RRI Sports Club – Football
Universitatea Craiova take on Getafe in UEFA Conference League opener.
Florin Orban, 14.10.2026, 13:50
Universitatea Craiova make their debut in the main phase of the UEFA Conference League on Thursday. The Romanian champions face Spanish side Getafe at home. The Madrid-based club finished seventh in the Spanish league last season, securing the last available European qualification spot for a Spanish team. Getafe were therefore awarded a place in the UEFA Conference League play-offs, where they faced Serbian side Partizan Belgrade. The Spanish team won the home leg 3-1 and, despite losing the return match in Serbia 2-1, progressed with a 4-3 aggregate victory.
Universitatea Craiova began their European campaign in the Champions League qualifiers. In the first qualifying round, they beat Belarusian side Vitebsk 4-1 away and 1-0 at home. In the second round, the Oltenian side were eliminated by Bulgarian team Levski Sofia, following a 2-2 draw at home and a 1-0 defeat away. Craiova subsequently entered the third qualifying round of the Europa League, the continent’s second-tier competition. There, they overcame Finland’s KuPS Kuopio, drawing 1-1 away before winning 2-1 at home. However, they were beaten by Ararat-Armenia in the play-offs, drawing 1-1 in Craiova before losing 1-0 in Yerevan, which sent them into the Conference League.
In an interview with Radio Romania, former international Gheorghe Craioveanu, who played for both Universitatea Craiova and Getafe, said he regarded the Romanian side as favourites. He believes the Oltenian team are far more talented and better balanced, while Getafe are going through an extremely poor spell. In Romania’s top flight, Universitatea Craiova are third in the table, while Getafe sit 14th in La Liga. At the weekend, the Spanish side suffered a convincing 3-0 defeat away to Barcelona. In a match in which they struggled to threaten their opponents, Getafe did not reach Barcelona’s penalty area until the 70th minute.
Interest in the Craiova v Getafe match is expected to be enormous, with the home fans likely to fill the Ion Oblemenco Stadium. The visiting supporters have been allocated around 1,500 seats. Getafe have officially announced that the club will fully reimburse the cost of match tickets for all season-ticket holders travelling to Romania. (EE)
