Founded 1972 Current champions Sevilla (5th title) | Region UEFA (Europe) Most successful club(s) Sevilla
(5 titles) | |
Number of teams 48 (group stage)
2 (finalists) | ||
The UEFA Europa League, formerly the UEFA Cup, is an association football competition established in 1971 by UEFA. It is considered the second most important international competition for European clubs, after the UEFA Champions League. Clubs qualify for the Europa League based on their performance in national leagues and cup competitions. For the first 25 years of the competition, the final was contested over two legs, one at each participating club's stadium, but in 1998, Internazionale defeated Lazio in the competition's first single-legged final held at a neutral venue, the Parc des Princes in Paris. Tottenham Hotspur won the inaugural competition in 1972, defeating Wolverhampton Wanderers 3–2 on aggregate. Nine finals have featured teams from the same national association: Italy (1990, 1991, 1995 and 1998), Spain (2007 and 2012), England (1972), Germany (1980) and Portugal (2011).
Sevilla holds the record for the most victories, having won the competition five times since its inception. Real Madrid (winners in 1985 and 1986) and Sevilla (winners in 2006 and 2007; and in 2014, 2015, and 2016) are the only teams to have retained their title. Teams from Spain have won the competition the most times, with ten winners coming from the country. The last champions before the UEFA Cup was renamed to UEFA Europa League were Shakhtar Donetsk, who beat Werder Bremen 2–1 after extra time in the 2009 final. Benfica have lost the most finals, with three losses in the competition. The current champions are Sevilla, who defeated Liverpool 3–1 in the 2016 final.
While the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup is considered to be the predecessor to the UEFA Cup, UEFA does not recognise it as an official UEFA club competition, and therefore its records are not included in the list.