TheUnion of European Football Associations (UEFA/juːˈeɪfə/yoo-AY-fə;French:Union des associations européennes de football;[a]German:Union der europäischen Fußballverbände)[b] is one of six continental bodies of governance inassociation football. It governs football,futsal andbeach football in Europe and thetranscontinental countries of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kazakhstan, as well as theWest Asian countries of Cyprus, Armenia and Israel.[4] UEFA consists of 55 national associationmembers. Since 2022, due to theRussian invasion of Ukraine,FIFA and UEFA suspended all Russian national teams and clubs from any FIFA and UEFA competitions.[5][6]
Henri Delaunay acted as the first general secretary andEbbe Schwartz as the firstpresident. The current president isAleksander Čeferin, a former Football Association of Slovenia president, who was elected as UEFA's seventh president at the 12th ExtraordinaryUEFA Congress inAthens in September 2016, and automatically became a vice-president of the world body FIFA.[7]
UEFA was officially inaugurated on 15 June 1954 inBasel, Switzerland, after consultation between the Italian, French, and Belgian associations.[8] At the founding meeting, 25 members were present. However, six other associations which were not present were still recognised as founding members, bringing the total of founding associations to 31.[9] UEFA grew to more than 50 members by the mid-1990s, as new associations were born out of the fragmentation of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia into their constituent states. UEFA's main headquarters after its foundation were located in Paris, but moved toBern in 1960. Finally, they moved toNyon, Switzerland, in 1995, opening the organisation's current headquarters in 1999.[10]
Current members
UEFA membership coincides for the most part with recognition as a sovereign country in Europe (48 out of 55 members are sovereign UN member states), although there are some exceptions. One UN member state (Monaco) and one UN General Assembly non-member observer state (Vatican City) are not members. Some UEFA members are not sovereign states, but form part of a larger recognised sovereign state in the context of international law. These include England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales (UK constituent countries), Gibraltar (UK overseas territory), Faroe Islands (Danish Realm), and Kosovo (state with limited recognition), however, in the context of these countries, government functions concerning sport tend to be carried at the territorial level coterminous with the UEFA member entity. UEFA have previously declined membership to those deemed as non-sovereign countries likeJersey.[11]
Some UEFA members are transcontinental states (Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Turkey) and others are considered part of Europe both culturally and politically (Turkey, Cyprus and Armenia). Countries which had been members of theAsian Football Confederation (AFC) were also admitted to the European football association, such as Israel (because it had been banned from the AFC group in 1974) and Kazakhstan. Involving clubs, some UEFA member associations allow teams from outside their association's main territory to take part in their "domestic" competition, for example,AS Monaco in the French League, Welsh clubsCardiff City orSwansea City in the English League, orDerry City, situated in Northern Ireland, plays in the Republic of Ireland-basedLeague of Ireland.[12][13]
On 28 February 2022, due to the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and in accordance with a recommendation by theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC), the UEFA suspended the participation of Russia.[14][15] TheRussian Football Union unsuccessfully appealed the UEFA ban to theCourt of Arbitration for Sport, which upheld the ban.[16][17] On 26 September 2023 the ban was lifted for theRussia U-17 team enabling them to complete in the2024 Euro U-17 with UEFA saying "by banning children from our competitions, we not only fail to recognise and uphold a fundamental right for their holistic development but we directly discriminate against them". The lifting of the ban also applied to all teams, men and women, of underage players.[18] This was rejected by the FA of Ukraine, England, and Sweden, with all three threatening to boycott matches against Russia.[19]
UEFA runs official international competitions in Europe and some countries ofNorthern,Southwestern andCentral Asia for national teams and professional clubs, known asUEFA competitions, some of which are regarded as the world's most prestigious tournaments.
UEFA is the organiser of two of the most prestigious competitions in international football: TheUEFA European Championship and theUEFA Nations League. The main competition for men's national teams is theUEFA European Championship (also known as the Euro), which started in 1958, with the first finals in1960, and was known as the European Nations Cup until 1964. TheUEFA Nations League is the second tournament of UEFA and was introduced in 2018. The tournament largely replaced the international friendly matches previously played on the FIFA International Match Calendar. It will be played every two years.
Beside continental European competitions for national and their junior teams, the UEFA organizes various qualification male and female tournaments among European national and their junior teams for World Cups (organized by FIFA) and Olympics (organized by IOC).
UEFA also organised theUEFA–CAF Meridian Cup withCAF for youth teams in an effort to boost youth football. UEFA launched theUEFA Regions' Cup, for semi-professional teams representing their local region, in 1999. Infutsal there is theUEFA Futsal Championship andUEFA Under-19 Futsal Championship. Despite the existence of UEFA's Futsaland Beach soccer committee, UEFA does not organise any beach soccer competitions. International and club beach soccer competitions for UEFA members are organised externally byBeach Soccer Worldwide.
UEFA member countries by club competition entry entitlements, 2009/10
The top-ranked UEFA competition is theUEFA Champions League, which started in 1955 as the European Champion Clubs' Cup (or simply the European Cup) and initially only gathered the top team of each country; this competition has since been expanded to gather the top 1–4 teams of each country's league (the number of teams depend on that country's ranking and can be upgraded or downgraded).
A second, lower-ranked competition is theUEFA Europa League. This competition, for national knockout cup winners and high-placed league teams, was launched by UEFA in 1971 as a successor of both the former UEFA Cup and theInter-Cities Fairs Cup (also began in 1955). A third competition, theUEFA Cup Winners' Cup, which started in 1960, was absorbed into the UEFA Cup (now UEFA Europa League) in 1999.
