The 2015–16 UEFA Europa League qualifying phase began on 30 June and ended on 6 August 2015. A total of 157 teams competed in the qualifying phase to decide which 44 teams would participate in the play-off round of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League, the final round before the group stage.
All times were CEST (UTC+2).
Round and draw dates All draws were held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
RoundDraw date and timeFirst legSecond legFirst qualifying round22 June 2015, 13:00 & 14:302 July 20159 July 2015Second qualifying round16 July 201523 July 2015Third qualifying round17 July 2015, 13:0030 July 20156 August 2015Play-off round7 August 2015, 13:0020 August 201527 August 2015
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 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 thirty minutes of extra time was played, divided into two fifteen-minutes halves. 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 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 formed "groups" in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee, but they were purely for convenience of the draw and for ensuring that teams from the same association were not drawn against each other, and did not resemble any real groupings in the sense of the competition.
Teams A total of 157 teams were involved in the qualifying phase and play-off round (including the 15 losers of the Champions League third qualifying round which entered the play-off round). The 22 winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 16 teams which entered in the group stage and the 10 losers of the Champions League play-off round.
Below are the participating teams (with their 2015 UEFA club coefficients), grouped by their starting rounds.
Key to coloursWinners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage
+Play-off roundTeam Ajax66.195 Red Bull Salzburg43.135 Viktoria Plzeň41.825 Steaua București40.259 Young Boys31.375 Sparta Prague30.825 Fenerbahçe30.020 Panathinaikos19.880 Lech Poznań17.300 Qarabağ11.500 HJK11.140 Molde10.375 Midtjylland7.960 Videoton7.950 Milsami Orhei3.750+Third qualifying roundTeam Borussia Dortmund99.883 Rubin Kazan57.099 Athletic Bilbao56.999 AZ46.695 Standard Liège25.440 Bordeaux24.483 Sampdoria18.102 Vitória de Guimarães17.776 Saint-Étienne16.983 Zürich16.875 Slovan Liberec16.325 Southampton16.078 Krasnodar15.099 Belenenses12.276 Vorskla Poltava11.033 Zorya Luhansk10.533 Atromitos10.380 Vitesse10.195 Jablonec9.325 Sturm Graz9.135 AEK Larnaca8.460 Ironi Kiryat Shmona7.200 İstanbul Başakşehir6.520 Târgu Mureș5.259 Rheindorf Altach5.135+Second qualifying roundTeam Copenhagen40.960 PAOK40.880 Trabzonspor36.520 Legia Warsaw24.800 Rijeka13.700 Thun10.375 Astra Giurgiu9.759 Dinamo Minsk9.650 Mladá Boleslav8.825 Charleroi7.440 IFK Göteborg6.045 Wolfsberger AC5.135 Hapoel Be'er Sheva4.700 Inverness CT3.580 Cherno More3.350+First qualifying roundTeam West Ham United16.078 Sheriff Tiraspol14.500 Rosenborg11.875 IF Elfsborg11.545 Hajduk Split11.200 Apollon Limassol10.460 Omonia10.460 Slovan Bratislava9.250 AIK9.045 Neftçi9.000 Śląsk Wrocław8.800 Žilina8.750 Aktobe8.575 Go Ahead Eagles8.195 Red Star Belgrade7.775 Debrecen7.700 Brøndby7.460 Shakhtyor Soligorsk7.150 Dinamo Tbilisi6.875 Litex Lovech6.850 Vojvodina6.275 Spartak Trnava6.250 FH6.100 St Johnstone6.080 Željezničar6.000 Randers5.960 Strømsgodset5.875 KR5.600 Jagiellonia Białystok5.550 Botoșani5.259 Lokomotiva Zagreb5.200 Shamrock Rovers5.150 F91 Dudelange5.025 Inter Baku5.000 Linfield4.975 Beroe Stara Zagora4.850 Valletta4.841 Differdange 034.775 Rabotnicki4.675 Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino4.650 Aberdeen4.580 Dacia Chișinău4.500 Koper4.475 St Patrick's Athletic4.400 Beitar Jerusalem4.200 Zrinjski Mostar4.000 HB3.950 Budućnost Podgorica3.875 Birkirkara3.591 Domžale3.475 Vaduz3.450 Čukarički3.275 Celje3.225 Ferencváros3.200 Nõmme Kalju3.200 Flora3.200 Sutjeska3.125 Skonto3.100 Víkingur Gøta2.950 Renova2.925 Odd2.875 Kukësi2.825 Gabala2.750 Shkëndija2.675 Kairat2.575 Ordabasy2.575 MTK Budapest2.450 Shirak2.300 Mladost Podgorica2.125 Laçi2.075 Ulisses2.050 Saxan2.000 Glentoran1.975 VPS1.890 Dinamo Batumi1.875 Tskhinvali1.875 Sillamäe Kalev1.700 Lusitanos1.666 SJK1.640 Lahti1.640 Víkingur Reykjavík1.600 Jelgava1.600 Olimpic1.500 NSÍ1.450 Sant Julià1.416 Atlantas1.400 Glenavon1.225 Cork City1.150 UCD1.150 Kruoja Pakruojis1.150 La Fiorita1.099 Airbus UK Broughton1.075 Partizani1.075 Progrès Niederkorn1.025 Trakai0.900 Spartaks Jūrmala0.850 Balzan0.841 Bala Town0.825 Juvenes/Dogana0.599 Newtown0.575 Alashkert0.550 Europa0.300
Notes
First qualifying round
Seeding A total of 102 teams played in the first qualifying round. The draw was held on 22 June 2015. 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 group with twelve teams.
