History
Since its foundation in 1965, under the name of European Cup, the competition has been dominated by teams from Spain (mainly from Catalonia), Portugal and Italy. In 1997, the European Cup and the European Cup Winners' Cup were merged to create the Champions League. In 2007, the competition name and format was changed to form the European League, a 16-team competition with no preliminary rounds. In 2020, the format was changed to a 9-team competition with no preliminary rounds. In 2021, the format was changed to an 8-team competition with no preliminary rounds. In 2023, along with a renaming back to Champions League, the format was again changed to accommodate 32 teams and two preliminary rounds.
The most successful team is Barcelona, having won a record 22 titles, including eight consecutive between 1978 and 1985. Barcelona are followed by four other Spanish teams, making Spain the most successful country in the competition, with 44 titles. Four Portuguese teams have won the trophy by nine times, while two Italian teams have won the trophy by two times.
The UEFA Champions League is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robin league phase to qualify for the double-legged knockout rounds, and a single-leg final. It is the most-watched club competition in the world and the third most-watched football competition overall, behind only the UEFA European Championship and the FIFA World Cup. 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 of their national associations.
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournament ran for 39 seasons, with the final edition held in 1998–99, after which it was discontinued.
The UEFA Europa League, 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.
The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournament is named after the Libertadores, the leaders of the Latin American wars of independence, so a literal translation of its former name into English is "Liberators of the Americas Cup".
The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 2000 as the FIFA Club World Championship. It was not held from 2001 to 2004 due to a combination of factors in the cancelled 2001 tournament, most importantly the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner International Sport and Leisure (ISL), but in 2005 it changed to an annual competition through 2023. Following the 2023 edition, the tournament was revamped to a quadrennial competition starting in 2025. Views differ as to the cup's prestige: it struggles to attract interest in most of Europe, and is the object of heated debate in South America.
The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA.
The history of the European Cup and UEFA Champions League spans over sixty years of competition, finding winners and runners-up from all over the continent.
The 1998–99 UEFA Champions League was the 44th season of the UEFA Champions League, Europe's premier club football tournament, and the seventh since it was renamed from the "European Champion Clubs' Cup" or "European Cup". The competition was won by Manchester United, coming back from a goal down in the last two minutes of injury time to defeat Bayern Munich 2–1 in the final. Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær scored United's goals after Bayern had hit the post and the bar. They were the first English club to win Europe's premier club football tournament since 1984 and were also the first English club to reach a Champions League final since the Heysel Stadium disaster and the subsequent banning of English clubs from all UEFA competitions between 1985 and 1990. It was the first time since 1968 that Manchester United won the Champions League, giving them their second title.
The 1993–94 UEFA Champions League was the 39th season of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA's premier club football tournament, and the second season with the UEFA Champions League logo. The competition was won by Milan of Italy, their fifth title, beating Barcelona of Spain 4–0 in the final. Marseille were the defending champions, but were not allowed to enter the competition due their involvement in a match-fixing scandal in Division 1 the season prior. This saw them stripped of their league title and demoted to Division 2 at the end of 1993–94. This was the first and only time which the defending champions did not participate in the following season of the competition. Third-placed Monaco took the vacated French berth.
Football clubs from La Liga have won a record 72 continental and worldwide titles. Real Madrid, the most successful of them, have won the European Cup on fifteen separate occasions and claimed 31 trophies in total. Barcelona have won twenty continental and worldwide titles, while Atlético Madrid have claimed eight. Sevilla have won eight and Valencia have won seven trophies to their name. Additionally, Deportivo La Coruña have been regulars in the UEFA Champions League, while Athletic Bilbao, Espanyol, Alavés, Zaragoza and Mallorca have all contested major finals in second-tier competitions and below. Smaller La Liga clubs, like Villarreal, Celta Vigo and Málaga have also found success in Europe, reaching the latter stages of the Champions League and winning the Europa League, as is the case with Villarreal.
With 48 continental trophies won, English football clubs are the third-most successful in European football, behind Italy (50) and Spain (67). In the top-tier, the UEFA Champions League, a record six English clubs have won a total of 15 titles and lost a further 11 finals, behind Spanish clubs with 20 and 11, respectively. In the second-tier, the UEFA Europa League, English clubs are third, with nine victories and eight losses in the finals. In the former second-tier UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, English teams won a record eight titles and had a further five finalists. In the non-UEFA organized Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, English clubs provided four winners and four runners-up, the second-most behind Spain with six and three, respectively. In the newly created third-tier UEFA Conference League, English clubs have a joint-record one title so far. In the former fourth-tier UEFA Intertoto Cup, England won four titles and had a further final appearance, placing it fifth in the rankings, although English clubs were notorious for treating the tournament with disdain, either sending "B" squads or withdrawing from it altogether. In the one-off UEFA Super Cup, England has ten winners and ten runners-up, the second-most behind Spain with 17 and 15, respectively.
The CONCACAF Champions Cup is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. It is the most important tournament in CONCACAF club football. The winner of the CONCACAF Champions Cup automatically qualifies for the FIFA Club World Cup and the FIFA Intercontinental Cup.
The UEFA Youth League is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2013. In its current format, it is contested by the under-19 teams of the clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League league phase, plus the domestic youth champions of the best-ranked national associations.
The Champions Hockey League is a European first-level ice hockey tournament. Launched in the 2014–15 season by 26 clubs, 6 leagues and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the tournament features top teams across Europe.
The Euro Winners Cup (EWC) is an annual, continental beach soccer club competition contested between top-division European teams; the clubs that are their country's national league/cup champions from countries all across Europe take part. Organised by Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW), the championship is viewed as beach soccer's rudimentary version of the UEFA Champions League in its parent sport, association football.
The 2017–18 CERH European League was the 53rd season of Europe's premier club roller hockey tournament organised by CERH, and the 21st season since it was renamed from European Champion Clubs' Cup to the CERH Champions League/European League.
The 2018–19 Rink Hockey Euroleague is the 54th season of Europe's premier club roller hockey tournament organised by World Skate Europe-Rink Hockey Committee, and the 22nd season since it was renamed from European Champion Clubs' Cup to Euroleague.
The 2020–21 Rink Hockey Euroleague is the 41st season of Europe's second club roller hockey tournament organised by World Skate Europe – Rink Hockey, and the 3rd season since it was renamed from CERS Cup to World Skate Europe Cup.
The 2022–23 WSE Champions League was the 58th season of Europe's premier club roller hockey tournament organised by World Skate Europe – Rink Hockey, and the first season under the WSE Champions League branding. This season expanded the maximum number of participating teams from 16 to 32, introducing two preliminary rounds prior to the group stage. The knockout stage was contested as a final-eight tournament played at the Pavilhão Municipal José Natário in Viana do Castelo, Portugal from 4 to 7 May 2023.
2023–24 WSE Champions League 
Sporting CP (4th title)
Barcelona (22 titles)
