Coefficient
A coefficient is a ranking number built from results over several seasons. It is used to compare clubs or countries and to place them in the draw, and it is calculated by a published method rather than set by hand.
Why it matters
The coefficient matters because it decides placement. A higher total puts a club in a stronger pot or a country higher in the allocation of places, so the number is the mechanism through which past results shape the future draw.
Where it is used
Coefficients are used at two levels. The club coefficient ranks clubs and sets the pots, while the association coefficient ranks countries and sets the number of places each league receives, and the two work together to shape the entry list.
How to read it
Read a coefficient as a record rather than a forecast. It summarises what has already been achieved over a window of seasons, and it changes slowly, so a club climbs or falls gradually as the window of seasons turns over.
What it means
a ranking of clubs or countries built from results over several seasons
Coefficient is one of the working terms of the competition. This entry explains it as a mechanism that holds true from season to season, so it can be read on its own or alongside the other entries in the glossary of the tournament.
- Built from results over several seasons.
- Used to rank clubs and countries.
- Decides pots, seeds and places.
- Calculated by a published method.
- Changes slowly because the window is long.
- A record of the past rather than a prediction.