A total of 193 teams from 53 UEFA member associations participate in the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League. The association ranking based on the
UEFA country coefficients is used to determine the number of participating teams for each association: • Associations 1–6 each have three teams qualify • Associations 7–9 each have four teams qualify • Associations 10–51 (except Liechtenstein) each have three teams qualify • Associations 52–53 each have two teams qualify •
Liechtenstein has one team qualify (as it organises only a domestic cup and no domestic league) • The top three associations of the 2011–12
UEFA Respect Fair Play ranking each gain an additional berth • Moreover, 32 teams eliminated from the
2012–13 UEFA Champions League are transferred to the Europa League (this is one fewer than usual as
Tottenham Hotspur did not participate in the UEFA Champions League non-champions qualifying path due to
Chelsea winning the
2011–12 UEFA Champions League) The winners of the
2011–12 UEFA Europa League are given an additional entry as title holders if they do not qualify for the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League or Europa League through their domestic performance. However, this additional entry is not necessary for this season since the title holders qualified for European competitions through their domestic performance.
Association ranking For the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League, the associations are allocated places according to their 2011
UEFA country coefficients, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 2006–07 to 2010–11. Apart from the allocation based on the association coefficients, associations could have additional teams participating in the Champions League, as noted below: • – Additional berths for associations via the
Fair Play ranking (Norway, Finland, Netherlands) • – Additional teams transferred from the UEFA Champions League
Distribution Due to the following reasons, changes to the default allocation system had to be made: • The title holders,
Atlético Madrid, were guaranteed a place in the Europa League group stage, since they did not qualify for the Champions League. However, they also qualified for the group stage through their domestic performance, as they finished fifth in the
2011–12 La Liga and Champions League-qualified
Barcelona won the
2011–12 Copa del Rey. As a result, this spot in the group stage was vacated. • Only 14 losers (instead of the default 15) from the
2012–13 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round entered the Europa League play-off round. The following changes to the default allocation system were made to compensate for these vacated spots: • The domestic cup winners of association 7 (Russia) were promoted from the play-off round to the group stage. • The domestic cup winners of associations 16 and 17 (Switzerland and Israel) were promoted from the third qualifying round to the play-off round. • The domestic cup winners of associations 19 and 20 (Austria and Cyprus) were promoted from the second qualifying round to the third qualifying round. • The domestic cup winners of associations 33, 34, 35 and 36 (Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia and Georgia) were promoted from the first qualifying round to the second qualifying round.
Redistribution rules A Europa League place is vacated when a team qualifies for both the Champions League and the Europa League, or qualifies for the Europa League by more than one method. When a place is vacated, it is redistributed within the national association by the following rules: • TH: Title holders • CW: Cup winners • CR: Cup runners-up • LC: League Cup winners • 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, etc.: League position • CL4R: League placed 4th but entered Europa League due to Champions League 4 teams per association rule • P-W: End-of-season European competition play-offs winners • FP: Fair Play • UCL: Transferred from the Champions League • GS: Third-placed teams from the group stage • PO: Losers from the play-off round • Q3: Losers from the third qualifying round ;Notes ==Round and draw dates==