UEFA Europa League

UEFA Europa League
Organising body	UEFA
Founded	1971; (rebranded in 2009)
Region	Europe
Number of teams	40 (main phase total); 32 (group stage); 58 (total)
Qualifier for	UEFA Super Cup; UEFA Champions League; UEFA–CONMEBOL Club Challenge
Related competitions	UEFA Champions League (1st tier); UEFA Europa Conference League (3rd tier)
Current champions	Sevilla (7th title)
Most successful club(s)	Sevilla (7 titles)
Television broadcasters	List of broadcasters
Website	uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague
	2023–24 UEFA Europa League

The UEFA Europa League (previously known as the UEFA Cup, abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL) 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 Europa Conference League.

Introduced in 1971 as the UEFA Cup, it replaced the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. The UEFA Cup was the third-tier 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.

Spanish clubs have the highest number of victories (14 wins), followed by teams from England and Italy (9 wins each). The title has been won by 29 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]

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

^ Nakrani, Sachin (14 February 2018). "The Europa League is back and more than ever is a competition to savour". theguardian.com. Archived from the original on 29 November 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
^ "UEFA Europa Conference League: all you need to know". UEFA.com (Press release). Union of European Football Associations. 3 December 2020. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "UEFA Europa League History". UEFA.com (Press release). Union of European Football Associations. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2008.
^ "UEFA Cup gets new name in revamp". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 26 September 2008. Archived from the original on 27 September 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2008.
^ "UEFA Cup to become UEFA Europa League". UEFA.com (Press release). Union of European Football Associations. 26 September 2008. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
^ "New format provides fresh impetus". UEFA.com (Press release). Union of European Football Associations. Archived from the original on 24 November 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
^ "UEFA Europa League all-time top scorers". 14 July 2023.

[2] Nakrani, Sachin (14 February 2018). "The Europa League is back and more than ever is a competition to savour". theguardian.com. Archived from the original on 29 November 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2018.

[3] "UEFA Europa Conference League: all you need to know". UEFA.com (Press release). Union of European Football Associations. 3 December 2020. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2021.

[:0-4] Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[5] "UEFA Europa League History". UEFA.com (Press release). Union of European Football Associations. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2008.

[bbc_europa-6] "UEFA Cup gets new name in revamp". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 26 September 2008. Archived from the original on 27 September 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2008.

[uefa_europa-7] "UEFA Cup to become UEFA Europa League". UEFA.com (Press release). Union of European Football Associations. 26 September 2008. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.

[8] "New format provides fresh impetus". UEFA.com (Press release). Union of European Football Associations. Archived from the original on 24 November 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2010.

[9] "UEFA Europa League all-time top scorers". 14 July 2023.

[a]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]