Union of European Football Associations

Union of European Football Associations
Abbreviation	UEFA
Motto	We care about Football
Formation	15 June 1954
Type	Sports organisation
Region served	Europe
Membership	53 member associations
Official language	English, French, German
President	Florentino Pérez
Vice-president	Şenes Erzik
General Secretary	Emilio Butragueño
Honorary President	Lennart Johansson
Main organ	UEFA Congress
Parent organization	FIFA
Website	www.UEFA.com

The Union of European Football Associations mostly called the UEFA, is the organization that controls European football (soccer) (often referred to as association football). The UEFA is one of 6 continental confederations of the FIFA. It is also the biggest one. The President of the UEFA is Aleksander Čeferin.

Some members of the UEFA are partly or whole not part of the European continent (Israel, Turkey, Kazakhstan,Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Cyprus and Russia). There are members that do not represent sovereign states, such as the Faroe Islands, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

UEFA national teams have won 12 FIFA World Cups (Italy-4, Germany-4, France-2, England and Spain-one trophy each), and UEFA clubs have won 21 Intercontinental Cups and four FIFA Club World Cups. In women's, UEFA teams have won three FIFA Women's World Cups (Germany 2, Norway 1) and one Olympic gold medal (Norway).

Members of UEFA

Code	Country	National teams	Founded	Joined FIFA	Joined UEFA
ALB	Albania	Men's, Womens	1930	1932	1954
AND	Andorra	Men's, Women's	1994	1996	1996
ARM	Armenia	Men's, Women's	1992	1992	1992
AUT	Austria	Men's, Women's	1904	1905	1954
AZE	Azerbaijan	Men's, Women's	1992	1994	1994
BLR	Belarus	Men's, Women's	1989	1992	1993
BEL	Belgium	Men's, Women's	1895	1904	1954
BIH	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Men's, Women's	1946	1996	1998
BUL	Bulgaria	Men's, Women's	1923	1924	1954
CRO	Croatia	Men's, Women's	1912	1992	1993
CYP	Cyprus	Men's, Women's	1934	1948	1962
CZE	Czech Republic	Men's, Women's	1901	1907	1954
DEN	Denmark	Men's, Women's	1889	1904	1954
ENG	England	Men's, Women's	1863	1905	1954
EST	Estonia	Men's, Women's	1921	1923	1992
FRO	Faroe Islands	Men's, Women's	1979	1988	1990
FIN	Finland	Men's, Women's	1907	1908	1954
FRA	France	Men's, Women's	1919^{[n 1]}	1904^{[n 2]}	1954
GEO	Georgia	Men's, Women's	1990	1992	1992
GER	Germany	Men's, Women's	1900	1904	1954
GIB	Gibraltar	Men's, Women's	1895	2016	2013
GRE	Greece	Men's, Women's	1926	1927	1954
HUN	Hungary	Men's, Women's	1901	1906	1954
ISL	Iceland	Men's, Women's	1947^{[n 3]}	1947	1954
ISR	Israel^{[n 4]}	Men's, Women's	1949	1949	1994^{[n 5]}
ITA	Italy	Men's, Women's	1898	1905	1954
KAZ	Kazakhstan^{[n 6]}	Men's, Women's	1994	1994	2002
KOS	Kosovo	Men's, Women's	2008	2016	2016
LVA	Latvia	Men's, Women's	1921	1922	1992
LIE	Liechtenstein	Men's, Women's	1934	1974	1974
LTU	Lithuania	Men's, Women's	1922	1923	1992
LUX	Luxembourg	Men's, Women's	1908	1910	1954
MLT	Malta	Men's, Women's	1900	1959	1960
MDA	Moldova	Men's, Women's	1990	1994	1993
MNE	Montenegro	Men's, Women's	1931	2007	2007
NED	Netherlands	Men's, Women's	1889	1904	1954
MKD	North Macedonia	Men's, Women's	1926	1994	1994
NIR	Northern Ireland	Men's, Women's	1880	1911	1954
NOR	Norway	Men's, Women's	1902	1908	1954
POL	Poland	Men's, Women's	1919^{[n 7]}	1923	1954
POR	Portugal	Men's, Women's	1914	1923	1954
IRL	Republic of Ireland	Men's, Women's	1921	1923	1954
ROU	Romania	Men's, Women's	1909	1923	1954
RUS	Russia	Men's, Women's	1912	1912	1954
SMR	San Marino	Men's, Women's	1931	1988	1988
SCO	Scotland	Men's, Women's	1873	1910	1954
SRB	Serbia	Men's, Women's	1919	1923	1954
SVK	Slovakia	Men's, Women's	1938	1994	1993
SVN	Slovenia	Men's, Women's	1920	1992	1992
ESP	Spain	Men's, Women's	1909	1904	1954
SWE	Sweden	Men's, Women's	1904	1904	1954
SUI	Switzerland	Men's, Women's	1895	1904	1954
TUR	Turkey	Men's, Women's	1923	1923	1962
UKR	Ukraine	Men's, Women's	1991	1992	1992
WAL	Wales	Men's, Women's	1876	1910	1954

