our next european adventure!

 The 2026/27 UEFA Europa League draws are scheduled across multiple stages, starting with the qualifying rounds then moving on to the league phase, which is where Palace come in, with the draw for this on 28 August 2026.  The subsequent knockout phase draw will take place in early 2027.  Seeding is based on UEFA club coefficients and grouping is used to balance the draw process.

Qualifying Round Draws

• First Qualifying Round Draw: 16 June 2026, with first legs on 9 July and second legs on 16 July 2026. Winners advance to the second qualifying round, while losers move to the Conference League second qualifying round 
• Second Qualifying Round Draw: 17 June 2026, with matches on 23 and 30 July 2026. Winners progress to the third qualifying round, losers transfer to the Conference League third qualifying round 
• Third Qualifying Round Draw: 20 July 2026, involving 26 teams seeded according to UEFA club coefficients 
• Play-off Round Draw: 3 August 2026, with 24 teams competing to enter the league phase

League Phase Draw

• The League Phase draw will take place on 28 August 2026, for the 36-team group stage, this is comprised of 12 teams from qualifying, 11 teams dropping from the Champions League qualifying rounds, 12 domestic cup winners, and the previous Conference League winner 
• League phase matches begin on 16-17 September 2026, mostly on Thursday evenings

Knockout Phase Draws

• Knockout play off draw: 29 January 2027, for teams finishing 9-24 in the league phase 
• Round of 16, Quarterfinals, and Semifinals Draws: All scheduled for 26 February 2027, with second legs hosted by the higher-ranked teams from the league phase 

Final

• The 2026/27 Europa League final will be held at Stadion Frankfurt, Germany, on 26 May 2027
  

As for the conference league the cub have to set aside a number of seats for UEFA for each home match, the number of reserved seats will be higher than last season.

MAIN STAND

The club will email individual season ticket holders who could possibly be affected by seat displacement nearer to the time.

The final impact will depend on how many of their allocated seats UEFA take up. 

LOWER HOLMESDALE

it is likely that the Holmesdale Fanatics will again move to the front of Block E for Europa League matches and people who have season tickets in those seats will be able to purchase alternative seats set aside for them.  

From 12 October 2025, the European Union’s (EU) new Entry/Exit System (EES) will begin. This is a new digital border system that will change requirements for British citizens travelling to the Schengen area and may affect you if you are travelling to away matches in these countries.

The countries in the Schengen area are:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Travelling to the Schengen area

When EES is introduced, if you are flying to a country in the Schengen area for a short stay using a UK passport, you will be required to register your biometric details, such as fingerprints and a photo, when you arrive. You don’t need to take any action before you arrive at the border, and there is no cost for EES registration.  The checks may take a few minutes, so be prepared to wait during busy times.

If you enter the Schengen area by ferry through the Port of Dover, Eurotunnel at Folkestone or Eurostar at St Pancras International, EES checks will be completed before you leave the UK, self service pre-registration kiosks will be available in each location, you should factor in extra time  to complete this before boarding. You may also need to provide either your fingerprint or photo when you leave the Schengen area.

More information is available here  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/eu-entryexit-system so please check it out.