Fulham will return to training to begin the new season on 30 June, after their place in the Europa League's first qualifying round was confirmed via the fair play table.

The London club finished fourth in the table, behind Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United but as the trio had already qualified for European football next season, Fulham have taken England's additional Europa League berth, which has been awarded after the country finished second in Uefa's national fair play table.

Fulham will kick off at the very start of the Europa League, and they stand to play four two-legged ties before the group phase of the competition, which features six matches per club. Thereafter, the knockout stage begins with the last 32, meaning that if Fulham were to reach the final, as they did in 2009-10, when they lost to Atlético Madrid, they would play a total of 23 matches.

The manager, Mark Hughes, is expected to ask his players to report for pre-season training on 20 June, meaning that the non-international squad members would have enjoyed a four-week break. It is unclear whether the internationals, who have fixtures next weekend, will be required to return as early and, by extension, play in the first Europa League tie on 30 June. The second leg of the first qualifying round is scheduled for 7 July.

Much has been said about the difficulties of starting the season on 30 June – the Premier League does not resume until 13 August – but Hughes and his staff are keen to embrace the opportunity provided by European football. After the final day 2-2 draw against Arsenal saw Fulham finish eighth in the Premier League, Hughes said that "it would be nice to get into Europe because it would cap an excellent season for us".

Fulham saw off Blackpool in the fair play table, Ian Holloway's team finishing behind them in fifth. It had been suggested that Fulham's spate of cards in May might see them slip below Blackpool, who were relegated from the Premier League on the final day, but the calculations were made over the whole season, and bookings and sendings off represent only 25% of the fair play equation. The other criteria are positive play, respect towards opponents and the referee, and the behaviour of club officials.