Notes

↑ Founded as Comité Français Interfédéral in 1907, a predecessor to the current federation.
↑ The current French FA, the French Football Federation (in its previous incarnation, the Comité Français Interfédéral), replaced the USFSA in 1907.
↑ Icelandic top-flight club football dates back to 1912 or 35 years prior to founding of KSI, All titles pre-1947 are recognized by KSI
↑ Former member of the Asian Football Confederation (1954–1974), joined UEFA as several AFC teams refused to play against them. See also Foreign relations of Israel and International recognition of Israel.
↑ Israel had been an associated member of UEFA since 1992, therefore Israeli clubs were entitled to take part in the 1992–93 and 1993–94 UEFA club competitions despite Israel not being a full UEFA member.
↑ Former member of the AFC (1994–2002), joined UEFA.
↑ Founded as Związek Polski Piłki Nożnej (part of the former Austrian Football Union) in 1911, a predecessor to the current federation.

Competitions

International competitions

The main international competition is the UEFA European Championship. This competition started in 1958, with the first finals in 1960. It is held every four years. The most recent finals were hosted by Germany in 2024. Spain won for the fourth time. There were also European competitions at the Under-21, Under-19 and Under-17 levels.

UEFA also operates the UEFA Women's Championship. The most recent edition, hosted by Switzerland in 2025, was won by England.

A second men's international competition, the UEFA Nations League, was first held in the 2018–19 season, and is held every two years. The Nations League divides all UEFA national teams into four groups by competitive level. Only the teams in the highest level, Group A, compete for the championship. Promotion and relegation exists between the groups (A, B, C, D). The most recent edition in 2024–25 was won by Portugal.

The women's counterpart, the UEFA Women's Nations League, was first held in the 2023–24 season. The second edition was held entirely within calendar 2025. Future competitions will be held in a single calendar year. Like the men's Nations League, the women's version is held every two years and divides teams into groups by competitive level, with promotion and relegation. However, the women's version has only three groups. The first edition in 2023–24 was won by Spain; the 2025 edition is ongoing.

Club competitions

There are three main club competitions for men and two for women.

The highest men's competition is the UEFA Champions League. It started in the 1992/93 season as follower of the UEFA Champion Cup. This competition was first held in 1956. The second is the UEFA Europa League. The league started in 1999 when the UEFA Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup merged. The newest is the UEFA Conference League, which started in 2021 as the UEFA Europa Conference League. The word "Europa" was dropped in 2024.

The highest women's competition for club teams is the UEFA Women's Champions League, followed by the UEFA Women's Europa Cup. The Women's Champions League was first held in 2009 (out of UEFA Women's Cup until 2009). The first Women's Europa Cup is being held in the 2025–26 season.

