Europa League Bingo Cards

Europa League –  History in Brief

This competition has been running since 1971 and was previously known as the UEFA cup with Tottenham Hotspur winning the 1st ever competition. It’s come a long way since then. Originally a two legged knockout affair which included the final, in 2005 a group phase was added. In 2009 the competition was completely rebranded and renamed the Europa League. In 2024 a new format was introduced, with 36 teams battling it out in a league structure over 8 games to see who reaches the knockout phase of the tournament. Seville is the most successful club within this competition winning it a massive 7 times, being successful 3 years on the bounce between 2013 and 2016.

Europa League 2026 – 2027

This season the qualifying has been designed to ensure that at least 37 national football associations have teams advancing to the league stage of the Champions League, Europa League or Conference League.

The Eurpoa League may be the 2nd tier European competition that teams are disappointed to be playing in as they didn’t quite make the Champions League, but there’s lots to play for.  The winning team gets a guaranteed place in next year’s Champions League (meaning that it is not possible for any team ever to defend the Europa League title), plus a shot at the Super Cup against this year’s Champions League winner

So how does this competition work? Never fear, we are here to explain it all and better still you can get your bingo cards prepared and ready for this great European competition.

Europa League – The Format

• 12 teams qualify directly for the league phase.  12 teams come through the qualifying rounds and playoffs.  11 teams are demoted to Europa League after failing to reach the league stage of Champions League.  The final place goes to the title holders of UEFA Conference League (this year, that’s Crystal Palace)
• The three qualifying rounds and playoffs have now been completed and as you’d expect the teams involved are not well known to UK fans.
• The 36 teams in the league phase each play 8 games. Four are at home and four away, and they are drawn using ranking and the rule that no participants from the same country can play each other. The league phase runs from mid September 2026 to the end of January 2027.
• Using a league format, the teams that finish in the top eight will inevitably qualify for the knockout stage round of 16.
• The teams that finish 9th to 24th will have to play in an extra round during February (which means 2 more games home and away) with the winners of these games added to the round of 16.
• The teams that finish in the bottom twelve, 25th to 36th it was the taking part that counts. Better luck next year, well that’s if they qualify!
• From the round of 16 onwards we head into the knockout phases with two games played at home and away all the way to the final which takes place on the 26th May 2027 in Frankfurt.

Europa League – UK Teams Participating

• Bournemouth and Sunderland qualified directly
• Crystal Palace qualified directly as last year’s Conference League winners
• Celtic were demoted to Europa League after failing to progress through Champions League qualifying

One thing is certain: there will be plenty of goals, drama, tears, VAR, teams you can barely pronounce and referees that could do with a trip to the optician. With this competition extremely hard to predict, how will you fare? We’ve come up with the Europa League Bingo cards for the 2026/27 season. So download a set now and let the games begin!

Europa League Bingo – How To Play

Use our printable, free Europa League bingo cards by yourself or with friends. Here’s how.

1. Tap to start.
2. Select Card Size – click the Grid Size panel for a drop down menu of options. The default is 4×4 but you can also have 3×3 or 5×5.
3.  If you like, you can enter some of your own phrases into the box, “Enter words/Emojis…”, as well as or instead of ours.
4. Click “Generate Bingo Cards” Button
5. You’ll then be presented with a playable demo card (click the squares to change their colour)
6. Select the number of cards you want to print in the drop down menu OR type a custom number in the box. The phrases will be jumbled up across all cards, allowing you to play with friendsand each get a different card.
7. You can Either Select “Generate Printable Cards” OR invite your friends by entering their email and hitting ‘Invite’. Each of them will then receive unique Europa League bingo cards.
8. Sit back and enjoy the match(s), either in person or virtually, daubing the items off as they occur. The winner is the first person to mark off all or the most items.
9. Enjoy!

We also feature La Liga Bingo Cards and Serie A Bingo Cards as well as Champions League and Premier League – be sure to check them out!