The 2016–17 UEFA Europa League qualifying phase and play-off round began on 28 June and ended on 25 August 2016. A total of 154 teams competed in the qualifying phase and play-off round to decide 22 of the 48 places in the group stage of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League.
All times are CEST (UTC+2).
Round and draw dates The schedule of the competition was as follows (all draws were held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).
RoundDraw date and timeFirst legSecond legFirst qualifying round20 June 2016, 13:0030 June 20167 July 2016Second qualifying round20 June 2016, 14:3014 July 201621 July 2016Third qualifying round15 July 2016, 13:0028 July 20164 August 2016Play-off round5 August 2016, 13:0018 August 201625 August 2016
Matches could also be played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays instead of the regular Thursdays due to scheduling conflicts.
Format In the qualifying phase and play-off round, each tie was played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scored more goals on aggregate over the two legs advanced to the next round. If the aggregate score was level, the away goals rule would be applied, i.e., the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs advanced. If away goals were also equal, then thirty minutes of extra time would be played, divided into two fifteen-minutes halves. The away goals rule would be again applied after extra time, i.e., if there were goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score was still level, the visiting team advanced by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals were scored during extra time, the tie would be decided by penalty shoot-out.
In the draws for each round, teams were seeded based on their UEFA club coefficients at the beginning of the season, with the teams divided into seeded and unseeded pots. A seeded team was drawn against an unseeded team, with the order of legs in each tie decided by draw. Due to the limited time between matches, the draws for the second and third qualifying rounds took place before the results of the previous round were known. For these draws (or in any cases where the result of a tie in the previous round was not known at the time of the draw), the seeding was carried out under the assumption that the team with the higher coefficient of an undecided tie advanced to this round, which means if the team with the lower coefficient was to advance, it simply took the seeding of its defeated opponent. Prior to the draws, UEFA may form "groups" in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee, but they are purely for convenience of the draw and for ensuring that teams from the same association are not drawn against each other, and do not resemble any real groupings in the sense of the competition.
Teams A total of 154 teams were involved in the qualifying phase and play-off round (including the 15 losers of the Champions League third qualifying round which enter the play-off round). The 22 winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 16 teams which enter in the group stage and the 10 losers of the Champions League play-off round.
Below are the participating teams (with their 2016 UEFA club coefficients), grouped by their starting rounds.
Key to coloursWinners of the play-off round advance to the group stage
+Play-off roundTeam Shakhtar Donetsk81.976 Olympiacos70.940 Anderlecht54.000 Fenerbahçe40.920 Sparta Prague40.585 PAOK37.440 BATE Borisov34.000 Qarabağ13.475 Rosenborg12.850 Astana12.575 Astra Giurgiu11.076 Red Star Belgrade7.175 Dinamo Tbilisi5.875 Trenčín5.400 Partizani1.575+Third qualifying roundTeam AZ43.612 Lille29.549 Saint-Étienne26.049 Gent25.000 Krasnodar24.216 Rapid Wien23.520 Slovan Liberec22.085 Spartak Moscow19.216 West Ham United16.256 Hertha BSC16.035 Panathinaikos14.940 Rijeka14.275 Sassuolo14.087 Rio Ave13.616 Vorskla Poltava11.976 Arouca10.616 Apollon Limassol10.435 Mladá Boleslav10.085 Oleksandriya8.976 Luzern8.775 AEK Athens7.940 