A total of 192 teams from 53
UEFA associations participated in the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League. Associations were allocated places according to their 2008
UEFA country coefficient, which took into account their performance in European competitions from 2003–04 to 2007–08. Below is the qualification scheme for the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League: • Associations 1–6 each entered three teams • Associations 7–9 each entered four teams • Associations 10–51 each entered three teams, except
Liechtenstein (it organised only a domestic cup competition and no domestic league competition) • Associations 52–53 plus Liechtenstein each entered one team • The top three associations of the 2008–09
UEFA Fair Play ranking each gained an additional berth • Moreover, 33 teams eliminated from the
2009–10 UEFA Champions League were transferred to the Europa League
Association ranking ;Notes • (FP): Additional fair play berth (Norway, Denmark, Scotland) • (UCL): Additional teams transferred from the UEFA Champions League
Distribution Since the winners of the
2008–09 UEFA Cup,
Shakhtar Donetsk, qualified for the
2009–10 UEFA Champions League through domestic performance, the title holder spot reserved for them in the group stage was vacated. As this was the first edition of the Europa League, it was initially unknown whether UEFA would simply disregard the vacant title holder spot and rearrange entries so that one more team would qualify from the play-off round, or replace the title holders' group stage place with that of the top-ranked association's cup winner and move teams from lower rounds appropriately, as the regulations were unclear on this matter. As a result, the following changes to the default allocation system were made to compensate for the vacant title holder spot in the group stage: • The domestic cup winners of associations 16 and 17 (Switzerland and Bulgaria) were promoted from the third qualifying round to the play-off round. • The domestic cup winners of associations 28 and 29 (Cyprus and Slovenia) were promoted from the second qualifying round to the third qualifying round. • The domestic cup winners of associations 52 and 53 (Andorra and San Marino) and the domestic league runners-up of associations 35 and 36 (Republic of Ireland and Macedonia) were promoted from the first qualifying round to the second qualifying round.
Redistribution rules A Europa League place was vacated when a team qualified for both the Champions League and the Europa League, or qualified for the Europa League by more than one method. When a place was vacated, it was redistributed within the national association by the following rules: • When the domestic cup winners (considered as the "highest-placed" qualifier within the national association) also qualified for the Champions League, their Europa League place was vacated, and the remaining Europa League qualifiers were moved up one place, with the final place (with the earliest starting round) taken by the domestic cup runners-up, provided they did not already qualify for the Champions League or the Europa League. Otherwise, this place was taken by the highest-placed league finisher which did not qualify for the Europa League yet. • When the domestic cup winners also qualified for the Europa League through league position, their place through the league position was vacated, and the Europa League qualifiers which finished lower in the league were moved up one place, with the final place taken by the highest-placed league finisher which did not qualify for the Europa League yet. • A place vacated by the League Cup winners was taken by the highest-placed league finisher which did not qualify for the Europa League yet. • A Fair Play place was taken by the highest-ranked team in the domestic Fair Play table which did not qualify for the Champions League or Europa League yet.
Teams The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round: • TH: Title holders • CW: Cup winners • CR: Cup runners-up • LC: League Cup winners • Nth: League position • P-W: End-of-season European competition play-off winners • FP: Fair play • UCL: Relegated 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 ==Round and draw dates==