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UEFA Europa League

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Europa League" redirects here. Not to be confused with Euro league, European league, UEFA Nations League, UEFA Conference League, or UEFA leagues.
"UEFA Cup" redirects here. For the women's competition, see UEFA Women's Europa Cup.
"UEFA EL" redirects here. For the third tier competition, see UEFA Conference League.

UEFA Europa League
Organising bodyUEFA
Founded1971; 53 years ago (1971)
(rebranded in 2009)
RegionEurope
Number of teams36 (league phase)
58 (total)
Qualifier forUEFA Super Cup
UEFA Champions League
Related competitionsUEFA Champions League (1st tier)
UEFA Conference League (3rd tier)
Current championsItaly Atalanta (1st title)
Most successful club(s)Spain Sevilla (7 titles)
Websiteuefa.com/uefaeuropaleague
2024–25 UEFA Europa League

The UEFA Europa League (previously known as the UEFA Cup), abbreviated as UEL, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It is the second-tier competition of European club football, ranking below the UEFA Champions League and above the UEFA Conference League.

Introduced in 1971 as the UEFA Cup, it replaced the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. The UEFA Cup was the third-tier European club competition from 1971 to 1999 before the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was discontinued,[1][2] and it is still often referred to as the "C3" in reference to this.[3] Clubs qualify for the competition based on their performance in their national leagues and cup competitions.

In 1999, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was merged with the UEFA Cup and discontinued as a separate competition.[4] From the 2004–05 season a group stage was added before the knockout phase. The competition took on its current name in 2009,[5][6] following a change in format.[7] The 2009 re-branding included a merge with the UEFA 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 the UEFA Super Cup, for the following season's UEFA Champions League since the 2014–15 season, entering at the group stage, as well as for the UEFA–CONMEBOL Club Challenge — a friendly cup against the winners of the CONMEBOL Copa Sudamericana — since 2023. In the 2024–25 season, the group stage was replaced with an expanded league phase.

Spanish clubs have the highest number of victories (14 wins), followed by teams from Italy (10 wins) and England (9 wins). The title has been won by 30 clubs, 14 of which have won it more than once. The most successful club in the competition is Sevilla, with seven titles. Colombian striker Radamel Falcao holds the record of most goals (17) scored in a single season of the tournament.[8]

History

[edit]
Winners
UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League
Season Winner
UEFA Cup
1971–72 England Tottenham Hotspur
1972–73 England Liverpool
1973–74 Netherlands Feyenoord
1974–75 Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach
1975–76 England Liverpool (2)
1976–77 Italy Juventus
1977–78 Netherlands PSV Eindhoven
1978–79 Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach (2)
1979–80 Germany Eintracht Frankfurt
1980–81 England Ipswich Town
1981–82 Sweden IFK Göteborg
1982–83 Belgium Anderlecht
1983–84 England Tottenham Hotspur (2)
1984–85 Spain Real Madrid
1985–86 Spain Real Madrid (2)
1986–87 Sweden IFK Göteborg (2)
1987–88 Germany Bayer Leverkusen
1988–89 Italy Napoli
1989–90 Italy Juventus (2)
1990–91 Italy Inter Milan
1991–92 Netherlands Ajax
1992–93 Italy Juventus (3)
1993–94 Italy Inter Milan (2)
1994–95 Italy Parma
1995–96 Germany Bayern Munich
1996–97 Germany Schalke 04
1997–98 Italy Inter Milan (3)
1998–99 Italy Parma (2)
1999–2000 Turkey Galatasaray
2000–01 England Liverpool (3)
2001–02 Netherlands Feyenoord (2)
2002–03 Portugal Porto
2003–04 Spain Valencia
2004–05 Russia CSKA Moscow
2005–06 Spain Sevilla
2006–07 Spain Sevilla (2)
2007–08 Russia Zenit Saint Petersburg
2008–09 Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk
UEFA Europa League
2009–10 Spain Atlético Madrid
2010–11 Portugal Porto (2)
2011–12 Spain Atlético Madrid (2)
2012–13 England Chelsea
2013–14 Spain Sevilla (3)
2014–15 Spain Sevilla (4)
2015–16 Spain Sevilla (5)
2016–17 England Manchester United
2017–18 Spain Atlético Madrid (3)
2018–19 England Chelsea (2)
2019–20 Spain Sevilla (6)
2020–21 Spain Villarreal
2021–22 Germany Eintracht Frankfurt (2)
2022–23 Spain Sevilla (7)
2023–24 Italy Atalanta
2024–25

