History of UEFA in Timeline

UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations, is a continental governing body for football, futsal, and beach soccer in Europe and several transcontinental/West Asian countries. Comprising 55 national association members, it organizes major club and national team competitions like the Champions League and European Championship. Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, UEFA, in conjunction with FIFA, suspended all Russian national teams and clubs from its competitions.

June 1954: UEFA Inauguration

UEFA was officially inaugurated on June 15, 1954, in Basel, Switzerland, following consultations between the Italian, French, and Belgian associations, with 31 founding members.

1955: UEFA Champions League Started

In 1955, the UEFA Champions League started as the European Champion Clubs' Cup, initially gathering the top team of each country.

1955: Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Started

The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, a predecessor to the UEFA Europa League, began in 1955.

1958: UEFA European Championship Started

In 1958, the UEFA European Championship started and was known as the European Nations Cup until 1964.

1960: Headquarters moved to Bern

In 1960, UEFA's main headquarters moved from Paris to Bern.

1960: UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Started

In 1960, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup started.

1960: First UEFA European Championship Finals

In 1960, the first UEFA European Championship finals were held.

1964: Name Changed to UEFA European Championship

In 1964, the European Nations Cup was renamed to the UEFA European Championship.

1971: UEFA Europa League Launched

In 1971, UEFA launched the UEFA Europa League as a successor to both the former UEFA Cup and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.

1973: UEFA Super Cup came into being

In 1973, the UEFA Super Cup, which pits the winners of the Champions League against the winners of the Europa League (previously the winners of the Cup Winners' Cup), came into being.

1974: Israel admitted to UEFA

In 1974, Israel, having been banned from the AFC group, was admitted to UEFA.

1984: Futsal European Clubs Championship

In 1984 the Futsal European Clubs Championship began but was never recognised as official by UEFA.

July 1988: UEFA Plaque received by Juventus

On July 12, 1988 Juventus of Italy received The UEFA Plaque by the Union of European Football Associations for being the only team in Europe to win all UEFA's official championships and cups.

1995: Headquarters moved to Nyon

In 1995, UEFA's headquarters moved to Nyon, Switzerland.

1995: UEFA Intertoto Cup Relaunched

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.

1999: UEFA Regions' Cup Launched

In 1999, UEFA launched the UEFA Regions' Cup, a competition for semi-professional teams representing their local region.

1999: Current Headquarters opened in Nyon

In 1999, UEFA opened its current headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

1999: UEFA Cup Winners' Cup absorbed into UEFA Cup

In 1999, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was absorbed into the UEFA Cup (now UEFA Europa League).

2001: UEFA Futsal Cup Started

In 2001, UEFA's premier futsal competition, the UEFA Futsal Cup, a tournament which replaced the former Futsal European Clubs Championship was started.

2001: UEFA Women's Cup First Held

In 2001, the UEFA Women's Champions League for club teams was first held as the UEFA Women's Cup.

2008: Last Intertoto Cup

In 2008, the last Intertoto Cup took place.

2009: UEFA Women's Cup Renamed

In 2009, the UEFA Women's Cup was renamed the UEFA Women's Champions League.

2015: Michel Platini Involved in 2015 FIFA Corruption Case

In 2015, following the 2015 FIFA corruption case, the then-president of UEFA, Michel Platini, was also involved in the case and was banned from football-related activity.

September 2016: Aleksander Čeferin elected as UEFA President

In September 2016, Aleksander Čeferin, former Football Association of Slovenia president, was elected as UEFA's seventh president at the 12th Extraordinary UEFA Congress in Athens, and automatically became a vice-president of FIFA.

2016: UEFA Mafia

In 2016, dissatisfied fans referred to the organization as UEFA mafia, including during the Serbia v Albania (UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying) match.

December 2018: UEFA announced creation of the UEFA Europa Conference League

In December 2018, UEFA announced the creation of a third club competition, later named the UEFA Europa Conference League.

2018: UEFA Nations League Introduced

In 2018, the UEFA Nations League was introduced as the second tournament of UEFA, largely replacing international friendly matches.

2019: "UEFA MAFIA – THE PANDEMIC OF FOOTBALL"

In 2019 F.C. Copenhagen supporters displayed banners 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, despite reduced capacity being allowed by the Danish government.

2019: Europa League Cup final in Baku

In 2019 UEFA's decision to host Europa League Cup final in Baku, Azerbaijan left one of the finalists, Arsenal, with a decision to withdraw their Armenian player Henrikh Mkhitaryan out of the competition due to safety concerns

2021: Discussions started for a Europa League-style second tier women's club competition

In 2021, discussions started for the creation of a Europa League-style second tier women's club competition.

2021: First edition of the UEFA Europa Conference League was played

In 2021, the first edition of the UEFA Europa Conference League was played.

February 2022: UEFA partnered with Chiliz

In February 2022, UEFA's decision to partner with blockchain company Chiliz was criticized by fan groups across Europe.

February 2022: UEFA suspends Russia

In February 2022, due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, UEFA suspended the participation of Russia from its competitions.

2022: Suspension of Russian teams

In 2022, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, FIFA and UEFA suspended all Russian national teams and clubs from any FIFA and UEFA competitions.

2022: First edition of the UEFA Europa Conference League

In 2022, the first edition of the UEFA Europa Conference League was played.

2022: Juventus was the only team to win all UEFA's official championships and cups until the first staging of the UEFA Europa Conference League

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.

September 2023: Ban lifted for Russia U-17 team

In September 2023, UEFA lifted the ban for the Russia U-17 team, enabling them to complete in the 2024 Euro U-17.

December 2023: Europa League-style second tier women's club competition attempt came to fruition

In December 2023, the attempt to create a Europa League-style second tier women's club competition came into fruition, with the first edition of the competition to be played in 2025–26.