The Union of European Football Associations is the administrative body for association football, futsal and beach soccer in Europe, although several member states are primarily or entirely located in Asia. It is one of six continental confederations of world football's governing body FIFA. UEFA consists of 55 national association members.
UEFA competitions, also referred to by the mass media as European football, are the competitions organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur association football and futsal. The term was established by the Confederation to differentiate the tournaments under its administration from other international competitions held in Europe between 1960 and 1990, such as the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Karl Rappan Cup, Cup of the Alps, Balkans Cup and Mitropa Cup, tournaments still not recognised by the organization. The Confederation is the only organization with legal authority over these tournaments and considers only results in these competitions in calculating and communicating confederation-level official records and statistics and setting combined values in inter-club football.
The UEFA Futsal Champions League is an annual futsal competition for European club teams organized by UEFA. It was founded as the UEFA Futsal Cup in 2001 and replaced the Futsal European Clubs Championship, an unofficial competition held since 1984. The final of the first edition was disputed as a single game in Lisbon, while the following four editions were decided over two legs. Since 2006–07, the winner is decided through a final four tournament.
Futbol Club Barcelona is a professional futsal club based in Barcelona, Spain. It is a part of the FC Barcelona sports club.
The Netherlands national futsal team is the national team of the Netherlands. It is governed by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB). The Netherlands organized the first FIFA Futsal World Championship in 1989 in Rotterdam, where they finished in second place after being beaten by Brazil 2–1 in the final.
The Italy national futsal team represents Italy in international futsal competitions such as the FIFA Futsal World Cup and the European Championships and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation. It is one of the strongest teams in Europe, champions in the 2003 UEFA Futsal Championship and UEFA Futsal Euro 2014.
The UEFA Futsal Under-21 Championship was a futsal competition organised by UEFA. To date only one edition of the competition has ever been played. The 2008 tournament was hosted and won by Russia who defeated Italy 5–4 in the final.
The Romania national futsal team represents Romania in international futsal competitions such as the FIFA Futsal World Cup and the European Championships and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.
Ricardo Filipe da Silva Braga, best known as Ricardinho, is a Portuguese professional futsal player who plays for Spanish club Inter FS and the Portugal national team as a winger.
The UEFA Futsal Euro 2014 was the ninth edition of the European Championship for men's national futsal teams organised by UEFA. It was hosted for the first time in Belgium, from 28 January to 8 February 2014, following a decision of the UEFA Executive Committee in December 2011.
Stefano Mammarella is an Italian futsal player who plays for Acqua e Sapone as a goalkeeper.
Alessandro Patias is an Italian professional futsal player who plays as a pivot for Belgian side Halle-Gooik and the Italy national team.
Luca Leggiero, is an Italian futsal player who plays for Pescara Calcio a 5 and the Italian national futsal team.
Alex Rodrigo da Silva Merlim, also known as Babalu, is a Brazilian born Italian futsal player who plays for Sporting CP and the Italian national futsal team as a winger.
Daniel Giasson, is a Brazilian born, Italian futsal player who plays for Jaén and the Italian national futsal team.
Julião Murilo Ferreira, is a Brazilian born, Italian futsal player who plays for Acqua e Sapone and the Italian national futsal team.
Roberto Menichelli, is an Italian retired futsal player and ex coach of the Italian national futsal team. In February 2014, he coached Italy to win the UEFA Futsal Euro 2014 title.
The 2016 UEFA Futsal Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Futsal Euro 2016, was the 10th edition of the UEFA Futsal Championship, the biennial international futsal championship organised by UEFA for the men's national teams of Europe. It was hosted for the first time in Serbia, following a decision of the UEFA Executive Committee on 20 March 2012. Serbia was chosen ahead of other bids from Bulgaria and Macedonia.
The 2018 UEFA Futsal Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Futsal Euro 2018, was the 11th edition of the UEFA Futsal Championship, the international futsal championship organised by UEFA for the men's national teams of Europe. It was hosted for the first time in Slovenia, following a decision of the UEFA Executive Committee on 26 January 2015. Slovenia was chosen ahead of other bids from Macedonia and Romania.
