UEFA Europa League facts for kids
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| Organising body | UEFA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1971 (rebranded in 2009) |
| Region | Europe |
| Number of teams | 36 (league phase) 58 (total) |
| Qualifier for | UEFA Super Cup UEFA Champions League |
| Related competitions | Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (predecessor) UEFA Champions League (1st tier) UEFA Conference League (3rd tier) |
| Current champions |  Tottenham Hotspur (3rd title) |
| Most successful club(s) |  Sevilla (7 titles) |
The UEFA Europa League (UEL), often called the Europa League, is a big football competition for clubs in Europe. It happens every year and is organized by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). This tournament started in 1971.
It's the second most important club competition in Europe. It ranks below the UEFA Champions League and above the UEFA Conference League.
The competition was first known as the UEFA Cup in 1971. It took the place of an older tournament called the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. From 1971 to 1999, the UEFA Cup was the third-tier European club competition. Then, another cup, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, was stopped and joined with the UEFA Cup.
Clubs get to play in the Europa League based on how well they do in their own country's leagues and cup competitions. In 2009, the UEFA Cup changed its name to the UEFA Europa League. It also got a new, bigger format. This included more teams in the group stage and different rules for qualifying.
Since the 2014–15 season, the winner of the Europa League gets to play in the UEFA Super Cup. They also get a spot in the next season's UEFA Champions League league phase. Since 2023, they also play in the UEFA–CONMEBOL Club Challenge. This is a friendly match against the winners of the CONMEBOL Copa Sudamericana.
Clubs from Spain have won the most titles, with 14 wins. England and Italy are next, with 10 wins each. Thirty different clubs have won the trophy. Fourteen of these clubs have won it more than once. Sevilla is the most successful club, with seven titles. Sevilla and Tottenham Hotspur are the only clubs to win the competition in three different decades.
Tottenham Hotspur are the current champions. They beat Manchester United 1–0 in the 2025 final. Colombian player Radamel Falcao holds the record for most goals in a single season. He scored 17 goals in one tournament.
Contents
History of the Europa League
The UEFA Cup started in the 1971–72 season. The very first final was between two English teams: Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur. Tottenham Hotspur won the first title. This competition quickly became more popular than the older Fairs Cup.
Liverpool won the cup in 1973. They beat Borussia Mönchengladbach in the final. Gladbach then won the competition in 1975 and 1979. Feyenoord won the cup in 1974. Liverpool won again in 1976.
In the 1980s, IFK Göteborg (1982 and 1987) and Real Madrid (1985 and 1986) each won the cup twice. Anderlecht reached two finals in a row, winning in 1983. In 1989, Italian clubs started to dominate. Diego Maradona's Napoli won the cup that year.
The 1990s began with two finals where both teams were Italian. In 1992, Ajax won against Torino. Juventus won their third title in 1993. Inter Milan kept the cup in Italy in 1994.
In 1995, there was another all-Italian final, with Parma winning. The only final in the 1990s without an Italian team was in 1996. Internazionale reached the final in 1997 and 1998. They lost in 1997 but won an all-Italian final in 1998. Parma won the cup in 1999. This was the last time an Italian club won the UEFA Cup/Europa League until Internazionale reached the 2020 final.
The 2000s started with Galatasaray winning. They were the first Turkish team to lift the trophy. Liverpool won their third title in 2001. In 2002, Feyenoord won for the second time. Porto won in 2003 and again in 2011.
In 2004, the cup went back to Spain with Valencia winning. CSKA Moscow won in 2005. Sevilla won two years in a row, in 2006 and 2007. Zenit Saint Petersburg won in 2008. Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk won in 2009. They were the first Ukrainian team to do so.
Since the 2009–10 season, the competition has been called the UEFA Europa League. At the same time, the UEFA Intertoto Cup, which was UEFA's third-tier competition, was stopped and its ideas were added to the new Europa League.
