IN this podcast Jack Todd and Ewan Minns are joined by Lee Wingate from the Sweeper Podcast. They will be discussing the Europa Conference League including the intentions behind the competition and the value it has added to European football for more clubs.
Since being established in the 2021/22 season the Europa Conference League has had mixed reactions from the footballing world and has been what some might see as devalued by bigger clubs aiming to compete in the Europa and Champions League.
However the competition has also provided an opportunity for those clubs particularly outside Europe’s big five leagues to compete on the European stage.
It has given smaller clubs an opportunity to boost revenues and bridge the gap between them and the elite and create their own history.
Swedish club Djurgarden are a perfect example of this. A club devoid of European history has reached the semi finals of the Conference League. A milestone that is not only boosting the morale of the fanbase and adding special nights to the packed schedule, but a financial boost that might be a bigger deal than those same fans may recognise that appreciate the extra games.
Clubs like Cercle Brugge saw the competition as a saving grace from poor league form throughout the season, allowing the year of 2025 to still live long in the memory of the fans.
Winning the Conference League provides greater opportunity for the smaller clubs that may never get the chance otherwise to climb the rankings into Europe’s elite tier competitions, with automatic qualification into Europa League group stages also up for grabs.
Lee Wingate believed the competition was created to give clubs the opportunity to play European football that didn’t exist “in the current framework of European football” and that new stories being created were healthy for the competition on the stage away from domestic football.
To hear the full discussion and package, listen to our podcast below:
