The last day of the Premier League season on Sunday played a big role in deciding which teams will play in European competitions next season. Manchester City, Chelsea, and Newcastle United all secured spots in the UEFA Champions League (UCL). But the impact wasn’t just in England—teams in Finland were also affected. One of the surprising winners was Finnish club Ilves.
Chelsea’s Levi Colwill scored a goal against Nottingham Forest, helping Chelsea qualify for the 2025/26 UCL. As a result, Nottingham Forest missed out and will now play in the UEFA Conference League (UECL) instead.
This win also confirmed that both Chelsea and their UECL Final opponents, Real Betis, have already qualified for European competitions through their league standings. Real Betis had already secured a place in the UEFA Europa League (UEL) ahead of LaLiga’s final round of matches.
Because both UECL finalists have already qualified for Europe through their leagues, the Europa League spot normally given to the UECL winner will now go to another team—opening the door for Ilves to benefit.
The open spot in the UEFA Europa League (UEL) needs to be filled, and according to the rules, it will go to the highest-ranked country that doesn’t already have a team in the UEL. That country is Finland, whose league—Veikkausliiga—is ranked 34th out of UEFA’s 55 leagues.
As a result, Ilves, who finished second in the 2024 Veikkausliiga and were originally set to play in the Conference League Second Qualifying Round, will now move up to the UEL First Qualifying Round.
Ilves, based in Tampere, will begin their UEL journey in July. Since they are not among the seeded teams, they could face strong opponents like Shakhtar Donetsk, Legia Warsaw, or Partizan in the first round.
The European paths of the other three Finnish teams remain unchanged.
Veikkausliiga champions KuPS will start their Champions League journey in the First Qualifying Round. Since they are one of the seeded teams, they won’t face tough opponents like Malmo (Sweden), Ludogorets Razgrad (Bulgaria), or FCSB (Romania) in this round.
Instead, KuPS might play against teams like Virtus from San Marino, Hamrun Spartans from Malta, or Levadia from Estonia.
HJK and SJK, who finished third and fourth in the 2024 Finnish league, will compete in the UEFA Europa Conference League. They’ll also begin in the First Qualifying Round. HJK is one of the strongest seeded teams, while SJK is unseeded, meaning they could face tougher opponents.
The draws for the First Qualifying Rounds of all three European competitions will be held on June 17. The first leg matches will be played in the week starting July 7.
Veikkausliiga Teams Learn European Paths for 2025/26
UEFA Champions League First Qualifying Round: KuPS (seeded)
UEFA Europa League First Qualifying Round: Ilves (unseeded)
UEFA Conference League First Qualifying Round: HJK (seeded), SJK (unseeded)
