UEFA club competitions, referred improperly by themass media asEuropean football,[Note 1] are the set of clubtournaments organised by theUnion of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateurassociation football andfutsal. The term was established in 1971 by the confederation to differentiate the men's football competitions under its administration, the first in history being held at a pan-European stage,[1] from other international competitions carried out in the continent between 1960s and 1990s, such as theInter-Cities Fairs Cup,International Football Cup and Karl Rappan Cup,Cup of the Alps,Balkans Cup[2] and the restructuredMitropa Cup (as well as some which had already been discontinued by late 1950s such as theLatin Cup). All these tournaments were organised by private bodies and/or at least two national associations and concerning one of more regional areas of Europe,[1] that were not being recognised by UEFA for historic-statistical purposes.[3]
After being recognised by FIFA in 1961 and defined its functions as governing body, UEFA laid down principles for the authorisation of other international club competitions,[4] becoming the only organization with legal authority over international football in the continent.[3] For that reason, it considers only results in its own competitions, in general terms and by single tournament, as the only valid method for calculating and communicating confederation-level official records and statistics as well as setting combined values in inter-club football.[5]
Until the firstUEFA Europa Conference League final in 2022, the only team to have won everymen's professional club competition wasJuventus of Italy.FC Barcelona of Spain became the first women's club to follow its men's team of winning the Champions League, by winning the2021 Women's Champions League Final.The club's men's team won their first title in1992. The beaten finalistsChelsea of England was also seeking to break that record as well, asits men's team won their maiden in2012. They were already the first club ever to see its men's and women's teams reach the Champions League final in the same season, having qualified for theChampions League Final as well. Barcelona is also the only club in the UEFA zone that has won men's and women's Champions League, theYouth League and theFutsal Champions League among these with active sections which can compete in all these tournaments.
TheUEFA Champions League (abbreviated asUCL, or sometimes,UEFA CL) is an annual clubfootball competition organised by theUnion of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested bytop-division European clubs, deciding the competition winners through the eight-week league phase to qualify for a double-legged knockout format, and a single leg final. It is one of the most prestigious football tournaments in the world and the most prestigious club competition in European football, played by the national league champions (and, for some nations, one or more runners-up) of their national associations.
Introduced in 1955 as theCoupe des Clubs Champions Européens (French forEuropean Champion Clubs' Cup), and commonly known as theEuropean Cup, it was initially a straight knockout tournament open only to the champions of Europe's domestic leagues, with its winner reckoned as the European club champion. The competition took on its current name in 1992, adding a round-robin group stage in 1991 and allowing multiple entrants from certain countries since the 1997–98 season.[6] It has since been expanded, and while most of Europe's national leagues can still only enter their champion, the strongest leagues now provide up to five teams. Clubs that finish next-in-line in their national league, having not qualified for the Champions League, are eligible for the second-tierUEFA Europa League competition, and since 2021, for the third-tierUEFA Europa Conference League.[7]
TheUEFA Europa League (abbreviated asUEL, or sometimes,UEFA EL), formerly theUEFA Cup, is an annualfootball club competition organised since 1971 by theUnion of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It is the second-tier competition ofEuropean club football, ranking below theUEFA Champions League and above theUEFA Europa Conference League. The UEFA Cup was the third-tier competition from 1971 to 1999 before theUEFA Cup Winners' Cup was discontinued,[8][9] and it is still often referred to as the “C3” in reference of this. Clubs qualify for the competition based on their performance in their national leagues and cup competitions.
Introduced in 1971 as the UEFA Cup, it replaced theInter-Cities Fairs Cup. In1999, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was merged with the UEFA Cup and discontinued as a separate competition.[10] From the2004–05 season a group stage was added before the knockout phase. The competition has been known as the Europa League since the2009–10 season,[11][12] following a change in format.[13] The 2009 re-branding included a merge with theUEFA Intertoto Cup, producing an enlarged competition format, with an expanded group stage and a change in qualifying criteria. The winner of the UEFA Europa League qualifies for theUEFA Super Cup and, since the 2014–15 season, qualifies for the following season'sUEFA Champions League, entering at the group stage.
TheUEFA Conference League, formerly known as theUEFA Europa Conference League, is an annualfootball club competition organised by theUnion of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs.[14] Clubs qualify for the competition based on their performance in their national leagues and cup competitions. It is the third tier of activeEuropean club football competitions, after theChampions League and theEuropa League.
First contested in the2021–22 season as theUEFA Europa Conference League, the competition serves as the bottom level of the Europa League, which was reduced from 48 to 32 teams in the group stage. The competition is primarily contested by teams from lower-ranked UEFA member associations.[14] No teams qualify directly to the eight-week league phase, with 10 teams eliminated in the Europa League play-offs and the rest coming from the Conference League qualifiers. The winners of the competition are awarded a position in the Europa League the following season, unless they qualify for the Champions League.[15]
