Why is the UEFA Conference League starting so late in 2025/26?

Introduced back in 2021, the UEFA Conference League is yet to start for the new season, but why you may ask?

Reigning holders Chelsea are no longer set to defend their crown, given their promotion to the UEFA Champions League this season, with Crystal Palace the current favourites among bookmakers.

But with the Champions League and Europa League already well underway, fans are wondering why Europe's third club competition has not even begun. FourFourTwo explains why...

Why has the UEFA Conference League not yet begun?

Whilst UEFA have not officially confirmed why the Conference League has begun later compared to the Champions League and Europa League, there are a few potential reasons we can speculate as to why.

It could be argued that UEFA want to give each competition its own individual flowers, with the Champions League always known to be Aleksander Ceferin's flagship competition, given the amount of revenue it brings in.

The next potential reason could be down to avoiding scheduling conflicts, with 36 teams set to play around Europe on October 2. Crystal Palace begin their European endeavours with an away trip against Dynamo Kyiv.

Another case to be made is that Champions League clubs often finish top of their domestic leagues and qualify directly, allowing an earlier start. Europa League clubs also qualify early, though some come from Champions League qualifiers.

That then leaves the make-up of those competing in the Conference League to be decided last and often includes lower-ranked teams from smaller leagues, or those who drop out of higher competitions. It takes longer to finalise which clubs enter, especially after the play-off rounds.

Commercially, the Conference League would not be able to compete with the sheer amount of money made by the Champions League and even the Europa League to some extent, but it has provided a chance at European football for those lesser sides of the past four years.

In FourFourTwo's view, UEFA are smart to stagger the start of the Conference League, especially given the sheer amount of fixtures that take place, given the now bloated size of the 'League Phase'.

With Oliver Glasner's side heavily fancied heading into the competition, could we have another Premier League winner on our hands this season? Time will only tell...