 As the title holders, Sevilla qualified for the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League.Winning the last three tournaments, Sevilla were unable to defend their titles after reaching the competition's knockout stage.A total of 188 teams from 54 of the 55 UEFA member associations were expected to participate in the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League (the exception being Kosovo, whose participation was not accepted in their first attempt as UEFA members).