The UEFA Cup was preceded by the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, which was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971.[9] The competition grew from 11 teams during the first edition (1955–58) to 64 teams by the last edition which was played in 1970–71. It was replaced by the UEFA Cup, a new seasonal confederation competition with different regulations, format and disciplinary committee.[3][10]

The UEFA Cup was first played in the 1971–72 season, and ended with an all-English final between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur, with Spurs taking the first honours.[11] The competition has since gained greater prestige and interest from the mass media than the Fairs Cup.[12] The title was retained by another English club, Liverpool, in 1973, who defeated Borussia Mönchengladbach in the final.[13] Gladbach won the competition in 1975[14] and 1979,[15] and reached the final in 1980.[16] Feyenoord won the cup in 1974 after defeating Tottenham Hotspur 4–2 on aggregate (2–2 in London, 2–0 in Rotterdam).[17] Liverpool won the competition for the second time in 1976 after defeating Club Brugge in the final.[18]

During the 1980s, IFK Göteborg (1982 and 1987)[19][20] and Real Madrid (1985 and 1986)[21][22] won the competition twice each, with Anderlecht reaching two consecutive finals, winning in 1983[23] and losing to Tottenham Hotspur in 1984.[24] 1989 saw the commencement of the Italian clubs' domination, when Diego Maradona's Napoli defeated VfB Stuttgart.[25] The 1990s started with two all-Italian finals,[26] and in 1992, Torino lost the final to Ajax on the away goals rule.[27] Juventus won the competition for a third time in 1993.[28] Inter Milan kept the cup in Italy in 1994.[29]

1995 saw a third all-Italian final, with Parma proving their consistency after two consecutive Cup Winners' Cup finals.[30] The only final with no Italians in the 1990s was in 1996.[31] Internazionale reached the final the following two years, losing in 1997 to Schalke 04 on penalties,[32] and winning another all-Italian final in 1998, taking home the cup for the third time in only eight years.[33] Parma won the cup in 1999, the last win of the Italian-domination era.[34] It was the last UEFA Cup/Europa League final appearance for any Italian club until Internazionale reached the 2020 final.[35]

The match between Lech Poznań and Deportivo La Coruña in the 2008–09 season.

The era of the 2000s began with victory for Galatasaray, the first Turkish team to win the trophy, defeating Arsenal.[36] Liverpool won the competition for the third time in 2001.[37] In 2002, Feyenoord became winners for the second time, defeating Borussia Dortmund.[38] Porto triumphed in the 2003[39] and 2011 tournaments, with the latter victory against fellow Portuguese side Braga.[40]

In 2004, the cup returned to Spain with Valencia being victorious.[41] CSKA Moscow won in 2005.[42] Sevilla succeeded on two consecutive occasions in 2006 and 2007,[43] the latter in a final against fellow Spaniards Espanyol.[44] Zenit Saint Petersburg won in 2008.[45] Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk, won in 2009, the first Ukrainian side to do so.[46]

Since the 2009–10 season, the competition was rebranded as the UEFA Europa League.[47] At the same time, the UEFA Intertoto Cup, UEFA's third-tier competition, was discontinued and merged into the new Europa League.[48]

Atlético Madrid won twice in three seasons, in 2010[49] and 2012, the latter in another all-Spanish final between them and Athletic Bilbao.[50] In 2013, Chelsea became the first Champions League holders to win the UEFA Cup/Europa League the following year.[51] In 2014, Sevilla won their third cup in eight years after defeating Benfica on penalties.[52] In 2015, Sevilla won their fourth UEFA Cup/Europa League[53] and, in an unprecedented feat, they defended their title a third year in a row beating Liverpool in the 2016 final, making them the most successful team in the history of the competition with five titles.[54] Atlético won their third title in 2018.[55] The 2019 all-London final between Chelsea and Arsenal was the first UEFA Cup/Europa League final between two teams from the same city.[56] Sevilla added a record-extending sixth victory in 2020, after defeating Inter Milan,[57] and won an unprecedented seventh title in 2023.[58]

Trophy

[edit]

The UEFA Cup, also known as the Coupe UEFA, is the trophy awarded annually by UEFA to the football club that wins the UEFA Europa League. Before the 2009–10 season, both the competition and the trophy were known as the 'UEFA Cup'.

