kids encyclopedia robot

UEFA Champions League facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League logo 2.svg
Founded 1955; 69 years ago (1955)
(rebranded in 1992)
Region Europe (UEFA)
Number of teams 32 (group stage)
80 (total)
Qualifier for UEFA Super Cup
FIFA Club World Cup
Related competitions UEFA Europa League (2nd tier)
UEFA Europa Conference League (3rd tier)
Current champions Spain Real Madrid (14th title)
Most successful club(s) Spain Real Madrid (14 titles)
Television broadcasters List of broadcasters
Website Official website: https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/

The UEFA Champions League, or simply known as the UCL is a football competition organized by UEFA, between some of the top club teams in Europe. The teams are selected because of good performances in their league matches. The teams used to have to win their countries' championship, but more than one team can play in the competition depending on how good their league is. For example: the Spanish League can get 4 Spanish clubs in the competition compared to the Kazakhstan League which can only get one team in the competition.

Real Madrid won the Champions League the first five times it was held, still a record. They have also won the Champions League/European Cup 14 times, which is also a record.

A total of 22 clubs from 10 European countries won the Champions League. 12 clubs won it more than once: Real Madrid, Milan, Bayern, Liverpool, Barcelona, Ajax, Manchester United, Inter Milan, Juventus, Benfica, Porto and Nottingham Forest. The current champions are Bayern Munich after defeating Paris Saint-Germain in the final on 23rd August 2020 by 1-0.

Team records and statistics

Performances by club

Performances in the European Cup and UEFA Champions League by club
Club
Title(s) Runners-up Seasons won Seasons runner-up
Spain Real Madrid 14 3 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022 1962, 1964, 1981
Italy Milan 7 4 1963, 1969, 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, 2007 1958, 1993, 1995, 2005
Germany Bayern Munich 6 5 1974, 1975, 1976, 2001, 2013, 2020 1982, 1987, 1999, 2010, 2012
England Liverpool 6 4 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005, 2019 1985, 2007, 2018, 2022
Spain Barcelona 5 3 1992, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2015 1961, 1986, 1994
Netherlands Ajax 4 2 1971, 1972, 1973, 1995 1969, 1996
England Manchester United 3 2 1968, 1999, 2008 2009, 2011
Italy Inter Milan 3 2 1964, 1965, 2010 1967, 1972
Italy Juventus 2 7 1985, 1996 1973, 1983, 1997, 1998, 2003, 2015, 2017
Portugal Benfica 2 5 1961, 1962 1963, 1965, 1968, 1988, 1990
England Chelsea 2 1 2012, 2021 2008
England Nottingham Forest 2 0 1979, 1980
Portugal Porto 2 0 1987, 2004
Scotland Celtic 1 1 1967 1970
Germany Hamburger SV 1 1 1983 1980
Romania Steaua București 1 1 1986 1989
France Marseille 1 1 1993 1991
Germany Borussia Dortmund 1 1 1997 2013
Netherlands Feyenoord 1 0 1970
England Aston Villa 1 0 1982
Netherlands PSV Eindhoven 1 0 1988
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Red Star Belgrade 1 0 1991
Spain Atlético Madrid 0 3 1974, 2014, 2016
France Reims 0 2 1956, 1959
Spain Valencia 0 2 2000, 2001
Italy Fiorentina 0 1 1957
Germany Eintracht Frankfurt 0 1 1960
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Partizan 0 1 1966
Greece Panathinaikos 0 1 1971
England Leeds United 0 1 1975
France Saint-Étienne 0 1 1976
Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach 0 1 1977
Belgium Club Brugge 0 1 1978
Sweden Malmö FF 0 1 1979
Italy Roma 0 1 1984
Italy Sampdoria 0 1 1992
Germany Bayer Leverkusen 0 1 2002
France Monaco 0 1 2004
England Arsenal 0 1 2006
England Tottenham Hotspur 0 1 2019
France Paris Saint-Germain 0 1 2020
England Manchester City 0 1 2021


Performances by nation

Teams from thirteen nations have been to a Champions League final, and teams from ten of those have won the competition. Since the 1995–96 season, other than Porto's win in 2003–04, the winners have come from one of only four nations – Spain (11), England (6), Germany (4) and Italy (4) – and other than Monaco in 2003–04 and Paris Saint-Germain in 2019–20, the runners-up have all come from the same four nations.

Performances in finals by nation
Nation Titles Runners-up Total
 Spain 19 11 30
 England 14 11 25
 Italy 12 16 28
 Germany 8 10 18
 Netherlands 6 2 8
 Portugal 4 5 9
 France 1 6 7
 Romania 1 1 2
 Scotland 1 1 2
 Yugoslavia 1 1 2
 Belgium 0 1 1
 Greece 0 1 1
 Sweden 0 1 1



Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Liga de Campeones de la UEFA para niños

kids search engine
UEFA Champions League Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.