“European Champions League ” and “European Cup” divert here. For different purposes, see Champions League and European Cup.
The UEFA Champions League (abridged as UCL) is a yearly club affiliation football rivalry coordinated by the League of European Football Affiliations (UEFA) that is challenged by top-division European clubs. The opposition starts with a cooperative league stage to meet all requirements for the twofold legged knockout rounds, and a solitary leg last. It is the most-watched club contest on the planet and the third most-watched football rivalry generally, behind just the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European Title. It is one of the most renowned football competitions on the planet and the most esteemed club rivalry in European football, played by the public League champions (and, for certain countries, at least one sprinters up) of their public affiliations.
Presented in 1955 as the European Top dog Clubs’ Cup (French: Car des Clubs Champions Européens), and normally known as the European Cup, it was at first a straight knockout competition open just to the bosses of Europe’s homegrown League, with its victor figured as the European club champion. The opposition took on its flow name in 1992, adding a cooperative gathering stage in 1991 and permitting different contestants from specific nations since the 1997-98 season. While just the victors of a large number of Europe’s public associations can enter the opposition, the main 5 associations by coefficient give four groups each naturally, with an opportunities for extra spots in view of execution during the past season. Clubs that completion beneath the passing spots are qualified for the second-level UEFA Europa League rivalry, and starting around 2021, for the third-level UEFA Gathering League.
In its current organization, the Champions League starts toward the beginning of July with three qualifying adjusts and a play-off round, all played more than two legs. The seven enduring groups enter the League stage, joining 29 groups qualified ahead of time. The 36 groups each play eight adversaries, four home and four away. The 24 most elevated positioned groups continue to the knockout stage that comes full circle with the last match in late May or early June. The victor of the Champions League naturally fits the bill for the next year’s Champion League, the UEFA Super Cup, the FIFA Intercontinental Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.
Spanish clubs have the most triumphs (20 successes), trailed by Britain (15 successes), Italy (12 successes), Germany (8 successes), Netherlands (6 successes) and Portugal (4 successes). Britain has the most winning groups, with six clubs having come out on top for the championship. The opposition has been won by 23 clubs and 13 of them have won it at least a couple of times. Real Madrid is the best club in the competition’s set of experiences, having won it multiple times. Madrid is the main club to have won it multiple times in succession (the initial five versions). Just a single club has won all of their matches in a solitary competition on the way to the competition triumph: Bayern Munich in the 2019-20 season. Real Madrid is the ongoing European boss, having beaten Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the 2024 last for their fifteenth title.
