UEFA Europa League
Europe · European club competition
- Founded
- 1971 (as the UEFA Cup)
- League phase
- 36 clubs, 8 matches each
- Match night
- Thursday
- Record winners
- Sevilla (7)
The UEFA Europa League is Europe’s second-tier club competition. It was founded as the UEFA Cup in 1971, absorbed the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1999 and was relaunched under its current name in 2009. Since 2024–25 it has used the same format as the Champions League: a 36-club league phase in which each team plays eight matches, followed by play-offs and a two-legged knockout.
Clubs reach it through their domestic league position or national cup, and some drop in after losing in Champions League qualifying. The top eight in the league phase go directly to the round of 16; teams finishing ninth to 24th play off for the other eight places. Matches are played on Thursday nights.
Sevilla are the record winners with seven titles, including three in a row between 2014 and 2016. The winner qualifies for the following season’s Champions League league phase and plays the UEFA Super Cup. Golalarm follows every Europa League match with live scores, lineups, statistics and the full league-phase table.
More european club competitions
- UEFA Champions LeagueEurope
- UEFA Conference LeagueEurope
- UEFA Super CupEurope