Atlético Madrid won twice in three seasons, in 2010 and 2012. In 2013, Chelsea made history. They became the first team to win the Champions League and then the Europa League the next year. In 2014, Sevilla won their third cup in eight years. In 2015, Sevilla won their fourth title. They then did something amazing by winning a third year in a row in 2016. This made them the most successful team ever with five titles. Atlético won their third title in 2018. The 2019 final was special because it was between two teams from the same city, Chelsea and Arsenal. Sevilla won a record sixth title in 2020 and an incredible seventh title in 2023.
The Europa League Trophy
The UEFA Cup, also known as the Coupe UEFA, is the special trophy given to the team that wins the UEFA Europa League. Before the 2009–10 season, both the competition and the trophy were simply called the 'UEFA Cup'.
In the past, a club could keep the original trophy for a year. After returning it, they would get a smaller copy. If a club won the trophy three times in a row or five times overall, they could keep the real trophy forever.
Now, the trophy stays with UEFA all the time. The winning team gets a full-size copy of the trophy. A club that wins three times in a row or five times overall gets a special badge. As of 2016–17, only Sevilla has earned this badge. They did it in 2016.
The trophy was designed by Silvio Gazzaniga. He also designed the FIFA World Cup Trophy. It was made for the 1972 UEFA Cup Final. The trophy weighs about 15 kilograms (33 pounds) and is made of silver. It sits on a yellow marble base. It is 67 centimeters (26 inches) tall. The bottom part of the trophy looks like football players.
The Europa League Anthem
A special song, called the Anthem, is played before every Europa League game. You hear it in the stadium and on TV before the game starts. It's also played when the winning team lifts the trophy after the final match.
The first anthem for the competition was made by Yohann Zveig in 2009. A new anthem was created by Michael Kadelbach for the 2015–16 season.
A brand new anthem was made by MassiveMusic for the 2018–19 season. This anthem is also used for UEFA Conference League matches.
How Teams Qualify and Play
How to Qualify
Teams qualify for the Europa League based on how well their country's football league is ranked by UEFA. Countries with higher rankings get easier ways to enter the competition. Most countries get three spots for their teams across both the Europa League and the Conference League.
Usually, these spots go to teams that finish high in their country's top league. They also go to the winner of their main cup competition. If a team qualifies for the UEFA Champions League, that spot is more important. The Europa League spot then goes to another club.
Teams that get knocked out of the Champions League qualifying rounds can also join the Europa League. The winner of the Europa League now automatically qualifies for the Champions League the next season.
League Phase and Knockout Rounds
The Europa League now has a league phase and a knockout phase. In the league phase, each team plays eight matches. Four games are at home, and four are away. The top eight teams from the league phase go straight to the Round of 16.
Teams ranked 9th to 24th play in knockout play-offs. The winners of these play-offs also go to the Round of 16. Teams ranked 25th to 36th in the league phase and the losers of the play-offs are out of the competition.
The final match is played at a special, neutral stadium. The team that wins the Europa League gets to play in the UEFA Champions League the next season. Europa League matches are usually played on Thursdays.
Past Formats
The competition used to be a pure knockout tournament. All games, including the final, were played over two matches. Starting in the 1997–98 season, the final became a single match.
Before the 2004–05 season, the tournament had qualifying rounds and then knockout rounds. Teams that didn't qualify for the Champions League often joined the UEFA Cup.
From the 2004–05 season, the competition added a group stage. After some knockout qualifying rounds, 40 teams entered a group stage. They were divided into eight groups of five teams. Each team played two home and two away games. The top three teams from each group moved on to the main knockout round. They were joined by eight teams from the Champions League group stage. After that, there were two-legged knockout games, leading to a single final match.
In the 2009–10 season, the competition was renamed the UEFA Europa League. More teams qualified for the group stage, which had 12 groups with four teams each. The top two teams from each group advanced. The rest of the tournament was similar, with knockout rounds and a final.
