UEFA Europa League - Wikipedia UEFA Europa League `` Europa League '' redirects here. It is not to be confused with Euro league or European league. UEFA Europa League Founded 1971 ; 47 years ago ( 1971 ) ( rebranded in 2009 ) Region Europe ( UEFA ) Number of teams 48 ( group stage ) 8 clubs join after Champions League group stage 160 ( total ) Qualifier for UEFA Super Cup UEFA Champions League Related competitions UEFA Champions League Current champions Atlético Madrid ( 3rd title ) Most successful club ( s ) Sevilla ( 5 titles ) Television broadcasters List of broadcasters Website Official website 2018 -- 19 UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League is an annual football club competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. Clubs qualify for the competition based on their performance in their national leagues and cup competitions. Previously called the UEFA Cup, the competition has been known as the UEFA Europa League since the 2009 -- 10 season, following a change in format. For UEFA footballing records purposes, the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League are considered the same competition, with the change of name being simply a rebranding. In 1999, the UEFA Cup Winners ' Cup was abolished and merged with the UEFA Cup. For the 2004 -- 05 competition a group stage was added prior to the knockout phase. The 2009 re-branding included a merge with the UEFA Intertoto Cup, producing an enlarged competition format, with an expanded group stage and changed qualifying criteria. The winner of the UEFA Europa League qualifies for the UEFA Super Cup, and since the 2014 -- 15 season the winner of the UEFA Europa League also qualifies for the next edition of the UEFA Champions League. The winner enters at the group stage. The title has been won by 28 clubs, 12 of which have won the title more than once. The most successful club in the competition is Sevilla, with five titles. The current champions are Atlético Madrid, after defeating Marseille in the final to win the 2017 -- 18 UEFA Europa League. Contents 1 History 2 Trophy 3 Anthem 4 Format 4.1 Qualification 4.2 Background 4.3 Historical formats 4.4 Current format 4.5 Distribution ( from 2015 -- 16 ) 4.6 Format changes ( from 2018 -- 19 ) 5 Prize money 6 Sponsorship 7 Records and statistics 7.1 Winners 7.2 By nation 8 References 9 External links History The UEFA Cup was preceded by the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, which was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. The competition grew from 11 teams during the first cup ( 1955 -- 58 ) to 64 teams by the last cup which was played in 1970 -- 71. It had become so important on the European football scene that in the end it was taken over by UEFA and relaunched the following season as the UEFA Cup. The UEFA Cup was first played in the 1971 -- 72 season, with an all - English final of Wolverhampton Wanderers against Tottenham Hotspur, with Spurs taking the first honours. The title was retained by another English club, Liverpool, in 1973, who defeated Borussia Mönchengladbach in the final. Borussia would win the competition in 1975 and 1979, and reach the final again in 1980. Liverpool won the competition for the second time in 1976 after defeating Club Brugge in the final. During the 1980s, IFK Göteborg ( 1982 and 1987 ) and Real Madrid ( 1985 and 1986 ) won the competition twice each, with Anderlecht reaching two consecutive finals, winning in 1983 and losing to Tottenham Hotspur in 1984. The year 1989 saw the commencement of the Italian clubs ' domination, when Diego Maradona 's Napoli defeated Stuttgart. The 1990s started with two all - Italian finals, and in 1992, Torino lost the final to Ajax on the away goals rule. Juventus won the competition for a third time in 1993 and Internazionale kept the cup in Italy the following year. The year 1995 saw a third all - Italian final, with Parma proving their consistency, after two consecutive Cup Winners ' Cup finals. The only final with no Italians during that decade was in 1996. Internazionale reached the final the following two years, losing in 1997 to Schalke 04 on penalties, and winning yet another all - Italian final in 1998, taking home the cup for the third time in only eight years. Parma won the cup in 1999, which ended the Italian club era. Match between Lech Poznan and Deportivo La Coruña in 2008 -- 09 season. Liverpool won the competition for the