250	4.875	27.025	0/4
15	12	–3	Switzerland (L, C)	6.900	5.300	4.300	6.500	3.900	26.900	1/5
16	13	–3	Czech Republic (L, C)	3.875	7.300	5.500	5.500	4.700	26.875	2/5	1		4
17	16	–1	Croatia (L, C)	6.875	4.500	5.125	5.125	4.750	26.375	1/4
18	19	+1	Cyprus (L, C)	3.300	3.000	5.500	7.000	6.125	24.925	0/4
19	25	+6	Serbia (L, C)	2.750	4.250	2.875	6.375	6.000	22.250	0/4
20	26	+6	Scotland (L, C)	4.000	3.000	4.375	4.000	6.750	22.125	1/4
21	27	+6	Belarus (L, C)	5.500	5.125	3.000	3.250	4.500	21.375	1/4
22	22	—	Sweden (L, C)	3.900	4.750	2.750	5.375	4.125	20.900	1/4
23	29	+6	Norway (L, C)	2.200	7.250	1.375	4.000	5.375	20.200	0/4
24	28	+4	Kazakhstan (L, C)	3.375	4.625	2.750	4.250	4.250	19.250	0/4
25	21	–4	Poland (L, C)	4.750	5.500	3.875	2.875	2.250	19.250	0/4
26	23	–3	Azerbaijan (L, C)	3.625	4.375	4.250	4.375	2.375	19.000	0/4
27	18	–9	Israel (L, C)	1.375	2.250	6.750	5.625	2.625	18.625	0/4
28	24	–4	Bulgaria (L, C)	4.250	1.000	4.250	4.000	4.000	17.500	0/4
29	20	–9	Romania (L, C)	5.125	2.250	3.300	2.900	2.375	15.950	0/4
30	32	+2	Slovakia (L, C)	2.750	3.750	2.125	1.875	5.125	15.625	0/4
31	30	–1	Slovenia (L, C)	4.000	1.000	2.250	4.625	3.125	15.000	0/4
32	31	–1	Liechtenstein (C2)	2.500	5.000	2.500	2.000	1.500	13.500	0/1	0	1	1
33	36	+3	Hungary (L, C)	2.125	1.625	1.875	1.625	3.250	10.500	0/4	1	3	4
34	37	+3	Macedonia (L, C)	1.125	1.500	1.250	3.125	1.000	8.000	0/4
35	33	–2	Moldova (L, C)	1.750	1.250	0.875	2.750	1.125	7.750	0/4
36	34	–2	Albania (L, C)	0.875	2.125	0.875	2.625	1.000	7.500	0/4
37	39	+2	Republic of Ireland (L, C)	2.000	0.700	2.625	1.125	1.000	7.450	0/4
38	38	—	Finland (L, C)	2.400	1.000	1.750	1.250	0.875	7.275	0/4
39	35	–4	Iceland (L, C)	2.500	1.125	1.000	1.125	1.500	7.250	0/4
40	40	—	Bosnia and Herzegovina (L, C)	1.750	1.500	0.500	1.375	2.000	7.125	0/4
41	43	+2	Lithuania (L, C)	0.500	0.750	0.500	2.375	2.625	6.750	0/4
42	41	–1	Latvia (L, C)	0.250	1.625	1.375	0.750	1.625	5.625	0/4
43	48	+5	Luxembourg (L, C)	0.500	0.750	0.750	0.875	2.625	5.500	0/4
44	46	+2	Armenia (L, C)	0.375	1.625	1.125	0.625	1.500	5.250	0/4
45	47	+2	Malta (L, C)	0.125	0.875	1.250	1.375	1.500	5.125	0/4
46	42	–4	Estonia (L, C)	1.500	1.000	1.375	0.625	0.500	5.000	0/4
47	45	–2	Georgia (L, C)	1.250	0.625	1.125	0.125	1.625	4.750	0/4
48	50	+2	Wales (L, C)	0.125	1.500	1.000	0.500	1.000	4.125	0/4
49	44	–5	Montenegro (L, C)	0.750	1.000	0.875	1.125	0.375	4.125	0/4
50	51	+1	Faroe Islands (L, C)	1.375	0.375	0.375	0.750	1.125	4.000	0/4
51	52	+1	Gibraltar (L, C)	0.250	0.750	1.500	0.500	1.000	4.000	0/3
52	49	–3	Northern Ireland (L, C)	1.375	0.750	0.500	0.750	0.500	3.875	0/4		2	3
53	55	+2	Kosovo (L3, C)	Not a UEFA member		No entry	0.000	2.500	2.500	0/2
54	53	–1	Andorra (L, C)	0.500	0.166	0.166	0.166	0.833	1.831	0/3
55	54	–1	San Marino (L, C)	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.166	0.500	0.666	0/3		1	2

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 (replacing the lowest-ranked league team which would have qualified).
² The Liechtenstein Football Association does not organise a national league competition and all its seven clubs compete in the Swiss football league system.^[19][20] As a result, the only competitor from Liechtenstein in European competitions is the Liechtenstein Cup winners, who qualify for the UEFA Europa League.^[20]
3 The Football Federation of Kosovo became a UEFA member on 3 May 2016.^[21] The participation of their domestic league champions in the UEFA Champions League and their domestic cup winners in the UEFA Europa League were to be confirmed following the assessment of club licensing criteria by 31 May 2016,^[22] but was denied by UEFA in June due to the clubs failing licensing requirements or provision of suitable stadiums (as UEFA did not allow them to play their home matches in a foreign country).^[23][24]

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 four league places in the countries ranked 1 to 4 in UEFA competition gain automatic entry into the group stages for the following season’s Champions League competition. The first and second placed teams of the country ranked 5 and 6 also gain automatic entry as do the champions in the countries ranked 7 to 11. 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.


• The league of Gibraltar used to have only six teams, but was expanded to eight in 2013–14 after admission to UEFA, to fulfill the requirement for entry into UEFA competitions starting from the 2014–15 season.^[25]


• Prior to the introduction of the Welsh Premier League in 1992 Wales also had a single participant in European competitions, the winner (or best placed Welsh team as several English teams also competed) of the Welsh Cup, in the now defunct UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

History