The qualification rules changed a lot over time. More teams from top-ranked countries got direct spots. Teams knocked out of the Champions League also joined the Europa League.
From the 2024–25 season, the format changed again. The league phase now has 36 teams. The Europa League winner now qualifies for the Champions League and cannot defend their Europa League title.
Prize Money
Clubs in the Europa League earn money in two ways. They get fixed payments for playing and for their results. They also get money based on how valuable their TV market is.
For the 2021–22 season, teams that played in the group stage received €3,630,000. Winning a match in the group stage earned €630,000, and a draw earned €210,000. Group winners received an extra €1,100,000, and runners-up got €550,000.
Teams also got more money as they went further in the knockout stages:
- Knockout round play-offs: €500,000
- Round of 16: €1,200,000
- Quarter-final: €1,800,000
- Semi-final: €2,800,000
- The team that lost the final received €4,600,000.
- The champion team received €8,600,000.
Sponsors of the Europa League
The UEFA Europa League has several big companies that sponsor it. These sponsors are often the same ones that support the UEFA Conference League.
Some of the main sponsors for the 2024–27 period include:
- Just Eat Takeaway
- Hankook
- Engelbert Strauss
- Swissquote
- Betano
- Lidl
- Flix SE
Decathlon's Kipsta brand makes the official match balls for the tournament. This started from the 2024–25 season.
The tournament uses special advertising boards around the pitch. From the group stage onwards, teams are not allowed to show their own sponsors on these boards. However, individual clubs can wear jerseys with their own sponsors. Two sponsors are allowed on the jersey, plus the manufacturer's logo.
Records and Statistics
The UEFA Cup finals used to be played over two matches until 1997. The very first final was in 1972. Tottenham Hotspur won the first UEFA Cup.
Single-match finals at special venues started in 1998. A stadium must meet high standards to host a final. Twice, the final was played at one of the finalist's home stadiums. Feyenoord won in Rotterdam in 2002. Sporting CP lost in Lisbon in 2005.
The last UEFA Cup final before the rebranding was in 2009. Shakhtar Donetsk from Ukraine beat Werder Bremen from Germany.
The first final of the rebranded Europa League was in 2010. Atlético Madrid from Spain beat Fulham from England.
Winners by Nation
| Nation | Winners | Runners-up | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain |
14 | 5 | 19 |
| England |
10 | 9 | 19 |
 Italy |
10 | 8 | 18 |
 Germany |
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 |
Awards for Players
Player of the Season
Since the 2016–17 season, UEFA has given out the UEFA Europa League Player of the Season award.
A group of people choose the winner. This group includes the coaches from the clubs that played in the group stage. It also includes 55 journalists, one from each UEFA country.
| Season | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| UEFA Europa League Player of the Season | ||
| 2016–17 |  Paul Pogba |
Manchester United |
| 2017–18 | Antoine Griezmann |
Atlético Madrid |
| 2018–19 | Eden Hazard |
Chelsea |
| 2019–20 | Romelu Lukaku |
Inter Milan |
| 2020–21 | Gerard Moreno |
Villarreal |
| 2021–22 |  Filip Kostić |
Eintracht Frankfurt |
| 2022–23 | Jesús Navas |
Sevilla |
| 2023–24 |  Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang |
Marseille |
| 2024–25 |  Cristian Romero |
Tottenham Hotspur |
Young Player of the Season
Starting from the 2021–22 season, UEFA also gives an award for the UEFA Europa League Young Player of the Season. This award is chosen by UEFA's own football experts.
| Season | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| UEFA Europa League Young Player of the Season | ||
| 2021–22 | Ansgar Knauff |
Eintracht Frankfurt |
| 2022–23 | Florian Wirtz |
Bayer Leverkusen |
| 2023–24 | Florian Wirtz |
Bayer Leverkusen |
| 2024–25 | Rayan Cherki |
Lyon |
Images for kids
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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
See Also
In Spanish: Liga Europa de la UEFA para niños
- List of association football competitions
