Julien Farhat
FOT: SportlyReport
Introduction
Today marks the return of Champions League football, featuring qualification rounds without the involvement of any French team, after the elimination of Olympique de Marseille (OM) last week.
What repercussions will this result have on UEFA rankings?
Ligue 1 now ranks behind the Dutch Eredivisie with France and the Netherlands accumulating 50,747 and 52,800 points respectively over the last five years (Source: UEFA website).
Key Factors Behind the Shift:
1- European Underperformance: French clubs have trailed their Dutch counterparts in points over the last three seasons, as reflected in the tallies from 2020 to 2023.
2- Domestic Inconsistency: Apart from PSG, only OM and Rennes have marked consistent European appearances in the past five seasons.
Current European Representation:
France has six clubs[1] participating in European tournaments this season, while the Netherlands includes five[2]. However, five of the French clubs are already assured to feature in the group stages of the competitions, while only one Dutch club is assured to be playing in the group stages.
Point System Overview:
In all European competitions, a win garners 2 points, while a draw earns 1. For example, OM accrued 16 points in the 2021-2022 Conference League, outpacing the 8 points from their previous Champions League stint.
Implications:
The nation ranking 5th at season's end will be allocated four slots in the 2025-2026 Champions League, with three clubs enjoying direct group stage entry. Notably, France has already secured this advantage for the 2024-2025 edition.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] Champions’ league group stages: PSG and Lens; Europa league group stages: OM, Rennes, and Toulouse; Europa league conference play offs: Lille [2] Champions’ league group stages: Feyenoord; Champions league play offs: PSV; Europa league play offs: Ajax; Europa league conference third qualifying round: AZ Alkmaar and FC Twente.
UEFA Rankings: Ligue 1's Slip Behind Eredivisie.
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