Before the competition was renamed the UEFA Europa League in the 2009–10 season, the UEFA regulations stated that a club could keep the original trophy for a year before returning it to UEFA. After its return, the club could keep a four-fifths scale replica of the original trophy. Upon their third consecutive win or fifth win overall, a club could retain the trophy permanently.[59]

Under the new regulations, the trophy remains in UEFA's keeping at all times. A full-size replica trophy is awarded to each winner of the competition. A club that wins three consecutive times or five times overall will receive a multiple-winner badge.[60] As of 2016–17, only Sevilla has earned the honour to wear the multiple-winner badge, having achieved both of the prerequisites in 2016.[61]

The trophy was designed and crafted by Silvio Gazzaniga, who also designed the FIFA World Cup Trophy, working for Bertoni, for the 1972 UEFA Cup Final. It weighs 15 kg (33 lb) and is silver on a yellow marble plinth. 67 centimetres (26 in) tall, the cup is formed by a base with two onyx discs in which a band with the flags of the UEFA member nations is inserted. The lower part of the sculpture symbolises the stylised footballers and is surmounted by a hand-embossed slab.[62]

Anthem

[edit]

A musical theme for the competition, the Anthem, is played before every Europa League game at a stadium hosting such an event and before every television broadcast of a Europa League game as a musical element of the competition's opening sequence.[63]

The competition's first anthem was composed by Yohann Zveig and recorded by the Paris Opera in early 2009. The theme for the re-branded UEFA Cup competition was first officially unveiled at the Grimaldi Forum on 28 August 2009 before the 2009–10 season group stage draw. A new anthem was composed by Michael Kadelbach and recorded in Berlin and was launched as part of the competition's rebranding at the start of the 2015–16 season.[64]

A new anthem created by MassiveMusic was composed for the start of the 2018–19 season.[65] It is also used for UEFA Conference League matches.

Format

[edit]

Qualification

[edit]
See also: UEFA coefficient

Qualification for the competition is based on UEFA coefficients, with better entrance rounds being offered to the more successful nations. In practice, each association has a standard number of three berths (across both the Europa League and the Conference League), except:

  • Nations ranked 51 to 55, which have two berths
  • Liechtenstein, which qualifies only the Cup winners

Usually, each country's places are awarded to teams who finish in various runners-up places in its top-flight league and the winner of the main cup competition. Typically the teams qualifying via the league are those in the highest places not eligible for the UEFA Champions League; however, the Belgian league awards one place via a playoff between First A and First B teams. Before its discontinuation in 2020–21, France offered a place to the winners of the Coupe de la Ligue.

A team may qualify for European competitions through more than one route. In all cases, if a club is eligible to enter the UEFA Champions League then the Champions League place takes precedence and the club does not enter the UEFA Europa League. The UEFA Europa League place is then granted to another club or vacated if the maximum limit of teams qualifying for European competitions is exceeded. If a team qualifies for European competition through both winning a cup and league placing, the "spare" UEFA Europa League place will go to the highest placed league team which has not already qualified for European competition, depending on the rules of the national association, or vacated, if the described limit is reached.

The top three ranked associations may qualify for a fourth berth if both the Champions League and Europa League champions are from that association and do not qualify for European competition through their domestic performance. In that case, the fourth-placed team in that association will join the Europa League instead of the Champions League, in addition to their other qualifying teams.

More recently, clubs that are knocked out of the qualifying round and (prior to 2024–25) the group stage of the Champions League can also join the UEFA Europa League, at different stages (see below). Formerly, the reigning champions qualified for the Europa League to defend their title, but since 2015 they qualify for the Champions League. From the 2024–25 season, the winner of the Europa League can no longer defend their title as they automatically qualify for the Champions League league phase and teams cannot be transferred from that phase to the Europa League. From 1995 to 2015, three leagues gained one extra place via the UEFA Respect Fair Play ranking.

