The 2013–14 UEFA Europa League was the 43rd season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the fifth season under its current title.
The final was played between Sevilla and Benfica at the Juventus Stadium in Turin, Italy, which was won by Sevilla on penalties, giving them a record-equalling third UEFA Cup/Europa League title. Chelsea could not defend their title as they automatically qualified for the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League and also reached the knockout stage.
Association team allocation A total of 194 teams from 53 of the 54 UEFA member associations participated in the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League (the exception being Gibraltar, which started participating in the 2014–15 season after being admitted as a UEFA member in May 2013). The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients was used to determine the number of participating teams for each association: Associations 1–6 each had three teams qualify. Associations 7–9 each had four teams qualify. Associations 10–51 (except Liechtenstein) each had three teams qualify. Associations 52–53 each had two teams qualify. Liechtenstein had one team qualify (as it organised only a domestic cup and no domestic league). The top three associations of the 2012–13 UEFA Respect Fair Play ranking each gained an additional berth. Moreover, 33 teams eliminated from the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League were transferred to the Europa League. The winners of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League were given an additional entry as title holders if they did not qualify for the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League or Europa League through their domestic performance. However, this additional entry was not necessary for this season, because the title holders qualified for European competitions through their domestic performance.
Association ranking For the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League, the associations were allocated places according to their 2012 UEFA country coefficients, which took into account their performance in European competitions from 2007–08 to 2011–12.
Apart from the allocation based on the country coefficients, associations may have additional teams participating in the Europa League, as noted below: – Additional berth via Fair Play ranking (Sweden, Norway, Finland) – Additional teams transferred from the Champions League
RankAssociationCoeff.TeamsNotes184.4103284.186375.186459.981555.346654.178747.8324845.515945.1331037.10031134.0501232.4001327.5251426.8001526.3251625.4991722.0001821.141RankAssociationCoeff.TeamsNotes1920.35032019.9162118.8742218.8242318.2082415.9002514.8742614.6752714.2502814.250299.750309.133318.666328.416337.375347.124356.875366.749RankAssociationCoeff.TeamsNotes376.2073385.874395.666405.333415.332424.375434.0001443.9163453.083462.749472.666482.583492.333502.208511.416521.0002530.916540.0000
Distribution Since the title holders (Chelsea) qualified for the Champions League through their domestic performance, the group stage spot reserved for the title holders was vacated, and the following changes to the default allocation system were made: The domestic cup winners of association 7 (Russia) were promoted from the play-off round to the group stage. The domestic cup winners of association 16 (Cyprus) were promoted from the third qualifying round to the play-off round. The domestic cup winners of association 19 (Czech Republic) were promoted from the second qualifying round to the third qualifying round. The domestic cup winners of associations 33 (Republic of Ireland) and 34 (Slovenia) were promoted from the first qualifying round to the second qualifying round.
Teams entering in this roundTeams advancing from previous roundTeams transferred from Champions LeagueFirst qualifying round(76 teams)19 domestic cup winners from associations 35–53 25 domestic league runners-up from associations 28–53 (except Liechtenstein) 29 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 22–51 (except Liechtenstein) 3 teams which qualified via Fair Play rankingSecond qualifying round(80 teams)15 domestic cup winners from associations 20–34 12 domestic league runners-up from associations 16–27 6 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 16–21 6 domestic league fourth-placed teams from associations 10–15 3 domestic league fifth-placed teams from associations 7–938 winners from the first qualifying roundThird qualifying round(58 teams)3 domestic cup winners from associations 17–19 6 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 10–15 3 domestic league fourth-placed teams from associations 7–9 3 domestic league fifth-placed teams from associations 4–6 (League Cup winners for France) 3 domestic league sixth-placed teams from associations 1–3 (League Cup winners for England)40 winners from the second qualifying roundPlay-off round(62 teams)9 domestic cup winners from associations 8–16 3 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 7–9 3 domestic league fourth-placed teams from associations 4–6 3 domestic league fifth-placed teams from associations 1–329 winners from the third qualifying round15 losers from the Champions League third qualifying roundGroup stage(48 teams)7 domestic cup winners from associations 1–731 winners from the play-off round10 losers from the Champions League play-off roundKnockout phase(32 teams)12 group winners from the group stage 12 group runners-up from the group stage8 third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage
Redistribution rules A Europa League place was vacated when a team qualified for both the Champions League and the Europa League, or qualified for the Europa League by more than one method. When a place was vacated, it was redistributed within the national association by the following rules: When the domestic cup winners (considered as the "highest-placed" qualifier within the national association with the latest starting round) also qualified for the Champions League, their Europa League place was vacated. As a result, either of the following teams qualified for the Europa League: The domestic cup runners-up, provided they had not yet qualified for European competitions, qualified for the Europa League as the "lowest-placed" qualifier (with the earliest starting round), with the other Europa League qualifiers moved up one "place". Otherwise, the highest-placed team in the league which had not yet qualified for European competitions qualified for the Europa League, with the Europa League qualifiers which finished above them in the league moved up one "place". When the domestic cup winners also qualified for the Europa League through league position, their place through the league position was vacated. As a result, the highest-placed team in the league which had not yet qualified for European competitions qualified for the Europa League, with the Europa League qualifiers which finished above them in the league moved up one "place" if possible. For associations where a Europa League place was reserved for the League Cup winners, they always qualified for the Europa League as the "lowest-placed" qualifier (or as the second "lowest-placed" qualifier in cases where the cup runners-up qualified as stated above). If the League Cup winners had already qualified for European competitions through other methods, this reserved Europa League place was taken by the highest-placed league team in the league which had not yet qualified for European competitions. A Fair Play place was taken by the highest-ranked team in the domestic Fair Play table which had not yet qualified for European competitions.
