UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations, governs football in Europe and some transcontinental/West Asian countries, comprising 55 national associations. It organizes major national and club competitions like the European Championship, Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League, managing prize money, regulations, and media rights. Due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, UEFA has suspended all Russian national teams and clubs from its competitions.
On June 15, 1954, UEFA was officially inaugurated in Basel, Switzerland, after consultation between the Italian, French, and Belgian associations with 25 members present and 31 founding associations recognized.
In 1955, the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup began.
In 1955, the UEFA Champions League started as the European Champion Clubs' Cup, initially gathering the top team of each country.
In 1958, the UEFA European Championship started, with the first finals in 1960.
In 1960, UEFA's main headquarters moved from Paris to Bern.
In 1960, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup started.
The first finals of the UEFA European Championship took place in 1960.
Until 1964, the UEFA European Championship was known as the European Nations Cup.
In 1971, UEFA launched the UEFA Europa League as a successor to both the former UEFA Cup and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
In 1973, the UEFA Super Cup was introduced, pitting the winners of the Champions League against the winners of the Europa League (previously the winners of the Cup Winners' Cup).
In 1974, Israel, which had been banned from the AFC group, was admitted to UEFA.
The Futsal European Clubs Championship, which was never recognised as official by UEFA, had a long and well-established tradition in the European futsal community dating back to 1984.
In 1995, UEFA's headquarters moved to Nyon, Switzerland.
In 1995, the UEFA Intertoto Cup, previously operated by several Central European football associations, was relaunched and recognised as an official UEFA club competition by UEFA.
In 1999, UEFA launched the UEFA Regions' Cup, for semi-professional teams representing their local region.
In 1999, UEFA opened its current headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
In 1999, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was absorbed into the UEFA Cup (now UEFA Europa League).
In 2001, UEFA's premier futsal competition, the UEFA Futsal Cup, was started, replacing the former Futsal European Clubs Championship.
The UEFA Women's Champions League competition was first held in 2001.
The last Intertoto Cup took place in 2008.
In 2009, the UEFA Women's Cup was renamed to the UEFA Women's Champions League.
Following the 2015 FIFA corruption case, the then-president of UEFA, Michel Platini, was also involved in the case, leading to a ban from football-related activity.
In December 2018, UEFA announced the creation of a third club competition, later named the UEFA Europa Conference League.
In 2018, the UEFA Nations League was introduced, largely replacing international friendly matches.
In 2019 UEFA's decision to host Europa League Cup final in Baku, Azerbaijan left Arsenal with a decision to withdraw their Armenian player Henrikh Mkhitaryan out of the competition due to safety concerns
In 2019, FC Copenhagen supporters displayed banners around the city with slogans such as "UEFA MAFIA – THE PANDEMIC OF FOOTBALL", when UEFA ordered their 2019–20 Europa League round of 16 return leg be played behind closed doors.
Since 2021, there had been discussions to create a Europa League-style second tier women's club competition.
The first edition of the UEFA Europa Conference League was played in 2021–2022.
In February 2022, UEFA's decision to partner with blockchain company Chiliz was criticised by fan groups across Europe.
The first edition of the UEFA Europa Conference League was played in 2021–2022.
Until the first staging of the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2022, Juventus of Italy was the only team in Europe to win all UEFA's official championships and cups.
In December 2023, the attempt to create a Europa League-style second tier women's club competition came to fruition, with the first edition to be played in 2025–26.
In December 2024, the name of the Europa League-style second tier women's club competition, "UEFA Women's Europa Cup", was announced.
In July 2025, UEFA sanctioned Crystal Palace F.C. and Olympique Lyonnais for breaching its multi-club ownership rules.
In August 2025, The Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected Crystal Palace’s appeal against UEFA's sanction for breaching multi-club ownership rules.
In 2025–26, the first edition of the Europa League-style second tier women's club competition is set to be played.
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