In December 2018, UEFA announced the creation of a third club competition, later named theUEFA Europa Conference League. The competition features 32 teams in 8 groups of 4, with a knockout round between the second placed teams in Europa Conference League and the third placed teams in the Europa League, leading to a final 16 knockout stage featuring the eight group winners. The first edition of the competition was played in 2021–2022.[25]
In women's football UEFA also conducts theUEFA Women's Champions League for club teams. The competition was first held in 2001, and was known as the UEFA Women's Cup until 2009.
TheUEFA Super Cup pits the winners of the Champions League against the winners of the Europa League (previously the winners of the Cup Winners' Cup), and came into being in 1973.[26][27][28]
TheUEFA Intertoto Cup was a summer competition, previously operated by several Central European football associations, which was relaunched and recognised asofficial UEFA club competition by UEFA in 1995.[29] The last Intertoto Cup took place in 2008.
Onlyfive teams[31][32] (Juventus,Ajax,Manchester United,Bayern Munich andChelsea[s]) havewon each of the three main competitions (European Cup/UEFA Champions League, European Cup Winners' Cup/UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League),[33] a feat that is no longer possible for any team that did not win the Cup Winners' Cup. There are currently eight teams throughout Europe that have won two of the three trophies; all but one have won the Cup Winners' Cup, four require a win in the Champions League and four require a UEFA Europa League win.
UEFA's premierfutsal competition is theUEFA Futsal Cup, a tournament started in 2001 which replaced the formerFutsal European Clubs Championship. This event, despite enjoying a long and well-established tradition in the European futsal community, dating back to 1984, was never recognised as official by UEFA.
There was an attempt to create a Europa League-style second tier women's club competition, which began in discussion in 2021.[37] In December 2023, the attempt came into a fruition, with the first edition of the competition to be played in 2025–26.[38] In December 2024, the name of the competition, "UEFA Women's Europa Cup", was announced.[39][40]
England, in 1985–1991 sanctions were imposed against English association football clubs due to theHeysel Stadium disaster by suspending their participation in continental competitions for five years
Italy, in 1974–1975 sanctions were imposed againstSS Lazio due to its fans, Italy was restricted from the European Cup to which Lazio qualified
Netherlands, in 1990–1991 sanctions were imposed againstAFC Ajax due to its fans, the Netherlands were restricted from the European Cup to which Ajax qualified
Dissatisfied fans across Europe have referred to the organisation asUEFAmafia, including in Russia's top league,[45] in Bulgaria's top league,[46] and in a Champions League group stage match held in Sweden.[47] The term has also been covered for its use outside of stadiums, for example during a protest in Kosovo outside an EU building following theSerbia v Albania (UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying) match.[48]F.C. Copenhagen supporters displayed banners around the city, with slogans such as "UEFA MAFIA – THE PANDEMIC OF FOOTBALL", when UEFA ordered their2019–20 Europa League round of 16 return leg be played behind closed doors, despite reduced capacity being allowed by the Danish government.[49]
Following the2015 FIFA corruption case, the then-president of UEFA,Michel Platini, was also involved in the case. Swiss prosecutors accused FIFA president Sepp Blatter of making a "disloyal payment" of $2m (£1.6m) to Mr Platini. Swiss attorney general,Michael Lauber [de], stated: "We didn't interview Mr Platini as a witness, that's not true. We investigated against him in between as a witness and an accused person".[50][51] Both Platini andSepp Blatter were banned from football-related activity. Platini appealed toCourt of Arbitration for Sports, which lowered the six-year ban to four years. He further appealed to Swiss courts and theEuropean Court of Human Rights but the courts rejected his appeals.[52]
In 2019 UEFA's decision to host Europa League Cup final in Baku, Azerbaijan left one of the finalists, Arsenal, with a decision to withdraw their Armenian playerHenrikh Mkhitaryan out of the competition due to safety concerns,[53] and there has been long-standing debates about the extent to which the elite clubs or UEFA itself should exert the most influence on the game.[54] UEFA's decision to partner with blockchain companyChiliz in February 2022 was criticised and described as 'incomprehensible' by fan groups across Europe.[55]
^In 1992 Israel joined UEFA as an associate member, and thereafter Israeli clubs have played in the various UEFA club competitions, while the national teams have played in UEFA championships.
^Former member of the Asian Football Confederation (1994–2002), joined UEFA.
^In 1992, the Soviet Union was dissolved into 15 republics (10 in Europe and 5 in Asia) with theRussian Football Union being acknowledged as the direct successor of the Football Federation of the Soviet Union; in spring and summer of 1992 it was represented by teams of theCommonwealth of Independent States.
^In 1992, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia collapsed, with various federal republics becoming independent states. Serbia and Montenegro, which remained in SR Yugoslavia, formed a new, third Yugoslavia, called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. There was no direct successor of the Football Association of Yugoslavia. Four other successor republics formed their own football organisations. FR Yugoslavia was renamed the State Union ofSerbia and Montenegro in 2003. In 2006, it was dissolved and theFootball Association of Serbia became the successor of FA Yugoslavia. Montenegro created theFootball Association of Montenegro.
^abThere was no third place match in 1930; The United States and Yugoslavia lost in the semi-finals. FIFA recognizes the United States as the third-placed team and Yugoslavia as the fourth-placed team using the overall records of the teams in the 1930 FIFA World Cup.
^Austria qualified in 1938, but withdrew to play as part of Germany after beingannexed.
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