How many premier league teams will get european football? The usual answer is seven, but the number can rise when England earns an extra Champions League place or cup winners add qualifying berths. For the 2025–26 season, nine English clubs are in UEFA competitions.
The total depends on league position, domestic cup winners, European titleholders, and UEFA’s annual allocation. Here’s how each route works, why the familiar seven-team answer can be misleading, and which clubs have places this season.
How many premier league teams will get european football in 2025–26?
Nine Premier League clubs will play in European competitions in 2025–26. Six are in the Champions League, two are in the Europa League, and one is in the Conference League. That total is higher than the often-quoted seven because England earned an extra Champions League place and European titleholders affected the allocation.
The English clubs are Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle United, and Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League; Aston Villa and Crystal Palace in the Europa League; and Nottingham Forest in the Conference League. Tottenham qualified by winning the 2024–25 Europa League, despite finishing 17th in the Premier League. Crystal Palace earned a Europa League place by winning the FA Cup.
This is a season-specific answer, not a guaranteed annual total. In a more typical season without extra qualification places, seven English clubs often enter UEFA competitions. Depending on results and UEFA’s allocation rules, the total can be higher or lower.
Why the usual answer is seven
The familiar seven-club figure comes from the standard allocation: four league places in the Champions League, one league place in the Europa League, a place for the FA Cup winner, and a place for the League Cup winner. That adds up to seven when both domestic cup winners take their places and the league allocation is the standard one.
However, those places do not always go to seven different clubs. A cup winner may already have qualified through the league, and the vacant place is generally reassigned under competition rules. The exact destination depends on the type of place and the applicable UEFA access list.
There is another wrinkle: the Champions League expanded to a 36-team league phase for 2024–25. Starting with that format, two additional Champions League places are awarded each season to the associations whose clubs perform best in UEFA competitions during the previous season. These are called European Performance Spots, or EPS.
England earned one of those additional places for 2025–26. As a result, the Premier League’s top five qualified for the Champions League through the league table, rather than only the top four. That pushed the season’s total above the traditional figure before the effects of cup and titleholder places were fully counted.
How Premier League places are awarded
European qualification is not decided by a single Premier League cutoff. League standings create the main route, while domestic cups and European titles can create separate routes. If a club qualifies in more than one way, its extra place is handled according to UEFA and domestic allocation rules.
Champions League places
The highest-placed Premier League clubs receive the league’s Champions League places. In the standard allocation, that means the top four. If England earns an EPS, the top five qualify through the league instead. An EPS depends on how English clubs perform in UEFA competitions compared with clubs from other associations; it is not a permanent extra place.
A club can also qualify for the Champions League by winning the Champions League or the Europa League. Those titleholder routes matter when the winner has not already secured a place through its domestic league. For example, Tottenham’s Europa League victory earned it a 2025–26 Champions League place, even though its league finish would not normally have qualified it.
Europa League places
The Europa League usually includes a Premier League place awarded through the table, plus a place for the FA Cup winner. Which league finish receives the table-based place can vary when England has an EPS or when cup qualification changes the distribution.
Winning the FA Cup gives a club a Europa League route. If the winner has already qualified for a European competition through its league position or another route, the vacant place is reassigned rather than simply disappearing. The precise recipient depends on the season’s allocation rules.
Conference League places
The League Cup, also known as the Carabao Cup or EFL Cup, can give its winner a place in the Conference League. That route is separate from the FA Cup’s Europa League place.
If the League Cup winner has already qualified for Europe by finishing high in the league or winning another competition, the Conference League place can pass to another eligible Premier League club. This is one reason the final European lineup may include a league club that finished below the usual qualification positions.
What changed the 2025–26 total?
Several results combined to produce nine English clubs in Europe. First, England received an EPS after its teams performed strongly in UEFA competitions during 2024–25. That meant the top five Premier League finishers qualified for the Champions League through the league table.
Second, Tottenham won the Europa League and received a Champions League place as titleholder. That was an additional route, not a reward for its 17th-place league finish. Third, Crystal Palace won the FA Cup and qualified for the Europa League.
Domestic cup winners can also affect the places passed down through the table. Newcastle won the League Cup, but had already qualified for the Champions League through its league finish. The Conference League route could therefore be reassigned to an eligible league club. These overlapping routes help explain how England reached nine entrants in this season’s competitions.