third time in 2001 and Porto triumphed in the 2003 and 2011 tournaments, with the latter against Portuguese team Braga. In 2004, the cup returned to Spain with Valencia being victorious, and then Sevilla succeeded on two consecutive occasions in 2006 and 2007, the latter in a final against fellow Spaniards Espanyol. Either side of Sevilla 's success, two Russian teams, CSKA Moscow in 2005 and Zenit Saint Petersburg in 2008, had their glory and yet another former Soviet club, Ukraine 's Shakhtar Donetsk, won in 2009. Atlético Madrid would themselves win twice in three seasons, in 2010 and 2012, the latter in another all - Spanish final. In 2013, Chelsea would become the first Champions League holders to win the UEFA Cup / Europa League the following year. In 2014, Sevilla won their third cup in eight years after defeating Benfica on penalties. Just one year later, in 2015, Sevilla won their fourth UEFA Cup / Europa League, becoming the most successful club in the competition. Since the 2009 -- 10 season, the competition has been known as the UEFA Europa League. At the same time, the UEFA Intertoto Cup, UEFA 's third - tier competition, was discontinued and merged into the new Europa League. Trophy The UEFA Cup The UEFA Cup, also known as the Coupe UEFA, is the trophy awarded annually by UEFA to the football club that wins the UEFA Europa League. Before the 2009 -- 10 season, both the competition and the trophy were known as the ' UEFA Cup '. Before the competition was renamed the UEFA Europa League in the 2009 -- 10 season, the UEFA regulations stated that a club could keep the original trophy for a year before returning it to UEFA. After its return, the club could keep a four - fifths scale replica of the original trophy. Upon their third consecutive win or fifth win overall, a club could retain the trophy permanently. However, under the new regulations, the trophy remains in UEFA 's keeping at all times. A full - size replica trophy is awarded to each winner of the competition. Also a club that wins three consecutive times or five times overall will receive a multiple - winner badge. As of 2016 -- 17, only Sevilla has earned the honour to wear the multiple - winner badge, having achieved both prerequired feats in 2016. The trophy was designed and crafted by Bertoni for the 1972 UEFA Cup Final. It weighs 15 kg and is silver on a yellow marble plinth. Anthem The competition 's first anthem was composed by Yohann Zveig and recorded by the Paris Opera in early 2009. The theme for the re-branded UEFA Cup competition was first officially unveiled at the Grimaldi Forum on 28 August 2009 before the 2009 -- 10 season group stage draw. The anthem is to be played before every Europa League game at a stadium hosting such an event and also before every television broadcast of a Europa League game as a musical element of the competition 's opening sequence. A new anthem was composed by Michael Kadelbach and recorded in Berlin and was launched as part of the competition 's rebranding at the start of the 2015 -- 16 season. A new anthem created by MassiveMusic has been composed for the start of the 2018 -- 19 season. Format Qualification See also : UEFA coefficient Qualification for the competition is based on UEFA coefficients, with better entrance rounds being offered to the more successful nations. In practice, each association has a standard number of three berths, except : Nations ranked 52 and 53 ( Andorra and San Marino in the 2013 -- 14 season ), which have two berths The nation ranked 54 ( Gibraltar in the 2014 -- 15 season ) which has one berth. Liechtenstein, which qualifies only the Cup winners Usually, each country 's places are awarded to teams who finish in various runners - up places in its top - flight league and the winner of the main cup competition. Typically the teams qualifying via the league are those in the highest places not eligible for the UEFA Champions League ; however, the Belgian league awards one place via a playoff between First A and First B teams. A few countries have secondary cup competitions, but the only ones whose winners are currently granted a UEFA Europa League place are England 's and France 's. A team may qualify for European competitions through more than one route. In all cases, if a club is eligible to enter the UEFA Champions League then the Champions League place takes precedence and the club does not enter the UEFA Europa League. The UEFA Europa