League phase and knockout phase

[edit]

The format involves a league phase and a knockout phase consisting of preliminary knockout play-offs, followed by a round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final (all of the knockout games except the final are played over two legs). The league phase consists of each team playing a total of eight matches, with four at home and four away. The top eight teams from the league phase receive a bye to the round of 16, while the teams ranked 9th to 24th contest the knockout play-offs with the winners advancing to the round of 16. The teams ranked 25th to 36th in the league phase and the losers of the play-offs are eliminated from the competition.[66]

The final is played at a neutral venue. The winner of the competition is entitled to participate in the UEFA Champions League league phase the following season. The competition's matches are usually played on Thursdays.[67]

Background

[edit]

UEFA coefficients were introduced in 1980 and, until 1999, they gave a greater number of berths in UEFA Cup to the more successful nations. Three nations had four places, five nations had three places, thirteen nations had two places, and eleven nations only one place. Since 1998, a similar system has been used for the UEFA Champions League. Before 1980, the entrance criteria of the last Fairs Cup was used.

Historical formats

[edit]

The competition was traditionally a pure knockout tournament. All ties were two-legged, including the final. Starting with the 1997–98 season, the final became a one-off match, but all other ties remained two-legged.

Before the 2004–05 season, the tournament consisted of one qualifying round, followed by a series of knockout rounds. The sixteen non-qualifiers from the final qualifying round of the Champions League entered at the first round proper; later in the tournament, the survivors were joined by third-place finishers from the (first) group stage of the Champions League.

From the 2004–05 season, the competition started with two knockout qualifying rounds held in July and August. Participants from associations ranked 18 and lower entered the first qualifying round with those from associations ranked 9–18 joining them in the second qualifying round. In addition, three places in the first qualifying round were reserved for the UEFA Fair Play ranking winners (until 2015–16), and eleven places in the second qualifying round for the UEFA Intertoto Cup winners.

Winners of the qualifying rounds then joined teams from the associations ranked 1–13 in the first round proper. In addition, non-qualifiers in the third qualifying round of the Champions League also joined the competition at this point along with the current title-holders (unless they had qualified for the Champions League via their national league), for a total of 80 teams in the first round.

After the first knockout round, the 40 survivors entered a group stage, with the clubs being drawn into eight groups of five each. Unlike the Champions League group stage, the UEFA Cup group stage was played in a single round-robin format, with each club playing two home and two away games. The top three teams in each of the eight groups qualified for the main knockout round along with the eight third-placed teams in the Champions League group stage. From then on a series of two-legged knockout ties were played before a single-legged final, traditionally held on a Wednesday in May, exactly one week before the Champions League final.

See caption
A map of UEFA countries whose teams reached the league phase or group stage of the UEFA Europa League
  UEFA member country that has been represented in the league phase or group stage
  UEFA member country that has not been represented in the league phase or group stage

In the 2009–10 season, the competition was rebranded as the UEFA Europa League to raise its profile.[5] Eight more teams qualified for the group stage, which consisted of 12 groups with four teams each (in a double round-robin); the top two teams in each group advanced. The competition was then similar to the previous format, with four rounds of two-legged knockout rounds and a one-off final held at a neutral ground which met UEFA's Category Four stadium criteria. Matches are generally played on Thursdays. The final was played in May, on the Wednesday ten days before the Champions League final.

Qualification changed significantly. Associations ranked 7–9 in the UEFA coefficients sent the cup winners and three (two since the 2015–16 season) other teams to the UEFA Europa League qualification; all other nations sent a cup winner and two other teams, except for Andorra and San Marino (who sent a cup winner and a runner-up) and Liechtenstein (who sent only a cup winner). Since Gibraltar was accepted as a full UEFA member at the 24 May 2013 UEFA Congress in London, their cup winner also qualified for the Europa League.

Although the other teams were the next-highest-ranked in each domestic league (after those qualifying for the UEFA Champions League), France and England continued to use one spot for their league-cup winners. With the abolition of the Intertoto Cup, all participants in the Europa League are qualified through domestic routes. The higher an association is ranked in the UEFA coefficients, the later its members begin the qualification. However, every team except for the title-holder (until the 2014–15 season) and the highest-ranked (the cup winner or the best Europa League-qualified) from the top (six from 2012 to 2015, 12 since the 2015–16 season) associations had to play at least one qualification round.