Teams The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round: TH: Title holders CW: Cup winners CR: Cup runners-up LC: League Cup winners 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, etc.: League position P-W: End-of-season European competition play-offs winners FP: Fair Play UCL: Transferred from the Champions League GS: Third-placed teams from the group stage PO: Losers from the play-off round Q3: Losers from the third qualifying round
Round of 32 Shakhtar Donetsk Benfica Basel Porto Juventus Viktoria Plzeň Napoli Ajax Group stage Wigan Athletic Bordeaux Shakhter Karagandy PSV Eindhoven Valencia Anzhi Makhachkala Legia Warsaw Fenerbahçe SC Freiburg Dinamo Zagreb Lyon Lazio Ludogorets Razgrad PAOK Vitória de Guimarães Maribor Paços de Ferreira Play-off round Tottenham Hotspur Dynamo Kyiv Maccabi Tel Aviv Sheriff Tiraspol Real Betis Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Molde Nordsjælland Eintracht Frankfurt Atromitos Partizan Red Bull Salzburg Fiorentina Beşiktaş Dinamo Tbilisi PAOK Braga Genk APOEL Zulte Waregem Nice Esbjerg IF Elfsborg Grasshopper Spartak Moscow St. Gallen Skënderbeu AZ Pasching FH Feyenoord Apollon Limassol Nõmme Kalju Third qualifying round Swansea City Saint-Étienne Bursaspor Hapoel Ramat Gan Sevilla Kuban Krasnodar Club Brugge Motherwell VfB Stuttgart Vitesse Randers Jablonec Udinese Metalurh Donetsk Zürich Estoril Asteras Tripolis Rapid Wien Second qualifying round Rubin Kazan Maccabi Haifa Rijeka Jagodina Utrecht Hapoel Tel Aviv Petrolul Ploiești Red Star Belgrade Chornomorets Odesa St Johnstone Pandurii Târgu Jiu Beroe Stara Zagora Skoda Xanthi Hibernian Minsk Debrecen Trabzonspor Sparta Prague Shakhtyor Soligorsk Honka Standard Liège Slovan Liberec IFK Göteborg Dila Gori AaB Lech Poznań BK Häcken Široki Brijeg Thun Śląsk Wrocław Senica Derry City Sturm Graz Piast Gliwice Trenčín Olimpija Ljubljana Anorthosis Famagusta Hajduk Split Hødd Omonia Lokomotiva Zagreb Strømsgodset First qualifying round Astra Giurgiu Celje KR Glentoran Dinamo Minsk Žalgiris Breiðablik Crusaders Malmö FF Sūduva ÍBV Linfield Žilina Kruoja Pakruojis Čelik Nikšić Jeunesse Esch Rosenborg Tiraspol Rudar Pljevlja F91 Dudelange Vojvodina Dacia Chișinău Mladost Podgorica Differdange 03 Levski Sofia Milsami Orhei Vaduz Pyunik Botev Plovdiv Qarabağ Laçi Mika Videoton Inter Baku Kukësi Gandzasar Kapan Honvéd Khazar Lankaran Teuta Víkingur Gøta Inter Turku Ventspils Hibernians ÍF TPS Skonto Valletta HB Torpedo Kutaisi Liepājas Metalurgs Sliema Wanderers UE Santa Coloma Chikhura Sachkhere Teteks Prestatyn Town FC Santa Coloma Sarajevo Metalurg Skopje Airbus UK Broughton La Fiorita Zrinjski Mostar Turnovo Bala Town Libertas Drogheda United Astana Flora Gefle IF St Patrick's Athletic Irtysh Levadia Tallinn Tromsø Domžale Aktobe Narva Trans Mariehamn
Notably six teams that did not play in their national top-division took part in the competition. They were: Hapoel Ramat Gan (2nd tier), Hødd (2nd), Pasching (3rd), Teteks (2nd), Vaduz (2nd) and Wigan Athletic (2nd).
Notes
Round and draw dates The schedule of the competition was as follows (all draws held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).
PhaseRoundDraw dateFirst legSecond legQualifyingFirst qualifying round24 June 20134 July 201311 July 2013Second qualifying round18 July 201325 July 2013Third qualifying round19 July 20131 August 20138 August 2013Play-offPlay-off round9 August 201322 August 201329 August 2013Group stageMatchday 130 August 2013(Monaco)19 September 2013Matchday 23 October 2013Matchday 324 October 2013Matchday 47 November 2013Matchday 528 November 2013Matchday 612 December 2013Knockout phaseRound of 3216 December 201320 February 201427 February 2014Round of 1613 March 201420 March 2014Quarter-finals21 March 20143 April 201410 April 2014Semi-finals11 April 201424 April 20141 May 2014Final14 May 2014 at Juventus Stadium, Turin
Matches in the qualifying, play-off, and knockout rounds may also be played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays instead of the regular Thursdays due to scheduling conflicts.
Qualifying rounds
In the qualifying rounds and the play-off round, teams were divided into seeded and unseeded teams based on their 2013 UEFA club coefficients, and then drawn into two-legged home-and-away ties. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other.
First qualifying round