Brighton qualified for the Uefa Conference League thanks to an eighth placed Premier League finish
Brighton will compete in the Uefa Conference League next season for the first time in the club's history.
The Seagulls ended the campaign last Sunday with a 3-0 loss to Manchester United but finished the Premier League in eighth position. That was enough to seal a place in Europe's third tier competition.
Brighton previously competed in the Uefa Europa League - the second tier competition - in the 2023-24 season under former boss Roberto De Zerbi.
Key Conference League dates
August 3 - The draw will be made for the Albion's first matches in the 2026-27 Uefa Conference League.
August 20 and 27 - Brighton will contest a two-legged play-off round to determined who will advance to the league phase of the competition.
August 28 - The draw for the league phase will take place
Conference League phase
League phase matches - October 15, October 22, November 5, November 26, December 10, December 17
Knockout phase playoffs: The draw will be on January 15.
First leg: February 18; second leg: February 25.
Round of 16: The draw will be made on February 26.
First leg: March 11, second leg: March 18.
Quarter-final first leg: April 8, second leg: April 15.
Semi-final first leg: April 29, second leg: May 6.
Final: June 2.
Notable teams - Monaco anyone?
Brighton will likely be seeded, along with Atalanta, Freiburg, Monaco and Getafe.
The unseeded opponents advance through previous rounds, or will drop down from Champions League and Europa League qualifying.
The likes of Ajax, Braga, FC Copenhagen, IFK Goteborg and Panathinaikos, Hibernian and Motherwell will also be in the draw.
2026-27 Conference League facts and final details
36 teams will compete in a single league but each team will only play six matches - three home and three away. Fixtures are drawn from seeding pots.
The top eight team qualify for the round of 16 and teams finishing ninth to 24th enter a two-legged knockout play-off. Teams finishing 25th to 36th are out of the tournament.
The final will be held at the Besiktas Stadium in Istanbul on Wednesday June 2, 2027.
Hinshelwood to ‘attack’ Conference League
Brighton player Jack Hinshelwood had mixed emotions as the Seagulls ended the campaign with two defeats but still qualified for the Conference league.
He said: “For a bit I couldn't tell whether I was half fuming or half buzzing.
“But no, the fans' reaction, you can see how much it meant to them to get a European place.
“After the Palace game at home, if you'd said we'd finish eighth and get in the Conference League, then we would have snapped your hand off.
“I’m still a little bit gutted that we didn't pick up any points from the last two games, which would have got us Europa League. But, yeah, these things happen and at least we can attack the Conference League now with our full ambition.
Hinshelwood: We can go deep
“Once we get our heads around it, I think we've got a massive opportunity to really go and do well. You've seen the English clubs doing well in the last couple of years. So I think it's a tournament we can go deep into.”
Continue Reading