Scotland's Coefficient

Scotland's Coefficient

UEFA Coefficient

Official: Scotland Will Finish Outside UEFA's Top 15

A huge impact on Scottish clubs European aspirations

Scotland's Coefficient's avatar
Scotland's Coefficient
Feb 26, 2026
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Despite winning in Germany at the 17th time of asking, Celtic have been eliminated from the Europa League in Germany tonight, losing 4-2 on aggregate to Stuttgart. This sadly means there are no longer any Scottish clubs competing in UEFA competition this season. As a result, it’s now confirmed that Scotland will finish outside of UEFA’s top 15 in the coefficient rankings.

Scotland will finish the season 18th in UEFA rankings, a stark decline from the 9th place we held just three years ago!

Scotland’s five entrants only contributed five coefficient points in total this season - we were aiming for at least 10 points at the start of the season.

The official confirmation has been a long time coming - Celtic would have had to win every match en route to the Europa League final to keep us in with a chance of finishing 15th. Even if they had managed that almost impossible feat, it still might not have been enough. We would still be dependent on the clubs from the nations above us dropping out.

This will be the biggest drop in Scotland’s ranking since 2012, which will have a monumental impact on the team’s European entry points.

Long term supporters of my work will know that this had been in the post for several years now. I’ve discussed it in length on this website, featured in the Herald, on the BBC website and live on the BBC evening news earlier this season, warning of the impending drop.

Image
My solemn face attending the funeral of the coefficient live on BBC Scotland.

Now it’s officially confirmed though, we can finally state for certain what this means for our clubs:

THE END OF THIS SEASON

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