European dates for Hearts, Rangers, Celtic and others as Scotland's clubs chase a £30m bounty

Passports and suitcases will soon be dug out as football fans across the Continent anticipate another European adventure. In Scotland, the most exciting title race in decades means there is not yet proper clarity on who will enter the Champions League, who will be in the Europa League and who will take the Conference League places.

Hearts are top of the Premiership, one point ahead of second-placed Rangers, with Celtic a further two points behind in third spot. Including the Scottish Cup winners, UEFA will welcome five European entrants from Scotland for season 2026/27. That will reduce to four for the 2027/28 campaign because of the Scottish co-efficient drop, so there will be an understandable desire to make it count this summer.

Should Hearts win their first top-flight title since 1960, they will enter the Champions League play-off round - a two-legged tie for the right to reach the tournament’s cash-laden league phase and guarantee £30m in income. The play-off round draw takes place on 3 August and Hearts would be unseeded. The first leg is due on 18/19 August and the return on 25/26 August. The Champions League’s league stage draw is on 27 August and matchdays are scheduled for 8/9/10 September, 13/14 October, 20/21 October, 3/4 November, 24/25 November, 8/9 December, 19/20 January and 26/27 January.

Crucially, defeat in the Champions League play-off round carries a parachute into the league stage of the Europa League. So winning the Premiership secures European football beyond Christmas. None of Scotland’s other European spots carry the same luxury. The Europa League’s league phase draw is on 28 August, with matchdays scheduled for 16/17 September, 15 October, 22 October, 5 November, 26 November, 10 December, 21 January and 28 January.

This year’s Premiership runners-up - the position currently occupied by Rangers - are rewarded with a place in the Champions League’s second qualifying round. That means they must negotiate three two-legged ties to reach the competition’s league phase. The draw for the second qualifying round will be on 16/17 June, with the first leg on 21/22 July and the return leg on 28/29 July. The third qualifying round draw takes place on 20 July. First legs are set for 4/5 August and second legs are 11 August. Defeat in the second qualifying round brings a drop into the Europa League third qualifying round. Lose that tie and it’s a further drop down to the Conference League play-off round.

The club finishing third in Scotland - currently Celtic’s position - enter the Conference League second qualifying round. Again, that leaves three two-legged ties in order to qualify for the league stage. Defeat at any point would mean outright elimination from European competition. The draw for the Conference League second qualifying round is scheduled for 16/17 June. First legs are on 23 July, with second legs a week later on 30 July.

Motherwell are presently fourth in the Premiership and, should they retain that spot, they will also enter the Conference League second qualifying round this summer. They would need to win three two-legged ties to secure a place in the tournament’s league stage but, as above, there is no parachute so defeat at any point would mean outright elimination from European competition.

The club finishing fifth in the table will get a European spot if Celtic beat Dunfermline in the Scottish Cup final. This works as follows: The cup winners earn a place in the Europa League third qualifying round, the draw for which is on 20 July. First legs are due on 6 August with return legs on 13 August.

Celtic will not require that spot if they manage to finish first or second in the league and thus secure a Champions League berth. If they come third and take the cup’s European place, then the club finishing fourth would take the reward for third - entry into the Conference League second qualifying round. The club in fifth - currently Hibs - would then be granted the Conference League second qualifying round spot initially reserved for the team in fourth place. Should Dunfermline lift the trophy, they would get the associated European spot. Only the top four in the Premiership would qualify for Europe in that event.