League place is then granted to another club or vacated if the maximum limit of teams qualifying for European competitions is exceeded. If a team qualifies for European competition through both winning a cup and league placing, the `` spare '' UEFA Europa League place will go to the highest placed league team which has not already qualified for European competition, depending on the rules of the national association, or vacated, if the described limit is reached. The top three ranked associations may qualify for the fourth berth if both the Champions League and Europa League champions are from that association and do not qualify for European competition through their domestic performance. In that case, the fourth - placed team in that association will join the Europa League instead of the Champions League, in addition to their other qualifying teams. More recently, clubs that are knocked out of the qualifying round and the group stage of the Champions League can also join the UEFA Europa League, at different stages ( see below ). Formerly, the reigning champions qualified to defend their title, but since 2015 they qualify for the Champions League. From 1995 to 2015, three leagues gained one extra place via the UEFA Respect Fair Play ranking. Background UEFA coefficients were introduced in 1980 and, until 1999, they gave a greater number of berths in UEFA Cup to the more successful nations. Three nations had four places, five nations had three places, thirteen nations had two places, and eleven nations only one place. Since 1999, a similar system has been used for the UEFA Champions League. Before 1980, the entrance criteria of the last Fairs Cup was used. Historical formats The competition was traditionally a pure knockout tournament. All ties were two - legged, including the final. Starting with the 1997 -- 98 season, the final became a one - off match, but all other ties remained two - legged. Before the 2004 -- 05 season, the tournament consisted of one qualifying round, followed by a series of knockout rounds. The sixteen non-qualifiers from the final qualifying round of the Champions League entered at the first round proper ; later in the tournament, the survivors were joined by third - place finishers from the ( first ) group phase of the Champions League. From the 2004 -- 05 season, the competition started with two knockout qualifying rounds held in July and August. Participants from associations ranked 18 and lower entered the first qualifying round with those from associations ranked 9 -- 18 joining them in the second qualifying round. In addition, three places in the first qualifying round were reserved for the UEFA Fair Play ranking winners ( until 2015 -- 16 ), and eleven places in the second qualifying round for the UEFA Intertoto Cup winners. Winners of the qualifying rounds then joined teams from the associations ranked 1 -- 13 in the first round proper. In addition, non-qualifiers in the third qualifying round of the Champions League also joined the competition at this point along with the current title - holders ( unless they had qualified for the Champions League via their national league ), for a total of 80 teams in the first round. After the first knockout round, the 40 survivors entered a group phase, with the clubs being drawn into eight groups of five each. Unlike the Champions League group phase, the UEFA Cup group phase was played in a single round - robin format, with each club playing two home and two away games. The top three teams in each of the eight groups qualified for the main knockout round along with the eight third - placed teams in the Champions League group phase. From then on a series of two - legged knockout ties were played before a single - legged final, traditionally held on a Wednesday in May, exactly one week before the Champions League final. Current format This article does not follow Wikipedia 's guidelines on the use of different tenses. Please consider copy editing to past tense if historic, present tense if not time - based ( e.g. fiction ), or future tense if upcoming. ( August 2015 ) Map of UEFA countries whose teams reached the group stage of the UEFA Europa League UEFA member country that has been represented in the group stage UEFA member country that has not been represented in the group stage In 2009 -- 10 season, the competition was rebranded as the UEFA Europa League in a bid to increase the competition 's profile. An