İstanbul Başakşehir7.920 Heracles Almelo7.112 Pandurii Târgu Jiu7.076 Viitorul Constanța5.076+Second qualifying roundTeam Genk36.000 Maribor21.625 Austria Wien19.020 Partizan16.925 Maccabi Haifa11.725 Hajduk Split10.775 Grasshopper9.755 Strømsgodset7.850 Osmanlıspor6.920 Slavia Prague6.585 BK Häcken5.975 PAS Giannina5.940 CSM Politehnica Iași5.076 Piast Gliwice5.000 Levski Sofia4.375 Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino4.250 Hibernian3.960 SønderjyskE3.720+First qualifying roundTeam Maccabi Tel Aviv20.225 Midtjylland14.720 HJK10.980 Dinamo Minsk10.000 Omonia9.935 Neftçi9.725 AEK Larnaca9.435 AIK8.975 Slovan Bratislava8.900 Videoton8.725 Aktobe8.075 Vojvodina7.925 Shakhtyor Soligorsk7.500 Spartak Trnava7.400 Brøndby7.220 IFK Göteborg6.475 Debrecen6.475 Heart of Midlothian6.460 Ventspils6.075 Admira Wacker Mödling6.020 Lokomotiva Zagreb5.775 KR5.750 Dila Gori5.625 Aberdeen5.460 Odd5.350 Gabala5.225 Rabotnicki5.200 Vaduz4.850 Kairat4.825 Differdange 034.800 Shamrock Rovers4.590 St Patrick's Athletic4.590 Zagłębie Lubin4.500 Cracovia4.500 Linfield4.400 Dacia Chișinău4.325 Beitar Jerusalem4.225 Stabæk4.100 Kukësi4.075 Čukarički3.925 Levadia Tallinn3.850 Nõmme Kalju3.850 Pyunik3.825 Zimbru Chișinău3.825 Breiðablik3.750 Široki Brijeg3.675 Beroe Stara Zagora3.625 Domžale3.625 Ordabasy3.575 Fola Esch3.550 Cliftonville3.400 Rudar Pljevlja3.225 HB3.225 Gorica3.125 Chikhura Sachkhere3.125 Shirak3.075 Budućnost Podgorica2.975 Kapaz2.975 Birkirkara2.966 Shkëndija2.950 Víkingur Gøta2.725 Slavia Sofia2.625 MTK Budapest2.475 Hibernians2.466 Spartak Myjava2.400 Sūduva2.175 Jeunesse Esch2.050 RoPS1.980 Jelgava1.825 Teuta1.825 Zaria Bălți1.825 Valur1.750 Mariehamn1.730 Lusitanos1.699 Atlantas1.675 Samtredia1.625 Spartaks Jūrmala1.575 Partizani1.575 Banants1.575 NSÍ1.475 Trakai1.425 Radnik Bijeljina1.425 Sloboda Tuzla1.425 Glenavon1.400 Cork City1.340 La Fiorita1.316 Bala Town1.200 Sileks1.200 UE Santa Coloma1.199 Bokelj0.975 Balzan0.966 Infonet Tallinn0.850 Folgore0.816 Europa0.700 Llandudno0.700 Connah's Quay Nomads0.700
Notes
First qualifying round
Seeding A total of 96 teams played in the first qualifying round. The draw was held on 20 June 2016. Teams were pre-assigned numbers by UEFA so that the draw could be held in one run for all groups with ten teams and another run for the groups with eight teams.
Group 1Group 2Group 3SeededUnseededSeededUnseededSeededUnseeded Midtjylland Heart of Midlothian Ventspils Linfield Stabæk Víkingur Gøta Sūduva Cork City Infonet Tallinn Connah's Quay Nomads HJK IFK Göteborg KR St Patrick's Athletic Levadia Tallinn HB Jeunesse Esch Atlantas Glenavon Llandudno Dinamo Minsk Brøndby Aberdeen Shamrock Rovers Nõmme Kalju Fola Esch RoPS Valur Spartaks Jūrmala Trakai Group 4Group 5Group 6SeededUnseededSeededUnseededSeededUnseeded AIK Shakhtyor Soligorsk Odd Differdange 03 Breiðablik Cliftonville Jelgava Mariehamn NSÍ Bala Town AEK Larnaca Vojvodina Dila Gori Široki Brijeg Domžale Shirak Birkirkara Lusitanos Bokelj Folgore Videoton Lokomotiva Zagreb Rabotnicki Čukarički Pyunik Ordabasy Budućnost Podgorica Zaria Bălți UE Santa Coloma Europa Group 7Group 8Group 9SeededUnseededSeededUnseededSeededUnseeded Neftçi Admira Wacker Mödling Beitar Jerusalem Kukësi Zimbru Chișinău Rudar Pljevlja Chikhura Sachkhere Spartak Myjava Sloboda Tuzla Balzan Maccabi Tel Aviv Debrecen Gabala Vaduz Beroe Stara Zagora Gorica Samtredia Radnik Bijeljina La Fiorita Sileks Omonia Spartak Trnava Kairat Cracovia Shkëndija Hibernians Teuta Banants Group 10SeededUnseeded Slovan Bratislava Aktobe Zagłębie Lubin Dacia Chișinău Kapaz Slavia Sofia MTK Budapest Partizani
Summary
Matches
Second qualifying round
Seeding A total of 66 teams played in the second qualifying round: 18 teams which entered in this round, and the 48 winners of the first qualifying round. The draw was held on 20 June 2016. Teams were pre-assigned numbers by UEFA so that the draw could be held in one run for all groups with ten teams and another run for the groups with twelve teams.