Except for the teams mentioned, all teams eliminated in the Champions League preliminary round, qualifying rounds and play-off round were transferred to the Europa League. The 12 winners and runners-up in the group stage advanced to the knockout round, with eight third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage.

The distribution was changed in 2014 to broaden the competition's appeal, giving the Europa League champions a Champions League qualification berth, more teams automatically qualified for the group stage. If cup winners had already qualified for European competition through league performance, their place in the league is vacated and goes to the best-ranked teams not qualified for European competition; the cup runner-up is no longer qualified through the cup berth.[68][69] These rules became effective for the 2015–16 season.

Distribution (from 2018–19 to 2020–21)

[edit]

Beginning with the 2018–19 tournament, all domestic champions eliminated in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League will transfer to the Europa League, rather than just teams that are eliminated in the third-qualifying and play-off rounds. Europa League qualifying will also provide a separate champions route for these teams, allowing more opportunities for domestic league champions to compete against each other.[70]

Teams entering in this round Teams advancing from previous round Teams transferred from Champions League
Preliminary round
(16 teams)
  • 6 domestic cup winners from associations 50–55
  • 7 domestic league runners-up from associations 49–55
  • 3 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 48–50
First qualifying round
(94 teams)
  • 25 domestic cup winners from associations 25–49
  • 30 domestic league runners-up from associations 18–48 (except Liechtenstein)
  • 31 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 16–47 (except Liechtenstein)
  • 8 winners from preliminary round
Second qualifying round Champions
(20 teams)
  • 17 losers from Champions League first qualifying round
  • 3 losers from Champions League preliminary round
Non-champions
(74 teams)
  • 7 domestic cup winners from associations 18–24
  • 2 domestic league runners-up from associations 16–17
  • 3 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 13–15
  • 9 domestic league fourth-placed teams from associations 7–15
  • 2 domestic league fifth-placed teams from associations 5–6 (League Cup winners for France)
  • 4 domestic league sixth-placed teams from associations 1–4 (League Cup winners for England)
  • 47 winners from first qualifying round
Third qualifying round Champions
(20 teams)
  • 10 winners from second qualifying round for champions
  • 10 losers from Champions League second qualifying round for champions
Non-champions
(52 teams)
  • 5 domestic cup winners from associations 13–17
  • 6 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 7–12
  • 1 domestic league fourth-placed team from association 6
  • 37 winners from second qualifying round for non-champions
  • 3 losers from Champions League second qualifying round for non-champions
Play-off round Champions
(16 teams)
  • 10 winners from third qualifying round for champions
  • 6 losers from Champions League third qualifying round for champions
Non-champions
(26 teams)
  • 26 winners from third qualifying round for non-champions
Group stage
(48 teams)
  • 12 domestic cup winners from associations 1–12
  • 1 domestic league fourth-placed team from association 5
  • 4 domestic league fifth-placed teams from associations 1–4
  • 21 winners from play-off round
  • 6 losers from Champions League play-off round
  • 4 losers from Champions League third qualifying round for non-champions
Knockout phase
(32 teams)
  • 12 group winners from group stage
  • 12 group runners-up from group stage
  • 8 third-placed teams from Champions League group stage

If the Europa League title holders already qualified for the Champions League group stage via their domestic league, the following changes to the access list would be made:

  • The cup winners of association 18 entered the third qualifying round instead of the second qualifying round.
  • The cup winners of association 25 entered the second qualifying round instead of the first qualifying round.
  • The cup winners of associations 50 and 51 entered the first qualifying round instead of the preliminary round.