Group 1Group 2Group 3SeededUnseededSeededUnseededSeededUnseeded Sheriff Tiraspol Litex Lovech St Johnstone Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino Koper Odd Kukësi Víkingur Reykjavík Jelgava Alashkert West Ham United Dinamo Tbilisi Spartak Trnava Valletta Dacia Chișinău Renova Gabala Lusitanos Olimpic Newtown Rosenborg Shakhtyor Soligorsk FH Differdange 03 Aberdeen Víkingur Gøta Shkëndija SJK Glenavon Bala Town Group 4Group 5Group 6SeededUnseededSeededUnseededSeededUnseeded IF Elfsborg Brøndby Vojvodina Linfield St Patrick's Athletic Skonto MTK Budapest Lahti NSÍ Juvenes/Dogana Hajduk Split Debrecen Željezničar Beroe Stara Zagora Beitar Jerusalem Sutjeska Ordabasy Sillamäe Kalev Atlantas Balzan Apollon Limassol Red Star Belgrade Randers Rabotnicki Budućnost Podgorica Flora Kairat Saxan Sant Julià Spartaks Jūrmala Group 7Group 8Group 9SeededUnseededSeededUnseededSeededUnseeded Omonia Aktobe Jagiellonia Białystok Shamrock Rovers Zrinjski Mostar Nõmme Kalju Shirak Dinamo Batumi Kruoja Pakruojis Progrès Niederkorn AIK Go Ahead Eagles KR Inter Baku HB Ferencváros Laçi VPS Cork City Trakai Neftçi Žilina Strømsgodset F91 Dudelange Domžale Čukarički Mladost Podgorica Glentoran UCD Partizani Group 10SeededUnseeded Slovan Bratislava Śląsk Wrocław Botoșani Lokomotiva Zagreb Birkirkara Vaduz Celje Ulisses Tskhinvali La Fiorita Airbus UK Broughton Europa
Summary
Matches
Second qualifying round
Seeding A total of 66 teams played in the second qualifying round: 15 teams which entered in this round, and the 51 winners of the first qualifying round. The draw was held on 22 June 2015. 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 2Group 3SeededUnseededSeededUnseededSeededUnseeded PAOK Slovan Bratislava Mladost Podgorica Nõmme Kalju Ferencváros Željezničar Lokomotiva Zagreb UCD Kukësi Vaduz Legia Warsaw Rosenborg AIK Žilina Brøndby KR Botoșani Beroe Stara Zagora Dacia Chișinău Shirak Odd Omonia Thun Kairat Vojvodina Alashkert Jagiellonia Białystok Shamrock Rovers Hapoel Be'er Sheva Spartaks Jūrmala Group 4Group 5Group 6SeededUnseededSeededUnseededSeededUnseeded Trabzonspor IF Elfsborg Charleroi Shakhtyor Soligorsk Gabala Jelgava Randers Wolfsberger AC Differdange 03 Rabotnicki Beitar Jerusalem Čukarički West Ham United Rijeka Hajduk Split Apollon Limassol Dinamo Minsk Mladá Boleslav Strømsgodset Aberdeen Koper Trakai Birkirkara Cherno More Copenhagen Astra Giurgiu Śląsk Wrocław Debrecen Spartak Trnava FH IFK Göteborg Inter Baku Linfield Newtown Skonto Inverness CT
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 17 July 2015. 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 AZ Bordeaux Zürich Aberdeen Vorskla Poltava Dinamo Minsk Žilina AEK Larnaca İstanbul Başakşehir Kairat Copenhagen PAOK Saint-Étienne Belenenses Rosenborg Thun Jablonec IFK Göteborg Debrecen Spartak Trnava Târgu Mureș Vaduz Rubin Kazan Legia Warsaw Sampdoria Southampton IF Elfsborg Zorya Luhansk Vitesse Sturm Graz Charleroi Vojvodina Odd Kukësi Group 4Group 5SeededUnseededSeededUnseeded Borussia Dortmund Standard Liège Slovan Liberec West Ham United Apollon Limassol Atromitos Astra Giurgiu AIK Ironi Kiryat Shmona Wolfsberger AC Željezničar Gabala Athletic Bilbao Trabzonspor Vitória de Guimarães Krasnodar Hajduk Split Omonia Slovan Bratislava Strømsgodset Brøndby Inter Baku Rheindorf Altach Rabotnicki
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 Champions League third qualifying round. The draw was held on 7 August 2015. 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 Athletic Bilbao Viktoria Plzeň Steaua București Legia Warsaw Belenenses Rosenborg Zorya Luhansk Žilina Vojvodina Rheindorf Altach Ajax PAOK Young Boys Standard Liège Saint-Étienne Qarabağ Molde Jablonec Brøndby Milsami Orhei Group 3Group 4SeededUnseededSeededUnseeded Rubin Kazan Red Bull Salzburg Fenerbahçe Bordeaux Lech Poznań Slovan Liberec Hajduk Split Atromitos Dinamo Minsk Videoton Rabotnicki Kairat Borussia Dortmund AZ Sparta Prague Panathinaikos Southampton Krasnodar HJK Thun Astra Giurgiu Midtjylland Odd Gabala
Notes
Summary
Matches
Statistics There were 693 goals in 270 matches in the qualifying phase and play-off round, for an average of 2.57 goals per match.
Top goalscorers RankPlayerTeamGoalsMinutes played1 Róbert Vittek Slovan Bratislava7391 Matej Jelić Žilina7153 Róbert Mak PAOK6464 Henok Goitom AIK4705 Henrikh Mkhitaryan Borussia Dortmund5334615 players4
Top assists