In 2014, the distribution was changed to broaden the appeal of the competition, namely through giving the Europa League champions a Champions League qualification berth, which has been used since. More teams automatically qualify for the group stage. If cup winners had already qualified for European competition through league performance, their place through the league is vacated and goes to the best ranked teams not qualified for European competition. This means that the cup runner-up is no longer qualified through the cup berth. These rules came into effect for the 2015–16 season.