Distribution (from 2021–22 to 2023–24)

[edit]

The announcement of the UEFA Europa Conference League, a tertiary competition which would serve to split off the lower-ranked teams in the Europa League to give them a greater chance to compete, included a document from UEFA listing their intentions for qualification to the Europa League from 2021 onwards.[71] With a majority of the former entrants into the Europa League now participating solely in the UECL, the Europa League itself would have a greatly reduced format which will focus primarily around its group stage.[72] There would also be an additional knockout round before the knockout phase proper, allowing for third-placed teams in the Champions League group stage to fall into the Europa League while still keeping the knockout stage itself at only 16 teams total.[71]

Teams entering in this round Teams advancing from previous round Teams transferred from Champions League
Third qualifying round Champions
(10 teams)
  • 10 losers from Champions League second qualifying round for champions
Non-champions
(6 teams)
  • 3 domestic cup winners from associations 13–15
  • 3 losers from Champions League second qualifying round for non-champions
Play-off round
(20 teams)
  • 6 domestic cup winners from associations 7–12
  • 5 winners from qualifying round for champions
  • 3 winners from qualifying round for non-champions
  • 6 losers from Champions League third qualifying round for champions
Group stage
(32 teams)
  • UEFA Europa Conference League title holders (beginning with the 2022–23 season)
  • 6 domestic cup winners from associations 1–6
  • 1 domestic league fourth-placed team from association 5
  • 4 domestic league fifth-placed teams from associations 1–4
  • 10 winners from play-off round
  • 4 losers from Champions League play-off round for champions
  • 6 losers from Champions League third qualifying round and play-off round for non-champions
Preliminary knockout round
(16 teams)
  • 8 group runners-up from group stage
  • 8 third-placed teams from Champions League group stage
Knockout stage
(16 teams)
  • 8 group winners from group stage
  • 8 winners from preliminary knockout round

Changes would be made if the Europa Conference League title holders qualified through their league position:

  • The cup winners of association 7 enter the group stage instead of the play-off round.
  • The cup winners of association 15 enter the play-off round instead of the third qualifying round.
  • The cup winners of association 17 enter the third qualifying round instead of the Europa Conference League second qualifying round.

Distribution (from 2024–25)

[edit]

[73]

Teams entering in this round Teams advancing from the previous round Teams transferred from Champions League
First qualifying round
(18 teams)
  • 18 domestic cup winners from associations 16–33
Second qualifying round
(16 teams)
  • 6 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 7–12
  • 1 domestic league fourth-placed team from association 6
  • 9 winners from the first qualifying round
Third qualifying round
 Champions
(12 teams)
  • 12 losers from Champions League second qualifying round for champions
Non-champions
(14 teams)
  • 3 domestic cup winners from associations 13–15
  • 8 winners from second qualifying round
  • 3 losers from Champions League second qualifying round for non-champions
Play-off round
(24 teams)
  • 5 domestic cup winners from associations 8–12
  • 6 winners from third qualifying round for champions
  • 7 winners from third qualifying round for non-champions
  • 6 losers from Champions League third qualifying round for champions
League phase
(36 teams)
  • UEFA Conference League title holders
  • 7 domestic cup winners from associations 1–7
  • 5 domestic league fifth-placed teams from associations 1–5
  • 12 winners from play-off round
  • 5 losers from Champions League play-off round for champions
  • 6 losers from Champions League third qualifying round and play-off round for non-champions

Changes will be made to the access list above if the Europa League or Conference League title holder qualifies for the tournament via their domestic leagues.

  • If the Europa League title holders qualify for the league phase via their domestic league's standard berth allocation, the best-ranked club in qualifying rounds (both champions path and league path) enters the league phase without leapfrogging, then associations in the UEFA coefficient ranking are promoted to later qualifying rounds, and teams of the highest-ranked associations in earlier rounds are also promoted accordingly.
  • If the Conference League title holders qualify for the league phase via their domestic league's standard berth allocation, the best-ranked club in qualifying rounds (both champions path and league path) enters the league phase without leapfrogging, then associations in the UEFA coefficient ranking are promoted to later qualifying rounds, and teams of the highest-ranked associations in earlier rounds are also promoted accordingly.
  • If the Europa League or Conference League title holders qualify for the qualifying rounds via their domestic league, their spot in the qualifying rounds is vacated, and teams of the highest-ranked associations in earlier rounds are promoted accordingly.

