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17th March 2025
05:05pm GMT

Newcastle's 2-1 win in the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool yesterday could have bigger implications than you might imagine.
The Magpies ended their 70-year wait for domestic silverware as they lifted the Carabao Cup over the weekend after heartbreak against Manchester United two years previously.
The result of the match at Wembley Stadium will also have an impact on how clubs qualify for European competition, because the winners of the EFL Cup are rewarded with a place in the playoff stage of the UEFA Conference League.
If Newcastle finish in a position in the table that earns them a spot in a UEFA competition next season (at least the top five), their Conference League playoff place will instead go to the next-highest ranked team who have not qualified for UEFA competition via their league position.
The top four teams in the Premier League qualify for the league phase of the Champions League.
The fifth-placed team could also get a UCL spot, depending on the collective success of the Premier League's clubs in Europe this season.
Two Europa League places are given to English clubs who fulfil the following criteria: The fifth-placed team in the Premier League qualify for the league phase (or the sixth-placed team if the top five clubs qualify for the Champions League) plus the winners of the FA Cup.
The EFL Cup winners qualify for the playoff stage of the Conference League.
However, if the FA Cup winners have qualified for the Champions League or the Europa League via their Premier League position, or by winning the Champions League, their Europa League place will go to the next-highest ranked team who have not already qualified for UEFA competitions.
If the EFL Cup winners have qualified for the Champions League or Europa League via their Premier League position, or by winning either of those European competitions, their Conference League playoff place will go to the next-highest ranked team in the Premier League who have not already qualified for Europe.
Newcastle have secured their Conference League spot through the Carabao Cup but will be working hard in the league to try and get into the champions League or Europa League places.
If Eddie Howe's EFL Cup winners were to achieve either feat, their Conference League spot will be passed to the next-highest ranked team in the Premier League that have not already qualified for Europe.
That team could potentially finish as low as 11th. For that to happen Liverpool, Arsenal, Nottingham Forest would have to qualify for the Champions League as the top four.
Newcastle qualify for the Champions League in fifth, with UEFA awarding an extra place for English clubs' performances in Europe this season.
Brighton and Hove Albion would then qualify for the Europa League by finishing sixth.
AFC Bournemouth would need to finish seventh but qualify for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup while Chelsea would finish eighth and qualify for the Europa League by winning the Conference League.
Aston Villa could finish ninth but qualify for the Champions League by winning that competition this season.
Then Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur finish 10th and qualify for the Champions League by winning the Europa League.
If all that was to happen, Newcastle's Conference League place could not be allocated to any of the top 10 teams as they all would have qualified for another European competition, therefore it would go to the team in 11th.
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