League PathThe League Path includes all league non-champions which do not qualify directly for the group stage, and consists of the following rounds:
- Second qualifying round : 6 teams which enter in this round.
- Third qualifying round : 3 teams which enter in this round, and 3 winners of the second qualifying round.
- Play-off round : 1 team which enters in this round, and 3 winners of the third qualifying round.
All teams eliminated from the League Path enter the Europa League:
Below are the participating teams of the League Path, grouped by their starting rounds.
| Key to colours | | Winners of play-off round advance to group stage | | Losers of play-off round and third qualifying round enter Europa League group stage | | Losers of second qualifying round enter Europa League third qualifying round |
FormatIn a change to the format as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, each tie prior to the play-off round was played as a single-legged match hosted by one of the teams decided by draw, except for the preliminary round which was played at neutral venue. If scores were level at the end of normal time, extra time was played, followed by a penalty shoot-out if the scores remained tied.
The play-off round ties were 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 was applied, i.e. the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs advanced. If away goals were also equal, then extra time was played. The away goals rule was 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 was decided by a penalty shoot-out.
In each draw, teams were seeded based on their 2020 UEFA club coefficients. For any team whose club coefficients were not final at the time of a draw, their club coefficients at that time, taking into account of all 2019–20 UEFA Champions League and Europa League matches played up to that point, were used. Teams were divided into seeded and unseeded pots containing the same number of teams, and a seeded team was drawn against an unseeded team. For each tie, a draw was made between the two teams, and the first team drawn was the home team in single-legged matches, or home team of the first leg in play-off round two-legged ties. If the identity of the winners of the previous round was not known at the time of the draws, 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 opponent. Teams from associations with political conflicts could not be drawn into the same tie. Prior to the draws, UEFA may form "groups" in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee and based on geographical, logistical and political reasons, and they were purely for convenience of the draw and did not resemble any real groupings in the sense of the competition.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, all qualifying matches were played behind closed doors. The following special rules were applicable to the qualifying phase and play-offs:
- Prior to each draw, UEFA published the list of known travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. All teams had to inform UEFA if there were other existing restrictions other than those published. If a team failed to do so as a consequence of which the match could not take place, the team was considered responsible and to have forfeited the match.
- If travel restrictions imposed by the home team's country prevented the away team from entering, the home team had to propose an alternative venue that allowed the match to take place without any restrictions. Otherwise they would have been considered to have forfeited the match.
- If travel restrictions imposed by the away team's country prevented the away team from leaving or returning, the home team had to propose an alternative venue that allowed the match to take place without any restrictions. Otherwise UEFA decided on a venue.
- If after the draw, new restrictions imposed by either the home team's or away team's country prevented the match from taking place, the team of that country were considered to have forfeited the match.
- If either team refused to play the match, they were considered to have forfeited the match. If both teams refused to play or were responsible for a match not taking place, both teams would have been disqualified.
- If a team had players and/or officials tested positive for SARS-2 coronavirus preventing them from playing the match before the deadline set by UEFA, they were considered to have forfeited the match.
- In all cases, the two teams could have agreed to play the match at the away team's country or at a neutral country, subject to UEFA's approval. UEFA had the final authority to decide on a venue for any match, or to reschedule any match if necessary.
- If, for any reason, the qualifying phase and play-offs could not be completed before the deadline set by UEFA, UEFA would have decided on the principles for determining the teams qualified for the group stage.
Four countries had provided neutral venue hubs which allowed matches to be played at their stadiums without restrictions.
ScheduleThe schedule of the competition is as follows. The tournament would originally have started in June 2020, but had been delayed to August due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe. The new schedule was announced by the UEFA Executive Committee on 17 June 2020.
The original schedule of the competition, as planned before the pandemic, was as follows.
| Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg | | Preliminary round | 9 June 2020 | 23 June 2020 | 26 June 2020 | | First qualifying round | 16 June 2020 | 7–8 July 2020 | 14–15 July 2020 | | Second qualifying round | 17 June 2020 | 21–22 July 2020 | 28–29 July 2020 | | Third qualifying round | 20 July 2020 | 4–5 August 2020 | 11 August 2020 | | Play-off round | 3 August 2020 | 18–19 August 2020 | 25–26 August 2020 |
Preliminary round
The draw for the preliminary round was held on 17 July 2020, 12:00 CEST.
