UEFA Europa League

Last updated

UEFA Europa League
UEFA Europa League 2024.png
Organising body UEFA
Founded1971;53 years ago (1971)
(rebranded in 2009)
Region Europe
Number of teams36 (league phase)
58 (total)
Qualifier for UEFA Super Cup
UEFA Champions League
Related competitions UEFA Champions League (1st tier)
UEFA Conference League (3rd tier)
Current champions Flag of Italy.svg Atalanta (1st title)
Most successful club(s) Flag of Spain.svg Sevilla (7 titles)
Website uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague
Soccerball current event.svg 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.

Contents

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

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

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 Poznan and Deportivo La Coruna in the 2008-09 season. Lech-Deportivo 04122008 UEFA Cup 1-1.JPG
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

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

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

Qualification

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:

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

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

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

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.

A map of UEFA countries whose teams reached the league phase or group stage of the UEFA Europa League
.mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{}
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 UEFA members Europa League group stage.png
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)

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 roundTeams advancing from previous roundTeams 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 roundChampions
(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 roundChampions
(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 roundChampions
(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:

Distribution (from 2021–22 to 2023–24)

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 roundTeams advancing from previous roundTeams transferred from Champions League
Third qualifying roundChampions
(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:

Distribution (from 2024–25)

[73]

Teams entering in this roundTeams advancing from the previous roundTeams 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.

Prize money

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]

Sponsorship

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

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

Performance in the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League by club
ClubWinnersRunners-upYears wonYears runner-up
Flag of Spain.svg Sevilla 70 2006, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020, 2023
Flag of Italy.svg Inter Milan 32 1991, 1994, 1998 1997, 2020
Flag of England.svg Liverpool 31 1973, 1976, 2001 2016
Flag of Italy.svg Juventus 31 1977, 1990, 1993 1995
Flag of Spain.svg Atlético Madrid 30 2010, 2012, 2018
Flag of Germany.svg Borussia Mönchengladbach 22 1975, 1979 1973, 1980
Flag of England.svg Tottenham Hotspur 21 1972, 1984 1974
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Feyenoord 20 1974, 2002
Flag of Germany.svg Eintracht Frankfurt 20 1980, 2022
Flag of Sweden.svg IFK Göteborg 20 1982, 1987
Flag of Spain.svg Real Madrid 20 1985, 1986
Flag of Italy.svg Parma 20 1995, 1999
Flag of Portugal.svg Porto 20 2003, 2011
Flag of England.svg Chelsea 20 2013, 2019
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Anderlecht 11 1983 1984
Flag of Germany.svg Bayer Leverkusen 11 1988 2024
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Ajax 11 1992 2017
Flag of England.svg Manchester United 11 2017 2021
Flag of the Netherlands.svg PSV Eindhoven 10 1978
Flag of England.svg Ipswich Town 10 1981
Flag of Italy.svg Napoli 10 1989
Flag of Germany.svg Bayern Munich 10 1996
Flag of Germany.svg Schalke 04 10 1997
Flag of Turkey.svg Galatasaray 10 2000
Flag of Spain.svg Valencia 10 2004
Flag of Russia.svg CSKA Moscow 10 2005
Flag of Russia.svg Zenit Saint Petersburg 10 2008
Flag of Ukraine.svg Shakhtar Donetsk 10 2009
Flag of Spain.svg Villarreal 10 2021
Flag of Italy.svg Atalanta 10 2024
Flag of Portugal.svg Benfica 03 1983, 2013, 2014
Flag of France.svg Marseille 03 1999, 2004, 2018
Flag of Spain.svg Athletic Bilbao 02 1977, 2012
Flag of Spain.svg Espanyol 02 1988, 2007
Flag of Italy.svg Roma 02 1991, 2023
Flag of Germany.svg Borussia Dortmund 02 1993, 2002
Flag of England.svg Arsenal 02 2000, 2019
Flag of Scotland.svg Rangers 02 2008, 2022
Flag of England.svg Wolverhampton Wanderers 01 1972
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Twente 01 1975
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Club Brugge 01 1976
Flag of France.svg Bastia 01 1978
Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg Red Star Belgrade 01 1979
Flag of the Netherlands.svg AZ 01 1981
Flag of Germany.svg Hamburger SV 01 1982
Flag of Hungary.svg Fehérvár 01 1985
Flag of Germany.svg 1. FC Köln 01 1986
Flag of Scotland.svg Dundee United 01 1987
Flag of Germany.svg VfB Stuttgart 01 1989
Flag of Italy.svg Fiorentina 01 1990
Flag of Italy.svg Torino 01 1992
Flag of Austria.svg Austria Salzburg 01 1994
Flag of France.svg Bordeaux 01 1996
Flag of Italy.svg Lazio 01 1998
Flag of Spain.svg Alavés 01 2001
Flag of Scotland.svg Celtic 01 2003
Flag of Portugal.svg Sporting CP 01 2005
Flag of England.svg Middlesbrough 01 2006
Flag of Germany.svg Werder Bremen 01 2009
Flag of England.svg Fulham 01 2010
Flag of Portugal.svg Braga 01 2011
Flag of Ukraine.svg Dnipro 01 2015

Performances by nation

Performance in finals by nation
NationWinnersRunners-upTotal
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 14519
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 10818
Flag of England.svg  England 9817
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany [A] 7916
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 437
Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 257
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 202
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 202
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 123
Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine 112
Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 101
Flag of France.svg  France 055
Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland 044
Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 011
Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 011
Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg  Yugoslavia 011
Notes

    Awards

    Player of the Season

    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.

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

    Young Player of the Season

    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.

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

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    See also