Prize money

[edit]

Similar to the UEFA Champions League, the prize money received by the clubs is divided into fixed payments based on participation and results, and variable amounts that depend of the value of their TV market.[74]

For the 2021–22 season, group stage participation in the Europa League awarded a base fee of €3,630,000. A victory in the group pays €630,000 and a draw €210,000. Each group winner earns €1,100,000 and each runner-up €550,000. Reaching the knock-out stage triggered additional bonuses: €500,000 for the round of 32, €1,200,000 for the round of 16, €1,800,000 for the quarter-finals and €2,800,000 for the semi-finals. The losing finalists received €4,600,000 and the champions received €8,600,000.[75]

  • Qualified to group stage: €3,630,000
  • Match won in group stage: €630,000
  • Match drawn in group stage: €210,000
  • 1st in group stage: €1,100,000
  • 2nd in group stage: €550,000
  • Knockout round play-offs: €500,000
  • Round of 16: €1,200,000
  • Quarter-final: €1,800,000
  • Semi-final: €2,800,000
  • Runner-up: €4,600,000
  • Champion: €8,600,000

Sponsorship

[edit]

The UEFA Europa League is sponsored by seven multinational corporations, which share the same partners as the UEFA Conference League.

The tournament's main sponsors for the 2024–27 cycle are:

Decathlon's Kipsta sub-brand is the official match ball supplier from the 2024–25 season onwards for a three-year period.[83]

Since the inception of the Europa League brand, the tournament has used its own advertising hoardings (in that year they debuted in the round of 32) like the UEFA Champions League. LED hoardings made their debut in the 2012–13 final and appeared in the 2015–16 season from the round of 16. Since the same season, from the group stage onwards, teams are not allowed to show their own sponsors.[84] They appeared in the 2018–19 season for selected matches in the group stages and the round of 32.[85]

Individual clubs may wear jerseys with advertising, even if such sponsors conflict with those of the Europa League. Two sponsorships are permitted per jersey (plus that of the manufacturer), at the chest and the left sleeve.[86] Exceptions are made for non-profit organisations, which can feature on the front of the shirt, incorporated with the main sponsor, or on the back, either below the squad number or between the player name and the collar.

Records and statistics

[edit]
Main article: UEFA Cup and Europa League records and statistics
See also: UEFA Europa League clubs performance comparison
See also: List of UEFA Cup and Europa League top scorers

The UEFA Cup finals were played over two legs until 1997. The first final, between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur, was played on 3 May 1972 in Wolverhampton and 17 May 1972 in London. The first leg was won 2–1 by Tottenham Hotspur. The second leg ended in a 1–1 draw, meaning that Tottenham Hotspur became the first UEFA Cup winners.

The one-match finals in pre-selected venues were introduced in 1998. A venue must meet or exceed UEFA Category three standards to host UEFA Cup finals. On two occasions, the final was played at a finalist's home ground: Feyenoord defeated Borussia Dortmund at De Kuip, Rotterdam, in 2002, and Sporting CP lost to CSKA Moscow at their own Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, in 2005.

The last UEFA Cup final before it was rebranded as the UEFA Europa League was held at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in Istanbul on 20 May 2009, when Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine beat Werder Bremen of Germany 2–1 after extra time.

The first final of the rebranded Europa League was played in 2010, when Atlético Madrid of Spain beat Fulham of England 2–1 after extra time.