extra 8 teams now qualify for the group stage consisting of 12 groups with four teams each ( in a double round robin ), with teams finished on the top two place in each group progressing. The competition then progresses in much the same way as the previous format, with four rounds of two - legged knockout rounds and a one - off final held at a neutral ground that meets UEFA 's Category Four stadium criteria. The final is played in May, on the Wednesday ten days before the Champions League final. Qualification has changed significantly. Associations ranked 7 -- 9 in the UEFA coefficients sent the cup winners and three ( two since 2015 -- 16 season ) other teams to the UEFA Europa League qualification, all other nations sent a Cup winners and two other teams, except Andorra and San Marino, who sent only a Cup winner and a runner - up, and Liechtenstein, who sent only a Cup winner. Since Gibraltar was accepted as a full UEFA member at the UEFA congress held in London on 24 May 2013, their Cup winner also qualified for Europa League. Usually, the other teams will be the next highest ranked clubs in each domestic league after those qualifying for the UEFA Champions League, however France and England will continue to use one spot for their League Cup winner. With the abolition of the Intertoto Cup, all participants of Europa League are qualified through domestic routes. Generally, the higher an association is ranked in the UEFA coefficients, the later its clubs start in the qualification. However, every team except for the title - holder ( up to 2014 -- 15 season ) and the highest ranked teams ( usually the cup winner and / or the best Europa League qualified team ) from the top ( six in 2012 -- 15 seasons, 12 since 2015 -- 16 season ) associations had to play at least one qualification round. Apart from the teams mentioned, an additional 15 teams eliminated in the Champions League third qualifying round are transferred to the Europa League play - off round, and the 10 losing teams in the Champions League play - off round are transferred to the Europa League group stage. The 12 winners and the 12 runners - up in the group stage advanced to the knock out round, together with eight third - placed teams from the Champions League group stage. In 2014, the distribution was changed to broaden the appeal of the competition, namely through giving the Europa League champions a Champions League qualification berth, which has been used since. More teams automatically qualify for the group stage. If cup winners had already qualified for European competition through league performance, their place through the league is vacated and goes to the best ranked teams not qualified for European competition, This means that the cup runners - up is no longer qualified through the cup route. These rules came into effect for the 2015 -- 16 season. Distribution ( from 2015 -- 16 ) Teams entering in this round Teams advancing from previous round Teams transferred from Champions League First qualifying round ( 104 teams ) 31 domestic cup winners from associations 24 -- 54 35 domestic league runners - up from associations 18 -- 53 ( except Liechtenstein ) 35 domestic league third - placed teams from associations 16 -- 51 ( except Liechtenstein ) 3 teams which qualified via Fair Play ranking ( this is no longer applicable as of the beginning of the 2015 -- 16 season, see also UEFA Respect Fair Play ranking ). Second qualifying round ( 66 teams ) 6 domestic cup winners from associations 18 -- 23 2 domestic league runners - up from associations 16 -- 17 6 domestic league fourth - placed teams from associations 10 -- 15 52 winners from first qualifying round Third qualifying round ( 58 teams ) 5 domestic cup winners from associations 13 -- 17 9 domestic league third - placed teams from associations 7 -- 15 5 domestic league fourth - placed teams from associations 5 -- 9 3 domestic league fifth - placed teams from associations 4 -- 6 ( League Cup winners for France ) 3 domestic league sixth - placed teams from associations 1 -- 3 ( League Cup winners for England ) 33 winners from second qualifying round Play - off round ( 44 teams ) 29 winners from third qualifying round 15 losers from Champions League third qualifying round Group stage ( 48 teams ) 12 domestic cup winners from associations 1 -- 12 1 domestic league fourth - placed team from association 4 3 domestic league fifth - placed teams from associations 1 -- 3 