{"id":9255,"date":"2026-05-16T18:57:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T18:57:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=9255"},"modified":"2026-05-16T18:57:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T18:57:58","slug":"do-chelsea-qualify-for-europe-if-they-win-the-fa-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=9255","title":{"rendered":"Do Chelsea qualify for Europe if they win the FA Cup?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"post-368325\">\n<div class=\"article-follow\">\n<div class=\"article-sharing google-follow\">  <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"28\" height=\"28\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/wp-content\/themes\/grv-media\/img\/google-discover.svg\" alt=\"\"\/> <span>Add as preferred source on Google<\/span>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Given the position that Chelsea find themselves in the Premier League this season, many supporters may be wondering about how Europe works if they win the FA Cup final.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p id=\"p-rc_e1db2216c8dd8832-64\">Chelsea currently finds themselves sitting on 49 points, and there are just two matches remaining, trailing sixth-placed Bournemouth by six points and seventh-placed Brighton by four. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-grvmedia-grv-video GRVMultiVideo\"\/>\n<p id=\"p-rc_e1db2216c8dd8832-64\">It\u2019s been a disastrous season to date, and the prospect of missing out on European football will no doubt have big consequences financially and in the transfer market. <\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve seen Enzo Fernandez flirt with a move to Real Madrid already ahead of the summer, and other players could follow suit with no European football on the table. <\/p>\n<p>With fixtures against Tottenham and Sunderland left, Chelsea\u2019s European fate likely hinges entirely on their performance at Wembley this Saturday.<\/p>\n<section class=\"grv-talking-point\" data-trigger=\"vue-sidebar\" data-story-id=\"c0268d2f-b80a-47b1-8e8f-303105adcee5\" data-story-name=\"FA Cup\" data-comment-id=\"54585a52-e1ae-42f2-bbe3-35346c28434f\" data-story-slug=\"fa-cup\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__inner\">\n<header class=\"grv-talking-point__header\">  <\/header>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__content\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__cta\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__title-wrap\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__title-content\">\n<h3 class=\"grv-talking-point__title\">Chelsea fans, which ONE are you picking?\ud83d\udc40<\/h3>\n<p class=\"grv-talking-point__subtitle\">Let us hear your reasons!<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__embed\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/two-players-819x1024.png\" alt=\"Relegate Tottenham or win the FA Cup for Chelsea?\" class=\"wp-image-368266\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/two-players-819x1024.png 819w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/two-players-240x300.png 240w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/two-players-768x960.png 768w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/two-players-912x1140.png 912w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/two-players-600x750.png 600w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/two-players.png 1080w\"\/><\/div><figcaption title=\"(Photo by Justin Setterfield\/Getty Images) and (Photo by Cameron Smith - The FA\/The FA via Getty Images)\">Photo by Cameron Smith \u2013 The FA\/The FA via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>A victory in the FA Cup final would guarantee Chelsea a spot in the Europa League group phase, regardless of where they finish in the Premier League. <\/p>\n<p id=\"p-rc_8ed3ec4cad35b7c2-67\">However, if Manchester City wins the final, the Europa League berth reserved for the FA Cup winner trickles down to the highest-placed Premier League team not already qualified for the Champions League. <\/p>\n<p id=\"p-rc_8ed3ec4cad35b7c2-67\">Since the top five are likely set for the Champions League, this would move the Europa League slots to sixth and seventh, while the Conference League spot would drop to eighth. <\/p>\n<p id=\"p-rc_8ed3ec4cad35b7c2-67\">In this scenario, Chelsea\u2019s only path to Europe via the league would be finishing eighth.<\/p>\n<section class=\"grv-talking-point\" data-trigger=\"vue-sidebar\" data-story-id=\"c0268d2f-b80a-47b1-8e8f-303105adcee5\" data-story-name=\"FA Cup\" data-comment-id=\"a0f893b3-b74b-403a-b3a5-7086a5e5fe31\" data-story-slug=\"fa-cup\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__inner\">\n<header class=\"grv-talking-point__header\">  <\/header>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__content\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__cta\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__title-wrap\">\n<p><h3 class=\"grv-talking-point__title\">Does Pep Guardiola have a point?\ud83e\udd14<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__embed\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/FOUR-LINE-quote-graphic-7-819x1024.png\" alt=\"Pep Guardiola complaint ahead of FA Cup final\" class=\"wp-image-368260\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/FOUR-LINE-quote-graphic-7-819x1024.png 819w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/FOUR-LINE-quote-graphic-7-240x300.png 240w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/FOUR-LINE-quote-graphic-7-768x960.png 768w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/FOUR-LINE-quote-graphic-7-912x1140.png 912w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/FOUR-LINE-quote-graphic-7-600x750.png 600w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/05\/FOUR-LINE-quote-graphic-7.png 1080w\"\/><\/div><figcaption title=\"MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MAY 13: Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City, reacts afterthe Premier League match between Manchester City and Crystal Palace at Etihad Stadium on May 13, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker\/Getty Images)\">Photo by Naomi Baker\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"see-more-wrapper lazy see-more-open see-more-blank extra-content\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/news\/do-chelsea-qualify-for-europe-if-they-win-the-fa-cup\/none\" data-type=\"subscribe\">\n<div class=\"see-more subscribe\">\n<figure class=\"newsletter\">\n<div><svg class=\"loading\" width=\"118\" height=\"36\" viewbox=\"0 0 118 36\"><use href=\"#dots-svg\"\/><\/svg><\/p>\n<div class=\"signup\"><span class=\"hf\">Join Our Newsletter<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><script>grvLoadAnalytics = () => {(function(d,s,i){var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)(0),j=d.createElement(s);j.async=true;j.src=\"https:\/\/www.googletagmanager.com\/gtag\/js?id=\"+i;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(document,'script','G-E7VRWQHDP6');(function(d,s,i){if(!\/callback=in\/.test(window.location.search)){var e=d.createElement(s);var n=d.getElementsByTagName(s)(0);e.type=\"text\/javascript\";e.async=true;e.src=\"https:\/\/static.chartbeat.com\/js\/chartbeat.js\";n.parentNode.insertBefore(e,n);}})(document,\"script\",\"G-E7VRWQHDP6\");(function(){let s=document.createElement(\"script\");s.async=true;s.dataset.domain=\"thechelseachronicle.com\/MFj4XQ\";s.src=\"https:\/\/api.publytics.net\/js\/script.manual.ping.min.js\";document.getElementsByTagName(\"head\")(0).appendChild(s);})();if(!\/callback=in\/.test(window.location.search)){setTimeout(function(){!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=();t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)(0);s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');fbq('init','663509325503632');fbq('track','PageView');fbq('track','ViewContent',{content_name:'Do Chelsea qualify for Europe if they win the FA Cup?',content_category:'News',content_ids:(368325,\"fa-cup\"),content_type:'post',});},3000);}}<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Add as preferred source on Google Given the position that Chelsea find themselves in the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9256,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}