Recent trends and changes in ranking could cause the Scottish Premiership to lose a place in the Champions League. UEFA assigns coefficient points every year, and based on the performance this season, there's a chance the league will get fewer points. This will change how the Scottish teams will qualify for the Champions League in the year to come.
It comes as an unpleasant surprise to both the League and the fans since Champions League matches are very popular. There's always a lot of hype with the fans around these games, and the 10 best crypto & Bitcoin casinos often provide special quotas and bonuses for them.
How the Coefficient Formula Works?
Coefficients are allocated to each national League, and they represent the quality of the League and its team. The points are awarded based on the teams' performance that have qualified for the Champions League in the last five years.
This includes the current campaign, meaning that the results of this year will affect the coefficient for the next one. The changes in how the Scottish Premiership will be treated will start in the 2025/2026 season.
The Coefficient Points
Coefficient points are awarded based on these rules:
Standard points for CL, EL & ECL
Win: 2pts
Draw: 1pt
*Points are halved in qualifying rounds
Bonus points
Champions League
Group stage participation: 4pts
R16: 5pts
QF,SF & final: 1pt
Europa League
Group winners: 4pts
Group runners-up: 2pts
R16, QF,SF & final: 1pt
Europa Conference League
Group winners: 2pts
Group runners-up: 1pt
SF & final: 1pt
The number of points awarded in this way is then divided by the number of teams from the League participating in the Champions League. Three decimal points, then round the result.
How did The Scottish Teams do?
The poor results of the Scottish teams have resulted in the Premiership getting fewer points. Celtics have been knocked out of the Champions League. Aberdeen was also eliminated from the Europe Conference League. Hearts and Hibernian didn't manage to qualify for international leagues at all.
On the other hand, there's still hope that the Premiership may get additional points by the end of the season. Rangers have been at the very top of Group C in the Europe League and will probably get more points in the next stage, too.
What Will Change?
The reduction in points and status for the Scottish Premiership may result in changes in how the team will qualify for the Championship League and how many will be eligible. At this point, Scottish teams automatically qualify for the League's group stage. Starting next year, they must first go through the additional qualifications.
Additionally, if the poor results continue, the Premiership may be reduced to one spot in the League instead of two it has now. That means the team that ends up in the top spot goes to the qualifications before moving on to the group stage.
How Does Scotland Rank Now?
At this point, Scotland ranks tenth in the UEFA coefficient ranking with 35.800 points. This places it between Turkey with 37.000 and Chezchia with 34.500 points. It's also important to note that there's only one Scottish team left in the League and that both Turkey and Chezchia have more. This means that Chezchia will probably leapfrog over Scotland by the end of the season.
Scottish sides have collected 6.2 coefficient points this season. It's the second-worst result for Scottish teams in the last five years. At the same time, the immediate competitors are doing much better than before.
A Broader Picture
Things are looking even worse for Scotland when a broader picture is taken into account. The standing Scotland has now is mainly based on the result of the 2019/20. It was an especially good season. The Old Firm progressed into the Europa League knockout stages, which no one expected, and all of the teams that were expected to perform well did so.
Scotland would have been 14th on the UEFA list, excluding that season's results. Only the first ten countries on the list directly qualify for the Champions League. Chances are that once the results of 2019/20 stop counting, Scotland could drop further down the list.
How Would The Qualification Work?
If this happens, Scottish teams would have to go through the qualification stage.
Currently, one team is entering the playoffs, and another is entering the second qualifying round. In the future, there will be only one team from Scotland, and it will have to go through the qualifying round.
Two Scottish teams would qualify for the Europa Conference League, entering the second qualifying round. All of these predictions are based on the Championship proceeding as it's set up today, and that may not be the case soon.
The Plans to Overhaul the League
There are plans to overhaul the Champions League in general, which may affect Scotland and how its teams qualify. From the start of next season, the traditional 32 teams in eight groups of four are set to change to the 'Swiss model': one league with 36 teams.
This means that the two new teams will come from the countries at the top of the list – Germany and Italy. However, England and Spain are very close, and the table may change by the end of the season.
The third spot will go to the team that finishes third in the league for the country ranked fifth in the coefficient rankings.
The final extra slot will be awarded to the club with the highest coefficient ranking in the qualifying path for champions, which is available to associations ranked 15-24, excluding Russia.
Liechtenstein
UEFA ranking doesn't include Liechtenstein at all. That's because Liechtenstein doesn't have a National League of its own. The country has seven clubs, but they are all a part of the Swiss league system. Liechtenstein is awarded only one ECL place for the winners of the Liechtenstein Cup. As a result, teams ranked below Liechtenstein would rise one place in these allocation rankings.
What Does it All Mean?
The ranking and changing of Champions League qualification will affect Scottish football and all teams and fans. In general, this means that Scottish teams are seen as underwhelming and a drag on the quality of the League, and for the past five years, that has been the case.
There will be fewer Scottish teams in the League, and those that do rank will have to qualify for it, meaning they'll have more matches away from the national league. For some teams, this will also mean less revenue.
To Sum Up
There's a risk that the Scottish Premiership will soon lose Championship League place. At this point, there are two teams from Scotland in the League, and starting from the following season, there will be only one. That's because of the poor results of Scottish teams in the past five years. The results are ranked based on the results of individual teams in the League.
Scotland is competing with Turkey and Chezchia, and their teams are doing far better. Scottish teams have been relegated from the League, and there are only Rangers left at the top spot of their group. It's disappointing news all around, but things have been moving in this direction for a while.