The season’s distribution shows why simply counting the top league positions is not enough:
| Competition | 2025–26 English clubs | How places were earned | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Champions League | 6 | Top five league places plus Tottenham’s Europa League titleholder route | Top league finishers and a European titleholder |
| Europa League | 2 | League allocation and Crystal Palace’s FA Cup win | A league qualifier and the FA Cup winner |
| Conference League | 1 | Reallocated domestic cup place | An eligible club lower in the league table |
| Total | 9 | League, cup, and titleholder routes combined | All three UEFA competitions |
Can more than seven Premier League teams qualify?
Yes. Seven is a useful traditional estimate, not a hard ceiling. An EPS can add a Champions League entrant from the league table. A European titleholder that has not qualified domestically can also earn a place, while cup wins and reallocated berths can change the total.
The 2025–26 season is a clear example: nine English clubs entered Europe. Other seasons may have a different number because the EPS is awarded annually and depends on results, and because cup winners may or may not overlap with clubs already qualified.
It is also possible for the league table alone to give a misleading picture. A club finishing outside the usual places could still qualify by winning a cup or a European competition. Meanwhile, when a cup winner has already secured Europe, a place may pass to another club rather than creating an additional spot from nothing.
Do all European places come from the league table?
No. League position is the main route, but it is not the only one. The FA Cup and League Cup can award places, and winning the Champions League or Europa League can provide a separate route into the Champions League.
This distinction matters when you are counting clubs. If you count only the top four, you miss any EPS. If you count only league finishers, you may miss cup winners or a European titleholder. If a cup winner has already qualified through the league, its cup route may be reassigned, so the final lineup can include a different club from the one you first expected.
European competition qualification also does not mean every club starts at the same stage. UEFA’s competition regulations and access list determine whether a team enters a league phase or an earlier qualifying round. The competition itself is still the same; the entry stage simply differs.
How to work out the number after the season ends
To estimate the total for a coming season, start with the league allocation, then account for cup winners and European titleholders. Do not add every possible route as if each one must create a new club; first check whether a winner has already qualified elsewhere.
- Check the league’s Champions League allocation. Find out whether the Premier League has four or five league places. A fifth place depends on England receiving an EPS for that season.
- Identify the league-based Europa League place. Its recipient can depend on the overall allocation after any extra Champions League place is included.
- Add the FA Cup and League Cup winners. The FA Cup winner can earn a Europa League place, while the League Cup winner can earn a Conference League place.
- Check the Champions League and Europa League winners. A winner that has not qualified through its domestic league may receive a Champions League place as a titleholder.
- Remove duplicate routes and follow reallocated places. If a club qualifies more than once, the relevant vacant place may pass to another eligible team under the rules.
For a quick count, list clubs by competition rather than counting qualification routes. That prevents double-counting a team that won a cup and also finished in a league position that qualified it for Europe.
Common mistakes when counting European qualifiers
Assuming the top four always reach the Champions League
The top four are not always the full league-based allocation. An EPS can send the fifth-place club into the Champions League, as happened for 2025–26. Check the allocation for the specific season before treating fourth place as the cutoff.
Assuming cup places always go to the next club in the table
A cup place is not simply a permanent extra league slot for the runner-up or the next-highest finisher. If the winner has already qualified, the berth is reassigned according to the relevant rules. The result can depend on how the other European places were earned.
Counting a titleholder twice
A club may qualify through the league and also win a European competition or domestic cup. It remains one club, even if it has more than one qualifying route. Count distinct teams, not the number of routes.
Treating a European Performance Spot as guaranteed
An EPS is awarded based on clubs’ performance in UEFA competitions during the previous season. England may receive one in a given year, but it should not be assumed every season. That uncertainty is why a fixed answer such as “seven teams every year” is unreliable.
What to remember about England’s European places
The standard answer is often seven, but the real number changes with UEFA’s annual allocation, the league table, domestic cup results, and European titleholders. For 2025–26, the answer is nine: six English clubs in the Champions League, two in the Europa League, and one in the Conference League.
The most useful way to check any season is to count the final list of distinct clubs in all three competitions. Start with league places, then add cup and titleholder routes, and account for any places that transfer when a club has already qualified.
Usually, seven Premier League clubs qualify for Europe, but extra Champions League places and cup or titleholder routes can raise the total. For 2025–26, nine English clubs entered UEFA competitions.
To check another season, count distinct clubs across the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League after the league and cup competitions finish. The phrase how many premier league teams will get european football has no single permanent answer; the allocation changes from season to season.