Aston Villa could give rise to a very unique situation and UEFA have told clarified what it would mean for West Ham and the Premier League.
Aston Villa are aiming to follow in West Ham’s footsteps by winning the Europa Conference League.
The Hammers meanwhile are hoping to go one better this season by winning the Europa League.
West Ham qualified for the Europa League by virtue of winning their first trophy for 43 years when they beat Fiorentina 2-1 in Prague last summer.
And if David Moyes’ side manage to beat the odds and win the Europa League they would automatically qualify for the new-look Champions League.
Should that happen they could be joining Unai Emery’s Aston Villa at Europe’s top table.
UEFA provides clarity over unique Villa double
Villa are on course to qualify through the new-look Champions League via their Premier League position.
The Villans are fourth with 11 games to go.
But what if the Midlands side manage that and to win the Conference League this season?
I reached out to my contact at UEFA who exclusively clarified the situation to Hammers News.
UEFA have explained what an Aston Villa double would mean for West Ham and the Premier League.
Aston Villa will now play Ajax over two legs for a place in the Conference League last eight.
If they emulate the Hammers and go all the way while holding on to their Champions League or at least a Europa League spot via the league, then it could be very good news for West Ham.
The Hammers are bidding to qualify for Europe for a fourth consecutive season.
And that scenario would make it even more likely according to UEFA’s explanation – which was added to its official website yesterday after the query from Hammers News.
It would be good news for West Ham’s European hopes
“We kindly refer you to the following,” a UEFA spokesman told Hammers News before adding the information to its website.
“The winners of the UEFA Europa Conference League final in Athens will be guaranteed a place in the league phase of the 2024/25 Europa League.
“Yes, this season’s UEFA Europa Conference League winners are assured of a spot in the league phase of the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League.
“Under the new post-2024 club competition format, if the Europa Conference League winners qualify directly for the league phase of the UEFA Champions League or Europa League via domestic competitions, then the club with the best individual coefficient of all the teams in Europa League qualifying (champions path and main path) goes directly through to the league phase.
“However, no leapfrogging is permitted here, meaning a team from the main path can only move up to the league phase provided that the club is either the domestic cup winner or the highest domestically ranked club from its association that has not already qualified for the league phase of the competition directly. If this is not the case, the automatic league phase place goes to the club with the next best coefficient.”
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