Performances by club

[edit]
Main article: List of UEFA Cup and Europa League finals
Performance in the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League by club
Club Winners Runners-up Years won Years runner-up
Spain Sevilla 7 0 2006, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020, 2023 —
Italy Inter Milan 3 2 1991, 1994, 1998 1997, 2020
England Liverpool 3 1 1973, 1976, 2001 2016
Italy Juventus 3 1 1977, 1990, 1993 1995
Spain Atlético Madrid 3 0 2010, 2012, 2018 —
Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach 2 2 1975, 1979 1973, 1980
England Tottenham Hotspur 2 1 1972, 1984 1974
Netherlands Feyenoord 2 0 1974, 2002 —
Germany Eintracht Frankfurt 2 0 1980, 2022 —
Sweden IFK Göteborg 2 0 1982, 1987 —
Spain Real Madrid 2 0 1985, 1986 —
Italy Parma 2 0 1995, 1999 —
Portugal Porto 2 0 2003, 2011 —
England Chelsea 2 0 2013, 2019 —
Belgium Anderlecht 1 1 1983 1984
Germany Bayer Leverkusen 1 1 1988 2024
Netherlands Ajax 1 1 1992 2017
England Manchester United 1 1 2017 2021
Netherlands PSV Eindhoven 1 0 1978 —
England Ipswich Town 1 0 1981 —
Italy Napoli 1 0 1989 —
Germany Bayern Munich 1 0 1996 —
Germany Schalke 04 1 0 1997 —
Turkey Galatasaray 1 0 2000 —
Spain Valencia 1 0 2004 —
Russia CSKA Moscow 1 0 2005 —
Russia Zenit Saint Petersburg 1 0 2008 —
Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk 1 0 2009 —
Spain Villarreal 1 0 2021 —
Italy Atalanta 1 0 2024 —
Portugal Benfica 0 3 — 1983, 2013, 2014
France Marseille 0 3 — 1999, 2004, 2018
Spain Athletic Bilbao 0 2 — 1977, 2012
Spain Espanyol 0 2 — 1988, 2007
Italy Roma 0 2 — 1991, 2023
Germany Borussia Dortmund 0 2 — 1993, 2002
England Arsenal 0 2 — 2000, 2019
Scotland Rangers 0 2 — 2008, 2022
England Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 1 — 1972
Netherlands Twente 0 1 — 1975
Belgium Club Brugge 0 1 — 1976
France Bastia 0 1 — 1978
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Red Star Belgrade 0 1 — 1979
Netherlands AZ 0 1 — 1981
Germany Hamburger SV 0 1 — 1982
Hungary Fehérvár 0 1 — 1985
Germany 1. FC Köln 0 1 — 1986
Scotland Dundee United 0 1 — 1987
Germany VfB Stuttgart 0 1 — 1989
Italy Fiorentina 0 1 — 1990
Italy Torino 0 1 — 1992
Austria Austria Salzburg 0 1 — 1994
France Bordeaux 0 1 — 1996
Italy Lazio 0 1 — 1998
Spain Alavés 0 1 — 2001
Scotland Celtic 0 1 — 2003
Portugal Sporting CP 0 1 — 2005
England Middlesbrough 0 1 — 2006
Germany Werder Bremen 0 1 — 2009
England Fulham 0 1 — 2010
Portugal Braga 0 1 — 2011
Ukraine Dnipro 0 1 — 2015


Performances by nation

[edit]
Performance in finals by nation
Nation Winners Runners-up Total
 Spain 14 5 19
 Italy 10 8 18
 England 9 8 17
 Germany[A] 7 9 16
 Netherlands 4 3 7
 Portugal 2 5 7
 Russia 2 0 2
 Sweden 2 0 2
 Belgium 1 2 3
 Ukraine 1 1 2
 Turkey 1 0 1
 France 0 5 5
 Scotland 0 4 4
 Austria 0 1 1
 Hungary 0 1 1
 Yugoslavia 0 1 1
Notes

Awards

[edit]

Player of the Season

[edit]

Starting from the 2016–17 edition of the competition, UEFA introduced the UEFA Europa League Player of the Season award.

The jury is composed of the coaches of the clubs which participate in the group stage of the competition, together with 55 journalists selected by the European Sports Media (ESM) group, one from each UEFA member association.

Season Player Club
UEFA Europa League Player of the Season
2016–17 France Paul Pogba England Manchester United
2017–18 France Antoine Griezmann Spain Atlético Madrid
2018–19 Belgium Eden Hazard England Chelsea
2019–20 Belgium Romelu Lukaku Italy Inter Milan
2020–21 Spain Gerard Moreno Spain Villarreal
2021–22 Serbia Filip Kostić Germany Eintracht Frankfurt
2022–23 Spain Jesús Navas Spain Sevilla
2023–24 Gabon Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang France Marseille

Young Player of the Season

[edit]

Starting from the 2021–22 edition of the competition, UEFA introduced the UEFA Europa League Young Player of the Season award, chosen by UEFA's Technical Observer Panel.

Season Player Club
UEFA Europa League Young Player of the Season
2021–22 Germany Ansgar Knauff Germany Eintracht Frankfurt
2022–23 Germany Florian Wirtz Germany Bayer Leverkusen
2023–24 Germany Florian Wirtz Germany Bayer Leverkusen

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See also

[edit]
[edit]
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