22 winners from play - off round 10 losers from Champions League play - off round Knockout phase ( 32 teams ) 12 group winners from group stage 12 group runners - up from group stage 8 third - placed teams from Champions League group stage The access list above is provisional, as changes will need to be made in the following cases : If the Champions League title holders or the Europa League title holders have qualified for the Europa League through domestic performance, their berth in the Europa League is vacated ( not replaced by another team from the same association ), and cup winners of the highest - ranked associations are moved to a later round accordingly. In some cases where changes to the access list of the Champions League are made, the number of losers of the Champions League third qualifying round which are transferred to the Europa League is increased or decreased from the default number of 15, which means changes to the access list of the Europa League will also need to be made. Because a maximum of five teams from one association can enter the UEFA Champions League, if both the Champions League title holders and the Europa League title holders are from the same top three ranked association and finish outside the top four of their domestic league, the fourth - placed team of their association will be moved to the Europa League and enter the group stage, which means changes to the access list of the Europa League may also need to be made. Format changes ( from 2018 -- 19 ) Beginning with the 2018 -- 19 tournament, all domestic champions eliminated in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League will transfer to the Europa League, rather than just teams that are eliminated in the third - qualifying and play - off rounds. Europa League qualifying will also provide a separate champions route for these teams, allowing more opportunities for domestic league champions to compete against each other. Prize money Similar to the UEFA Champions League, the prize money received by the clubs is divided into fixed payments based on participation and results, and variable amounts that depend of the value of their TV market. For the 2018 -- 19 season, group stage participation in the Europa League awarded a base fee of € 2.920, 000. A victory in the group pays € 570,000 and a draw € 190,000. Also, each group winner earns € 1,000,000 and each runner - up € 500,000. Reaching the knock - out stage triggers additional bonuses : € 500,000 for the round of 32, € 1,100,000 for the round of 16, € 1,500,000 for the quarter - finals and € 2,400,000 for the semi-finals. The losing finalists receive € 4,500,000 and the champions receive € 8,500,000. Preliminary round : € 220,000 First qualifying round : € 240,000 Second qualifying round : € 260,000 Third qualifying round : € 280,000 Play - off round elimination : € 300,000 Base fee for group stage : € 2,920,000 Group match victory : € 570,000 Group match draw : € 190,000 Group winners : € 1,000,000 Group runners - up : € 500,000 Round of 32 : € 500,000 Round of 16 : € 1,100,000 Quarter - finals : € 1,500,000 Semi-finals : € 2,400,000 Losing finalist : € 4,500,000 Winners : € 8,500,000 Sponsorship The UEFA Europa League is sponsored by four multinational corporations ; the current tournament sponsors are : Enterprise Rent - A-Car Hankook Tire Heineken International ( Amstel being the main brand, with local brands being also advertised ) Kia Motors Molten is a secondary sponsor and supplies the official match ball. Since the inception of Europa League brand, the tournament has used its own hoardings ( in that year it debuted in the round of 32 ) like UEFA Champions League. LED hoardings made their debut in the 2012 -- 13 final and will appear in 2015 -- 16 season from the round of 16 ; in the same season, from the group stage, teams are not allowed to show their sponsors. Individual clubs may wear jerseys with advertising, even if such sponsors conflict with those of the Europa League. However, only one sponsorship is permitted per jersey unless it is a non profit sponsor ( plus that of the manufacturer ), and if clubs play a match in a country where the relevant sponsorship category is restricted ( such as alcohol in the case of France ), then they must remove that logo from their jerseys. Records and statistics Main article : UEFA Cup and Europa League records and statistics See also : List of UEFA Cup and Europa League top scorers