West Ham Conference League: How win impacts 2023-24 Premier League European qualification

Said Benrahma’s second half penalty was cancelled out by Giacomo Bonaventura before Jarrod Bowen’s stoppage time winner in the final. It ended West Ham’s 43-year trophy drought in the process.

It has also confirmed all eight European qualification places for Premier League clubs next season.

West Ham confirm European qualification

Despite finishing 14th in the Premier League in 2022-23, West Ham have qualified for European football for a third consecutive season. The Conference League win guarantees a place in next season’s Europa League group stage.

Unlike Champions League or Europa League winners finishing outside of the European places, winning the Conference League does not impact European qualification based on league position.

Premier League Champions League places

Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United and Newcastle United will enter next season’s Champions League group stage. Man City will be looking to win the Champions League for the first time against Inter Milan this Saturday.

But a victory for City would only have impacted the European places if they were to finish outside of the top four.

Premier League Europa League places

West Ham winning the Conference League enters them in the group stage of the 2023-24 Europa League alongside Liverpool and Brighton, who finished fifth and sixth in the Premier League respectively.

Fifth place in the Premier League is guaranteed a Europa League place along with the winners of the FA Cup. But as Manchester City won the FA Cup and qualified for the Champions League, the qualification place dropped to sixth place.

Conference League winners enter the Europa League as an additional team.

Premier League Conference League place

There is no Premier League placing which automatically guarantees Europa Conference League qualification unless the winner of the Carabao Cup qualifies for the Europa League or Champions League.

As Manchester United won the Carabao Cup and qualified for the Champions League, the Conference League place swapped to seventh in the Premier League, which was Aston Villa.

West Ham’s Conference League success does not impact any qualification for next season’s competition. However it will improve the Premier League’s overall national association contribution score, positively impacting Newcastle, Villa and Brighton & Hove Albion’s coefficient ranking for their respective group stage draws.