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The UEFA Europa Conference League, the third-tier club competition in Europe, will have a new name from the 2024/25 season onwards. The UEFA Executive Committee has decided to rename it as the UEFA Conference League, dropping the 'Europa' prefix.
The name change is intended to enable further development of the competition as a stand-alone event, rather than being under the shadow of the UEFA Europa League, which is the second-tier club competition.
UEFA said in its statement, “Research amongst fans as well as commercial partners has found that removing 'Europa' from the name of the competition will enable further development as a stand-alone competition and this proposed change was approved by the UEFA Executive Committee. It will be effective in the new cycle, as of the 2024/25 season.”
The UEFA Conference League was introduced in 2021 as a way to give more opportunities to teams from lower-ranked UEFA member associations to compete in European football. The winners of the competition qualify for the Europa League the following season unless they already qualify for the Champions League.
The first edition of the competition was won by Roma, who beat Feyenoord 1–0 in the final in Tirana, Albania. The second edition was won by West Ham United, who beat Fiorentina 2–1 in the final in Seville, Spain.
The UEFA Conference League will continue to be part of the 'Thursday Night Football' package, along with the UEFA Europa League. The UEFA Conference League aims to bring more matches for more clubs and more associations and to increase the diversity and inclusiveness of European football. With its new name, it hopes to establish its own identity and appeal among fans and stakeholders.