The UEFA Cup finals were played over two legs until 1997. The first final was played on 3 May 1972 in Wolverhampton and 17 May 1972 in London. The first leg between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur was won 2 -- 1 by the away side. The second leg finished as a 1 -- 1 draw, meaning that Tottenham Hotspur became the first UEFA Cup winners. The one - match finals in pre-selected venues were introduced in 1998. A venue must meet or exceed UEFA Category three standards to host UEFA Cup finals. On two occasions, the final was played at a finalist 's home ground : Feyenoord defeated Borussia Dortmund at De Kuip, Rotterdam, in 2002, and Sporting CP lost to CSKA Moscow at their own Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, in 2005. The winner of the last UEFA Cup final ( prior to the competition being rebranded as the UEFA Europa League ) was Shakhtar Donetsk on 20 May 2009. The Ukrainian team beat Werder Bremen of Germany 2 -- 1 at Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Istanbul. The first ever winner of the rebranded Europa League was Atlético Madrid, beating Premier League side Fulham 2 -- 1 after extra time. Winners Main article : List of UEFA Cup and Europa League finals Performance in the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League by club Club Winners Runners - up Years won Years runner - up Sevilla 5 0 2006, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2016 -- Liverpool 1973, 1976, 2001 2016 Juventus 1977, 1990, 1993 1995 Internazionale 1991, 1994, 1998 1997 Atlético Madrid 0 2010, 2012, 2018 -- Borussia Mönchengladbach 1975, 1979 1973, 1980 Tottenham Hotspur 1972, 1984 Feyenoord 0 1974, 2002 -- IFK Göteborg 0 1982, 1987 -- Real Madrid 0 1985, 1986 -- Parma 0 1995, 1999 -- Porto 0 2003, 2011 -- Anderlecht 1984 Ajax 1992 2017 PSV 0 1978 -- Eintracht Frankfurt 0 1980 -- Ipswich Town 0 1981 -- Bayer Leverkusen 0 1988 -- Napoli 0 1989 -- Bayern Munich 0 -- Schalke 04 0 1997 -- Galatasaray 0 2000 -- Valencia 0 -- CSKA Moscow 0 2005 -- Zenit Saint Petersburg 0 2008 -- Shakhtar Donetsk 0 2009 -- Chelsea 0 2013 -- Manchester United 0 2017 -- Benfica 0 -- 1983, 2013, 2014 Marseille 0 -- 1999, 2004, 2018 Athletic Bilbao 0 -- 1977, 2012 Espanyol 0 -- 1988, 2007 Borussia Dortmund 0 -- 1993, 2002 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 -- 1972 Twente 0 -- Club Brugge 0 -- 1976 Bastia 0 -- 1978 Red Star Belgrade 0 -- 1979 AZ 0 -- 1981 Hamburg 0 -- 1982 Videoton 0 -- 1985 Köln 0 -- 1986 Dundee United 0 -- Stuttgart 0 -- 1989 Fiorentina 0 -- 1990 Roma 0 -- 1991 Torino 0 -- 1992 Salzburg 0 -- 1994 Bordeaux 0 -- Lazio 0 -- 1998 Arsenal 0 -- 2000 Alavés 0 -- 2001 Celtic 0 -- 2003 Sporting CP 0 -- 2005 Middlesbrough 0 -- 2006 Rangers 0 -- 2008 Werder Bremen 0 -- 2009 Fulham 0 -- Braga 0 -- 2011 Dnipro 0 -- 2015 By nation Performance in Finals by nation Country Winners Runners - up Total Spain 11 5 16 Italy 9 6 15 England 8 6 14 Germany 6 8 14 Netherlands 7 Portugal 5 7 Russia 0 Sweden 0 Belgium Ukraine Turkey 0 France 0 5 5 Scotland 0 Austria 0 Hungary 0 Yugoslavia 0 TOTALS 47 47 94 Notes A. Includes West Germany clubs, no East Germany clubs appeared in a final. References Jump up ^ The top two teams in each group advance to the round of 32, where they are joined by the eight third - place teams in the Champions League group phase. ^ Jump up to : `` UEFA Cup gets new name in revamp ''. BBC Sport ( British Broadcasting Corporation ). 26 September 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2008. ^ Jump up to : `` UEFA Cup to become UEFA Europa League ''. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 26 September 2008. Archived from the original on 19 December 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` New format provides fresh impetus ''. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 15 May 2010. Jump up ^ `` UEFA Europa League History ''. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 27 April 2008. Jump up ^ `` Regulations of the UEFA Cup 2007 / 08, page 6, II Cup and Medals, Article 4, Cup '' ( PDF ). Union of European Football Associations. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 29 June 2006. Retrieved 1 August 2009. Jump up ^ `` Regulations of the UEFA Europa League 2009 / 10, page 7, III Trophies and medals, Article 5, Trophy '' ( PDF ). Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 1 August 2009. Jump up ^ `` Sevilla make it three in row at Liverpool 's expense ''. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` UEFA Europa League History ''. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 1 August 2009. Jump up ^ `` UEFA Europa League anthem makes debut ''. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 12 September 2015. Jump up ^ `` UEFA Europa League anthem ''. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015. Jump up ^ `` UEFA Europa League launches edgier brand identity ''. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 30 May 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2018. Jump up ^ `` New approach broadens Europa League appeal ''. UEFA. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` Distribution details ''. UEFA.org. 23 March 2015. Jump up ^ `` UEFA Access List 2015 / 18 with explanations '' ( PDF ). Bert Kassies. Jump up ^ `` How the Europa League winners will enter the Champions League ''. UEFA.com. 27 February 2015. Jump up ^ `` UEFA club competitions rights sales process for 2018 - 21 cycle kicks off ''. UEFA.com. 12 December 2016. Jump up ^ uefadirect 7 / 09 p. 7 Jump up ^ `` 2018 / 19 UEFA club competitions revenue distribution system ''. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 5 June 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018. Jump up ^ `` Europa League retains Enterprise backing until 2021 ''. SportsPro Media. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018. Jump up ^ `` Hankook Tire renews UEFA Europa League partnership ''. UEFA.org. UEFA. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018. Jump up ^ `` HEINEKEN extends UEFA club competition sponsorship ''. UEFA.com. Retrieved 29 May 2018. Jump up ^ `` Kia Motors and UEFA celebrate UEFA Europa League sponsorship agreement ''. UEFA.com. Retrieved 29 May 2018. Jump up ^ `` Molten becomes UEFA Europa League match ball supplier ''. UEFA.com. 23 October 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2018. Jump up ^ http://it.uefa.org/MultimediaFiles/Download/Regulations/uefaorg/Regulations/02/23/69/59/2236959_DOWNLOAD.pdf ( Page 53 ) External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League. Official website UEFA website ( archive ) UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League UEFA Cup ( 1971 -- 2009 ) Seasons 1971 -- 72 1972 -- 73 1973 -- 74 1974 -- 75 1975 -- 76 1976 -- 77 1977 -- 78 1978 -- 79 1979 -- 80 1980 -- 81 1981 -- 82 1982 -- 83 1983 -- 84 1984 -- 85 1985 -- 86 1986 -- 87 1987 -- 88 1988 -- 89 1989 -- 90 1990 -- 91 1991 -- 92 1992 -- 93 1993 -- 94 1994 -- 95 1995 -- 96 1996 -- 97 1997 -- 98 1998 -- 99 1999 -- 2000 2000 -- 01 2001 -- 02 2002 -- 03 2003 -- 04 2004 -- 05 2005 -- 06 2006 -- 07 2007 -- 08 2008 -- 09 Finals Two - legged 1972 1973 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1984 1985 1986 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1997 Single - legged 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 UEFA Europa League ( 2009 -- present ) Seasons 2009 -- 10 2010 -- 11 2011 -- 12 2012 -- 13 2013 -- 14 2014 -- 15 2015 -- 16 2016 -- 17 2017 -- 18 2018 -- 19 2019 -- 20 Finals 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Finals Winning managers Records and statistics Top scorers Performance comparison Hat - tricks Broadcasters UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League winners UEFA Cup 1971 -- 72 : Tottenham Hotspur 1972 -- 73 : Liverpool 1973 -- 74 : Feyenoord 1974 -- 75 : Borussia Mönchengladbach 1975 -- 76 : Liverpool 1976 -- 77 : Juventus 1977 -- 78 : PSV 1978 -- 79 : Borussia Mönchengladbach 1979 -- 80 : Eintracht Frankfurt 1980 -- 81 : Ipswich Town 1981 -- 82 : IFK Göteborg 1982 -- 83 : Anderlecht 1983 -- 84 : Tottenham Hotspur 1984 -- 85 : Real Madrid 1985 -- 86 : Real Madrid 1986 -- 87 : IFK Göteborg 1987 -- 88 : Bayer Leverkusen 1988 -- 89 : Napoli 1989 -- 90 : Juventus 1990 -- 91 : Internazionale 1991 -- 92 : Ajax 1992 -- 93 : Juventus 1993 -- 94 : Internazionale 1994 -- 95 : Parma 1995 -- 96 : Bayern Munich 1996 -- 97 : Schalke 04 1997 -- 98 : Internazionale 1998 -- 99 : Parma 1999 -- 2000 : Galatasaray 2000 -- 01 : Liverpool 2001 -- 02 : Feyenoord 2002 -- 03 : Porto 2003 -- 04 : Valencia 2004 -- 05 : CSKA Moscow 2005 -- 06 : Sevilla 2006 -- 07 : Sevilla 2007 -- 08 : Zenit St. Petersburg 2008 -- 09 : Shakhtar Donetsk UEFA Europa League 2009 -- 10 : Atlético Madrid 2010 -- 11 : Porto 2011 -- 12 : Atlético Madrid 2012 -- 13 : Chelsea 2013 -- 14 : Sevilla 2014 -- 15 : Sevilla 2015 -- 16 : Sevilla 2016 -- 17 : Manchester United 2017 -- 18 : Atlético Madrid UEFA competitions Football National teams European Championship U-21 U-19 U-17 Nations League Women 's Championship U-19 U-17 Meridian Cup ( defunct ) Clubs Champions League Europa League Super Cup Youth League Cup Winners ' Cup ( defunct ) Intertoto Cup ( defunct ) Intercontinental Cup ( defunct ) Intercontinental Champions ' Supercup ( defunct ) Women 's Champions League Amateurs Regions ' Cup Amateur Cup ( defunct ) Futsal National teams Futsal Championship U-21 ( defunct ) U-19 Women 's Futsal Championship Clubs Futsal Champions League UEFA club competitions Records and statistics Winning teams Winning managers UEFA coefficient International men 's club football FIFA FIFA Club World Cup List of association football clubs Africa CAF -- Champions League Confederation Cup Super Cup Top - division clubs Asia AFC -- Champions League AFC Cup Top - division clubs Europe UEFA -- Champions League Europa League Super Cup Top - division clubs North, Central America and the Caribbean CONCACAF -- Champions League CONCACAF League Top - division clubs Oceania OFC -- Champions League Top - division clubs South America CONMEBOL -- Copa Libertadores Copa Sudamericana Recopa Sudamericana Top - division clubs See also : International women 's club football European sport club competitions Football UEFA competitions Men Champions League Europa League Super Cup Youth League Women Champions League Football variants Futsal Champions League Beach soccer Euro Winners Cup Women 's Euro Winners Cup Basketball Men EuroLeague EuroCup Champions League FIBA Europe Cup Women EuroLeague EuroCup SuperCup Volleyball Men Champions League CEV Cup Challenge Cup Women Champions League CEV Cup Challenge Cup Handball Men Champions League EHF Cup Challenge Cup Women Champions League EHF Cup Challenge Cup Water polo Men Champions League Euro Cup Super Cup Women Euro League LEN Trophy Super Cup Rugby union Men European Rugby Champions Cup European Rugby Challenge Cup European Rugby Continental Shield Ice hockey Men Champions Hockey League Continental Cup Women Champions Cup Field hockey Men Euro Hockey League Trophy Challenge Women Champions Cup Trophy Challenge Cup Winners Cup Roller hockey Men European League CERS Cup Continental Cup Women European Cup Table tennis Men and women Champions League ETTU Cup Badminton Mixed Europe Cup Baseball Men European Cup Softball Men European Cup Cup Winners Cup Women European Cup Cup Winners Cup Mixed Super Cup Korfball Mixed Korfball Europa Cup American football Men BIG6 European Football League European Football League EFAF Cup EFAF Challenge Cup EFAF Atlantic Cup Athletics Men and women Champion Clubs Cup Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country Chess Men European Chess Club Cup Women European Chess Club Cup Rugby League Men European Super League Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=UEFA_Europa_League&oldid=853161355 '' Categories : UEFA Europa League UEFA club competitions Recurring sporting events established in 1971 Multi-national association football leagues in Europe Hidden categories : Pages using deprecated image syntax All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from February 2018 Wikipedia articles with incorrect tenses Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia Use dmy dates from October 2010 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikinews Afrikaans Aragonés Azərbaycanca تۆرکجه বাংলা Беларуская Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ Български Boarisch Bosanski Català Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Føroyskt Français Gaeilge Galego 한국어 Հայերեն हिन्दी Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano עברית Basa Jawa ქართული Қазақша Kurdî Latviešu Lietuvių Magyar Македонски മലയാളം Malti मराठी مصرى Bahasa Melayu Монгол Nederlands नेपाली 日本 語 Napulitano Norsk Norsk nynorsk Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча Polski Português Qaraqalpaqsha Română Русский Scots Shqip Sicilianu Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina کوردی Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska தமிழ் ไทย Türkçe Українська Vèneto Tiếng Việt 粵語 中文 70 more Edit links This page was last edited on 2 August 2018, at 20 : 46 ( UTC ). 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Question: when did the uefa cup change to the europa league
Answer: the 2009–10 season