The six teams Hamrun Spartans will be facing in the league phase of the UEFA Conference League were revealed on Friday as the league phase draw of the 2025/26 UEFA Conference League was held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco along with the league phase draw of the UEFA Europa League.
The Spartans will be facing Shakhtar at home and Shamrock Rovers away from home from Pots 1 and 2, Lincoln Red Imps at home and Jagiellonia away from home from Pots 3 and 4, Lausanne-Sport at home and Samsunspor away from home from Pots 5 and 6.
The 36 teams were, in fact, divided into six pots of six teams each based on their UEFA club coefficient with the Spartans being placed in Pot 6. The draws were made in a fully digital format working with the same digital technology already used last year to instantly draw opponents, allowing for a smooth, efficient and speedy draw process.
The actual fixtures will be confirmed during the weekend. Matches are scheduled for Matchday 1: 2 October, 23 October, 6 November, 27 November, 11 December and 18 December 2025.
Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
UEFA coefficient ranking: 53
Winners of the UEFA Cup in 2008/09, they are taking part in the UEFA Conference League for the first time after they were eliminated from the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round by Panathianaikos on penalties following two goalless draws after eliminating Ilves Tampere and Besiktas. In the UEFA Conference League play-off round, they defeated Servette with a 3-2 aggregate score. Last season, they made it to the league stage of the UEFA Champions League, finishing 27th with seven points from eight matches.
They met Birkirkara in the UEFA Cup in 1998, beating them 2-1 and 4-0.
Shamrock Rovers (IRL)
UEFA coefficient ranking: 97
Last season, Shamrock Rovers qualified for the league stage of the UEFA Conference League finishing tenth with 11 points from six matches to reach the knock-out stage where they were beaten 5-4 on penalties by Molde following a 1-1 aggregate score. This year, they entered the UEFA Conference League in the second qualifying round, eliminating St. Joseph’s of Gibraltar, FC Ballkani of Kosovo and Santa Clara of Portugal.
In 2022, they met Hibernians in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, winning 3-0 at home, the second leg ending in a goalless draw.
Jagiellonia Białystok (POL)
UEFA coefficient ranking: 115
How they qualified: Qualifying play-offs
Jagiellonia reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Conference League last season after finishing ninth and eliminating TSC Backa Topola and Cercle Brugge in the next two rounds, losing out to Real Betis. This year, they eliminated Novi Pazar, Silkeborg and Dinamo Tirana in the previous rounds of the competition.
Samsunspor (TUR)
UEFA coefficient ranking: 166
This will be Samsunspor’s first league phase adventure after bowing out of the UEFA Europa League to Panathinaikos in their maiden matches in European football although they did take part in the now-defunct UEFA Intertoto Cup in the nineties.
Lincoln Red Imps (GIB)
UEFA coefficient ranking: 168
This will not be Lincoln Red Imps’ first experience at this level, having qualified for the group stage of the UEFA Conference League in season 2021/22. Last season, they had defeated Hamrun 5-4 on penalties in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League and eventually made it to the play-offs of the UEFA Conference League where they were eliminated by Larne. This season, they entered the UEFA Champions League where they eliminated Vikingur but were then eliminated by Red Star Belgrade. In the UEFA Europa League, they managed to eliminate FC Noah on penalties but were then eliminated by Sporting Braga.
Lausanne-Sport (SUI)
UEFA coefficient ranking: 231
Lausanne are making their return to European football this season after a fifteen-year absence. They eliminated Vardar Skopje, FK Astana and Besiktas to reach this stage.