Archive · 28 Aug 2026
Ajax and Salah’s Trabzonspor Learn Conference League Opponents
The Conference League draw decided which soccer teams will play each other.
Ajax will travel to Atalanta for one of the biggest games.
Trabzonspor, Mohamed Salah’s new club, will play Freiburg, Heart of Midlothian and Jablonec at home.
Trabzonspor will also visit Red Star Belgrade, KuPS Kuopio and CSKA Sofia.
Atalanta will play teams from Cyprus, Sweden and Kazakhstan as well as Ajax.
Monaco will play Brighton and Heart of Midlothian away and Freiburg at home.
Inter Escaldes is the first team from Andorra to enter a UEFA competition.
The matches begin on October 15, and the final will be held in Istanbul on June 2.
Ajax will visit Atalanta in the marquee fixture of the 36-team Conference League draw.
Trabzonspor, featuring former Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, will host Freiburg, Heart of Midlothian and Jablonec.
Atalanta will also play Pafos, Mjallby and Kairat Almaty during its six-game slate.
Brighton will face Monaco, Getafe and Panathinaikos, while Monaco also visits Heart of Midlothian.
Inter Escaldes became Andorra’s first team in a UEFA competition and will face Copenhagen, Red Star, Getafe and Mjallby.
- Who
- Ajax, Atalanta, Trabzonspor, Mohamed Salah, Brighton, Monaco, Heart of Midlothian and other Conference League teams.
- What
- A 36-team Conference League draw assigned each team its six league-stage opponents.
- When
- The draw took place Friday; matches begin October 15, the final round is December 17, and the final is June 2.
- Where
- The draw was held in Monaco, with matches scheduled across Europe; the final will be in Istanbul.
- Why
- The draw established the teams’ opponents for the Conference League competition.
- Marquee fixture
- Atalanta will host Ajax.
- Trabzonspor opponents
- Freiburg, Heart of Midlothian, Jablonec, Red Star Belgrade, KuPS Kuopio and CSKA Sofia.
- Atalanta opponents
- Ajax, Pafos, Mjallby and Kairat Almaty.
- Brighton schedule
- Brighton will face Monaco, Getafe and Panathinaikos.
- Ownership issue
- Brighton owner Tony Bloom holds a 29% minority stake in Heart of Midlothian; the clubs were not drawn against each other.
- Competition dates
- Games start October 15, with the sixth round on December 17.
- Final venue
- The final will be played June 2 at Besiktas’ stadium in Istanbul.