SeedingA total of four teams played in the preliminary round. As the draw was held before the UEFA entry deadline and the participating teams were not yet confirmed, only the associations of the teams were used, and seeding of teams was based on their association coefficients instead of their club coefficients. For the semi-final round, two teams were seeded and two teams were unseeded. The first team drawn in each tie in the semi-final round and the final round would be the administrative "home" team.
Summary
The semi-finals were played on 8 August at the Colovray Stadium in Nyon, Switzerland. The final was due to be played at the same venue on 11 August but the match was cancelled due to Drita players being put into quarantine after two players had tested positive for SARS-2 coronavirus, and Linfield were awarded a technical 3–0 win.
The losers of both semi-final and final rounds entered the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round.
Semi-final round----
First qualifying round
The draw for the first qualifying round was held on 9 August 2020, 12:00 CEST.
SeedingA total of 34 teams played in the first qualifying round: 33 teams which entered in this round, and 1 winner of the preliminary round. Seeding of teams was based on their 2020 UEFA club coefficients. For the winner of the preliminary round, whose identity was not known at the time of draw, the club coefficient of the highest-ranked remaining team was used. The first team drawn in each tie would be the home team.
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Summary
The matches were played on 18 and 19 August 2020. The match between KÍ and Slovan Bratislava was cancelled due to Slovan Bratislava players being put into quarantine after one player had tested positive for SARS-2 coronavirus, and KÍ were awarded a technical 3–0 win.
The losers entered the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round.
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Second qualifying round
The draw for the second qualifying round was held on 10 August 2020, 12:00 CEST.
SeedingA total of 26 teams played in the second qualifying round. They were divided into two paths:
- Champions Path : 3 teams which entered in this round, and 17 winners of the first qualifying round.
- League Path : 6 teams which entered in this round.
Seeding of teams was based on their 2020 UEFA club coefficients. For the winners of the first qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of draw, the club coefficient of the highest-ranked remaining team in each tie was used. The first team drawn in each tie would be the home team.
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Summary
The matches were played on 25 and 26 August 2020.
From the ten losers of Champions Path, two teams, Tirana and Ludogorets Razgrad, determined by a draw held on 31 August 2020 after the Europa League second qualifying round draw, entered the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League play-off round, while the other eight teams entered the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round. The losers of League Path entered the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round.
Champions Path matches----
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League Path matches----
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Third qualifying round
The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 31 August 2020, 12:00 CEST.
SeedingA total of 16 teams played in the third qualifying round. They were divided into two paths:
- Champions Path : 10 winners of the second qualifying round.
- League Path : 3 teams which entered in this round, and 3 winners of the second qualifying round.
Seeding of teams was based on their 2020 UEFA club coefficients. The first team drawn in each tie would be the home team.
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Summary
The matches were played on 15 and 16 September 2020.
The losers of Champions Path entered the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League play-off round. The losers of League Path entered the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League group stage.
Champions Path matches----
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League Path matches----
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Play-off round
The draw for the play-off round was held on 1 September 2020, 12:00 CEST.
SeedingA total of 12 teams played in the play-off round. They were divided into two paths:
- Champions Path : 3 teams which entered in this round, and 5 winners of the third qualifying round.
- League Path : 1 team which entered in this round, and 3 winners of the third qualifying round.
Seeding of teams was based on their 2020 UEFA club coefficients. For the winners of the third qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of draw, the club coefficient of the highest-ranked remaining team in each tie was used. The first team drawn in each tie would be the home team of the first leg.
Since Russian and Ukrainian teams may not be drawn into the same tie for political reasons, the winners of the match involving Benfica had to play Krasnodar, and the winners of the match involving Dynamo Kyiv had to play the winners of the match involving Gent.
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Summary
The first legs were played on 22 and 23 September, and the second legs were played on 29 and 30 September 2020.
The losers of both Champions Path and League Path entered the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League group stage.
Champions Path matchesMidtjylland won 4–1 on aggregate.
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Red Bull Salzburg won 5–2 on aggregate.
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Olympiacos won 2–0 on aggregate.
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''3–3 on aggregate; Ferencváros won on away goals.''
League Path matchesKrasnodar won 4–2 on aggregate.
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''Dynamo Kyiv won 5–1 on aggregate.''
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