UEFA Champions League, commonly known as the UCL, is a club competition between Europe’s top football teams. Teams qualify based on performance in their domestic leagues and other criteria. The tournament is organized by UEFA, one of the six regional member confederations that make up soccer’s global governing body, FIFA.
The UCL began life as the European Champion’s Cup in 1955, and the trophy is now arguably one of the most prestigious trophies in world sport. It has been won by the likes of Johan Cruyff, Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi.
By the time the championship was rebranded in 1992, it had become a regular feature on midweek television schedules throughout Europe and ranked alongside national team competitions in popularity. Its development owed much to the forces of greater European integration (as evidenced by both the Maastricht Treaty and the Single European Act) but also to the globalising influence of commercialism and television.
From 2024/25 the competition was revamped with a new format, replacing the group stage with a so-called league phase, where teams are ranked in order and placed into groups. A draw system determines the pairings in this phase, and each club plays eight other clubs – four at home and four away.
After the league phase, the competition continues in a traditional knockout format, with quarter-finals and semi-finals (both two legged) and a final, which is typically held at a venue chosen prior to the season.