Group 1Group 2Group 3SeededUnseededSeededUnseededSeededUnseeded Partizan Maccabi Haifa Dinamo Minsk Vojvodina Spartak Trnava Shirak St Patrick's Athletic Zagłębie Lubin Connah's Quay Nomads Nõmme Kalju Austria Wien HJK MTK Budapest Shakhtyor Soligorsk Brøndby Gabala Kukësi Hibernian Beroe Stara Zagora Domžale Midtjylland Grasshopper Neftçi Osmanlıspor Lokomotiva Zagreb KR Vaduz RoPS Shkëndija Zimbru Chișinău Group 4Group 5Group 6SeededUnseededSeededUnseededSeededUnseeded Maribor Omonia Slovan Bratislava IFK Göteborg Heart of Midlothian PAS Giannina Odd Piast Gliwice Levski Sofia Beitar Jerusalem Jelgava Birkirkara Maccabi Tel Aviv Hajduk Split Debrecen Admira Wacker Mödling Ventspils BK Häcken Aberdeen CSM Politehnica Iași Kairat Cork City Kapaz Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino Genk AEK Larnaca AIK Videoton Strømsgodset Slavia Prague Budućnost Podgorica Cliftonville Čukarički Levadia Tallinn Europa SønderjyskE
Notes
Summary
Matches
Third qualifying round
Seeding A total of 58 teams played in the third qualifying round: 25 teams which entered in this round, and the 33 winners of the second qualifying round. The draw was held on 15 July 2016. Teams were pre-assigned numbers by UEFA so that the draw could be held in one run for the group with 10 teams and another run for all groups with 12 teams.
Group 1Group 2Group 3SeededUnseededSeededUnseededSeededUnseeded Saint-Étienne Maccabi Tel Aviv Spartak Moscow Vorskla Poltava Dinamo Minsk AEK Larnaca AEK Athens Vojvodina Pandurii Târgu Jiu Lokomotiva Zagreb AZ Krasnodar Zagłębie Lubin Sassuolo Rio Ave Beitar Jerusalem Jelgava Luzern SønderjyskE Slavia Prague Birkirkara PAS Giannina Lille Maribor Austria Wien Panathinaikos Nõmme Kalju Hajduk Split Oleksandriya AIK Spartak Trnava Osmanlıspor Aberdeen Gabala Group 4Group 5SeededUnseededSeededUnseeded Genk Rapid Wien Hertha BSC Rijeka Arouca Mladá Boleslav Shkëndija İstanbul Başakşehir Brøndby Heracles Almelo Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino Cork City Gent Slovan Liberec West Ham United Midtjylland HJK Apollon Limassol Grasshopper Videoton Domžale IFK Göteborg Admira Wacker Mödling Viitorul Constanța
Notes
Summary
Matches
Play-off round
Seeding A total of 44 teams played in the play-off round: the 29 winners of the third qualifying round, and the 15 losers of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. The draw was held on 5 August 2016. Teams were pre-assigned numbers by UEFA so that the draw could be held in one run for all groups with 10 teams and another run for all groups with 12 teams.
Group 1Group 2SeededUnseededSeededUnseeded Olympiacos Genk BATE Borisov Rapid Wien Midtjylland Astana Arouca Osmanlıspor Lokomotiva Zagreb Trenčín AZ PAOK Saint-Étienne Slovan Liberec Austria Wien Rosenborg AEK Larnaca Vojvodina Dinamo Tbilisi Beitar Jerusalem Group 3Group 4SeededUnseededSeededUnseeded Anderlecht Fenerbahçe Krasnodar Maribor West Ham United Panathinaikos Astra Giurgiu Grasshopper Brøndby Slavia Prague Gabala Partizani Shakhtar Donetsk Sparta Prague Gent Maccabi Tel Aviv Sassuolo Qarabağ Hajduk Split İstanbul Başakşehir Red Star Belgrade IFK Göteborg SønderjyskE Shkëndija
Notes
Summary
Matches
Statistics There were 626 goals scored in 263 matches in the qualifying phase and play-off round, for an average of goals per match.
Top goalscorers RankPlayerTeamGoalsMinutes played1 Teemu Pukki Brøndby6613 Mirko Marić Lokomotiva Zagreb6661 Ivan Tričkovski AEK Larnaca66954 Kalifa Coulibaly Gent5255 Domenico Berardi Sassuolo5303 Theo Lewis Weeks Gabala5695
Source:
Top assists