Torreense to play European football while in second division
Torreense were looking to return to the Portuguese top flight for the first time since 1991-92
- Published
Portuguese Cup winners Torreense will join an exclusive group of second division clubs to play in European competitions after they suffered play-off final defeat.
Torreense secured a place in the league phase of the 2026-27 Uefa Europa League with a stunning 2-1 win against Sporting CP in the final of the Portuguese Cup on Sunday.
After winning a first major trophy in their 109-year history and finishing third in the Portuguese second division, Torreense had the chance to secure promotion to the top flight via the play-offs.
They faced Casa Pia - who finished 16th in the top flight - over two legs. However, after a goalless first leg, they lost 2-0 away from home on Thursday.
That means Torreense - who are from Torres Vedras, a town 25 miles north of Lisbon, and play in a stadium that holds about 2,500 spectators - will play European football next season as a second division club.
Because their 2,500-seater home stadium does not meet Uefa's requirements, they will play their matches 193 miles away at the Estadio Algarve in Faro.
Other clubs that have already secured their place in the league phase of the Europa League include Bournemouth, Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Juventus, AC Milan and Bayer Leverkusen.
Second tier clubs to play in Europe
There are more examples of second tier sides playing in the Uefa Champions League, Uefa Cup/Europa League and Conference League than you might think.
Torreense will not be the only second division club competing in Europe next season - Vestri, based in a village of less than 3,000 people, beat Valur in the 2025 Icelandic Cup final. They will enter the Europa League in the first qualifying round.
Liechtenstein's FC Vaduz have spent much of the 21st century playing in the Swiss second division, but are regular participants in the Europa League qualifying rounds thanks to winning 21 of the past 22 editions of the Lichtenstein Cup.
However, they will play top flight football next season after being crowned Swiss Challenge League champions.
USV Eschen/Mauren took the Vaduz route into Europe when they beat the perennial cup winners in 2012 while playing in the Swiss third division, but were defeated in the Europa League first qualifying round.
Millwall lost the 2004 FA Cup final to Manchester United, but qualified for the Uefa Cup because their opponents were already assured a place in the Champions League.
The London side entered the first round proper - a round that took place before the group stage - where they were beaten 4-2 on aggregate by Ferencvaros.
Birmingham City's League Cup final victory over Arsenal in 2011 earned them a spot in the play-off round of the 2011-12 Europa League, but a few months later they were relegated from the Premier League.
After beating Nacional of Portugal 3-0 on aggregate, Birmingham narrowly missed out on a place in the knockout rounds after finishing third in their group with 10 points.
Wigan Athletic went on a similar journey two years later - days after beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final and booking their place in Europe for the first time in club history, Roberto Martinez's side were relegated from the Premier League.
The Latics' group stage campaign in the 2013-14 Europa League did not go according to plan, as one win in six games saw them finish bottom of a group containing Rubin Kazan, Maribor and Zulte Waregem.
Ipswich Town were relegated from the Premier League in 2001-02 but earned a place in the following season's Uefa Cup through the Uefa Respect Fair Play ranking - they reached the second round.
Swiss giants FC Zurich finished bottom of the Swiss Super League in 2015-16 but won the Swiss Cup to qualify for the group stage Europa League, where they failed to reach the knockouts.
Alemannia Aachen lost to Werder Bremen in the 2004 German Cup final, but took the prize of a place in the Uefa Cup because Bremen had qualified for the Champions League.
They successfully navigated the first round and group stage to reach the last-32, where they were eliminated by eventual semi-finalists AZ Alkmaar.
FC Gueugnon of France stunned Paris Saint-Germain in the 1999-2000 French League Cup final, but lost in the first round of the Uefa Cup the following season.
Wisla Krakow of Poland and Corvinu Hunedoara of Romania have also played in European qualifiers while being outside their nation's top tier.
