Real Madrid is the most successful club in the tournament's history, having won it 13 times, including its first five seasons and also three in a row from 2016 to 2018. The competition has been won by 22 clubs, 13 of which have won it more than once and eight successfully defended their title. England has the largest number of winning teams, with five clubs having won the title. Spanish clubs have the highest number of victories (18 wins), followed by England (14 wins) and Italy (12 wins).
The winner of the Champions League qualifies for the following year's Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. The eight group winners and eight runners-up proceed to the knockout phase that culminates with the final match in late May or early June. The 32 teams are drawn into eight groups of four teams and play each other in a double round-robin system. The six surviving teams enter the group stage, joining 26 teams qualified in advance. In its present format, the Champions League begins in late June with a preliminary round, three qualifying rounds and a play-off round, all played over two legs. Clubs that finish next-in-line in their national league, having not qualified for the Champions League, are eligible for the second-tier UEFA Europa League competition, and from 2021, teams not eligible for the UEFA Europa League will qualify for a new third-tier competition called the UEFA Europa Conference League. It has since been expanded, and while most of Europe's national leagues can still only enter their champion, the strongest leagues now provide up to four teams. The competition took on its current name in 1992, adding a round-robin group stage in 1991 and allowing multiple entrants from certain countries since the 1997–1998 season. Introduced in 1955 as the Coupe des Clubs Champions Européens (French for European Champion Clubs' Cup), and commonly known as the European Cup, it was initially a straight knockout tournament open only to the champions of Europe's domestic leagues, with its winner reckoned as the European club champion. It is one of the most prestigious football tournaments in the world and the most prestigious club competition in European football, played by the national league champions (and, for some nations, one or more runners-up) of their national associations. The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competition winners through a round robin group stage to qualify for a double-legged knockout format, and a single leg final. Recent exploits in the Europa League and Champions League by both Rangers and Celtic have seen this season's champions all-but guaranteed group stage football.Football tournament UEFA Champions League This would take the place of the conventional coefficient point route which has been strengthened in recent years by Scottish Premiership sides. The top eight sides after those 10 games will qualify directly for the last 16 while teams in ninth to 24th place go into play-offs to compete for the other eight spots.Ĭontroversially, the proposals will also see two clubs granted spots in the new-look Champions League based on historic performance. To sign up, simply enter your email address into the link here.Īnd if you aren't already, make sure you join the conversation over on our Facebook groups and Record Sport Instagram.
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