Winner of the UEFA Champions League

2021/22-Real Madrid
2017/18-Real Madrid
2016/17-Real Madrid
2015/16-Real Madrid
2014/15-FC Barcelona
2013/14-Real Madrid
2012/13-Bayern Munich
2011/12-Chelsea FC
2010/11-FC Barcelona
2009/10-Inter Milan
2008/09-FC Barcelona
2007/08-Manchester United
2006/07-AC Milan
2005/06-FC Barcelona
2004/05-Liverpool FC
2003/04-FC Porto
2002/03-AC Milan
2001/02-Real Madrid
2000/01-Bayern Munich
1999/00-Real Madrid
1998/99-Manchester United
1997/98-Real Madrid
1996/97-Borussia Dortmund
1995/96-Juventus
1994/95-Ajax Amsterdam
1993/94-AC Milan
1992/93-Olympic Marseille

Since 1992 no winner of the Champions League was able to defend the title the next season.^[3]

Winner of the UEFA Women's Champions League

2009/10-1. FFC Turbine Potsdam (Germany)
2010/11-Olympique Lyon (France)^[4]

Related pages

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 "UEFA Executive Committee - UEFA.com". Archived from the original on 2013-09-11. Retrieved 2011-12-09.
↑ "Organisation – UEFA.com". Archived from the original on 2013-09-12. Retrieved 2011-12-09.
↑ UEFA.com. "UEFA Champions League - Geschichte". UEFA.com.
↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-01-07. Retrieved 2011-12-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

Other websites

UEFA homepage

[FRA-founded-3] Founded as Comité Français Interfédéral in 1907, a predecessor to the current federation.

[FRA-FIFA-4] The current French FA, the French Football Federation (in its previous incarnation, the Comité Français Interfédéral), replaced the USFSA in 1907.

[ISL-5] Icelandic top-flight club football dates back to 1912 or 35 years prior to founding of KSI, All titles pre-1947 are recognized by KSI

[ISR-6] Former member of the Asian Football Confederation (1954–1974), joined UEFA as several AFC teams refused to play against them. See also Foreign relations of Israel and International recognition of Israel.

[ISR_Club-7] Israel had been an associated member of UEFA since 1992, therefore Israeli clubs were entitled to take part in the 1992–93 and 1993–94 UEFA club competitions despite Israel not being a full UEFA member.

[KAZ-8] Former member of the AFC (1994–2002), joined UEFA.

[POL-founded-9] Founded as Związek Polski Piłki Nożnej (part of the former Austrian Football Union) in 1911, a predecessor to the current federation.

[pres-vice-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 "UEFA Executive Committee - UEFA.com". Archived from the original on 2013-09-11. Retrieved 2011-12-09.

[2] "Organisation – UEFA.com". Archived from the original on 2013-09-12. Retrieved 2011-12-09.

[10] UEFA.com. "UEFA Champions League - Geschichte". UEFA.com.

[11] "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-01-07. Retrieved 2011-12-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

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International association football
FIFA Federations Teams Competitions World Cup U-20 U-17 Olympics Youth Olympics Universiade World Rankings The Best FIFA Football Awards Timeline
Africa	CAF – Africa Cup of Nations U-23 U-20 U-17 African Nations Championship Regional (CECAFA, CEMAC, COSAFA, WAFU) Intercontinental (Arab)
Asia	AFC – Asian Cup U-23 U-19 U-16 U-14 Regional (ASEAN, EAFF, SAFF, CAFA, WAFF) Interregional (AFF-EAFF) Intercontinental (Arab)
Europe	UEFA – European Championship U-21 U-19 U-17 Nations League
North America, Central America and the Caribbean	CONCACAF – Gold Cup U-20 U-17 U-15 Nations League
Oceania	OFC – Nations Cup U-19 U-16
South America	CONMEBOL – Copa América U-20 U-17 U-15
Non-FIFA	CONIFA – CONIFA World Football Cup ConIFA European Football Cup IIGA – Island Games South American Board of New Federations (CSANF) World Unity Football Alliance (WUFA)
Games	African Games Asian Games Central America Central America and Caribbean East Asian Games Francophonie Games Indian Ocean Island Islamic Solidarity Games Lusophone Games Mediterranean Games Pan American Games Pan Arab Games Pacific Games South Asian Games Southeast Asian Games West Asian Games
See also Geography Codes Player/Club of the Century Women's football

Authority control databases
International	ISNI 2 VIAF
National	Germany United States France BnF data Japan Czech Republic Spain Portugal Norway Latvia Croatia Greece Sweden Israel Finland
Other	IdRef Yale LUX