The DFB Cup winner could help the table seventh in the European Cup. In a roundabout way, a fifth place for the Bundesliga in the Champions League is also possible.
Basically, German football has seven places in the European Cup in the 2022/23 season:
- Champions League: four Bundesliga teams in the group stage
- Europe League: the DFB Cup winner and a Bundesliga team in the group stage
- Europe Conference League: a Bundesliga team in the playoffs
| Competition | Participation by |
|---|---|
Champions League (group stage) | Bundesliga places 1 – 4 |
Europa League (group stage) | DFB Cup winner, Bundesliga place 5 |
Conference League (Playoffs) | Bundesliga place 6 |
DFB-Pokal can move places
If the DFB Cup winner has already qualified for the Champions League or the Europa League via the Bundesliga, the Europa League place in the cup goes back to the Bundesliga. The sixth in the table would play in the group stage of the Europa League, the seventh in the playoffs of the Europa Conference League.
| DFB Cup Winner reached… | result in the Bundesliga |
|---|---|
Bundesliga place 1 – 4 | Places 5 and 6 EL group stage, place 7 ECL qualification |
Bundesliga place 5 | 6th place EL group stage, 7th place ECL qualification |
Bundesliga place 6 | 5th place EL group stage, 7th place ECL qualification |
Bundesliga place 7 – 18 | 5th place EL group stage, 6th place ECL qualification |
When a Bundesliga club wins a European Cup
Three principles apply:
- The Champions League winner will play in the group stage of the Champions League next season.
- The Europa League winner will play in the group stage of the Champions League next season.
- The Europa Conference League winner will play in the Europa League group stage next season.
According to these principles, the Bundesliga can provide an eighth European Cup participant if the respective winner in the Bundesliga and in the DFB-Pokal misses out on a European place.
On the other hand, if a European club wins one of the European Cup places in the Bundesliga, this goes back to UEFA, which then distributes it differently.
An example:
| Europa League winner reaches… | result in the Bundesliga |
|---|---|
Place 1 – 4 | double CL place goes to France |
Place 5 – 6 (7)* | one CL place more, one place deduction EL/ECL |
Place 7 (8)* – 18th | one CL place more |
*Possible postponement by the DFB Cup winner in brackets
Important: A Bundesliga club cannot benefit from the performance of another Bundesliga club in Europe. Eighth place is definitely not enough for international business – unless the eighth wins a European Cup himself.
The European Cup from the 2021/22 to 2023/24 season
DFB cup final and fair play rating no more back doors
For many years, UEFA’s fair play rating was a way of earning a place in the first qualifying round of the Europa League. But UEFA abolished this rule a long time ago, and the fairest association has received it since 2015 a prize money instead of the starting place.
In any case, the defeated finalist in the DFB Cup gets nothing, that has been the case since the beginning of the 2015/16 season – VfB Stuttgart made it into the Europa League in 2013 as the defeated cup finalist.