Union of European Football Associations, better known by its acronym as UEFA according to AbbreviationFinder, is an organization that represents the majority of the national football associations in Europe, runs the national and club competitions in its area, and controls the prize money, regulations and media rights to competitions. Due to the border dispute between Europe and Asia, transcontinental countries, such as Turkey, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia and Russia, are members of UEFA rather than the AFC, as are Israel and Cyprus, which are entirely in Asia (Israel and Kazakhstan former AFC members). There are members who do not represent sovereign states, such as the Faroe Islands, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (Ireland FA). However, no unrecognized nation is a member of UEFA, with Monaco being the only member of the European UN that is not a member of UEFA.
History
UEFA was founded on 15 of June of 1954 in Basel, Switzerland, after talks between the associations of French, Italian and Belgian football. The headquarters were in Paris until 1959, when the organization moved to Bern. Henri Delaunay was the first Secretary General and Ebbe Schwartz the president. Its administrative center is located in Nyon, Switzerland, since 1995. It was initially made up of 25 national associations. There are currently 53 associations. UEFA national teams have won ten Soccer World Cups ([Italy] 4, Germany 3, England, France and Spain, one trophy each), and UEFA clubs have won 21 Intercontinental Cups and four Club World Cups. In the women’s game, the UEFA teams have won three World Cups (Germany 2, Norway 1) and an Olympic gold medal (Norway).
Associations
53 national football associations belong to UEFA, representing all independent states within the European continent, with the exception of Monaco and Vatican City, plus three states of the Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia), Israel, Kazakhstan, Cyprus and Turkey. It is important to mention that the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) participate separately (this exception only occurs in football and rugby), and that the autonomous archipelago of Faroe Islands compete independently of Denmark.
| · Albania· Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan
· Bulgaria · Denmark · Finland · Greece · Israel · Liechtenstein · malt · North Ireland · Romania · Serbia · Sweden · Welsh · Andorra · Belarus · Croatia · England |
· France· Hungary
· Italy · Lithuania · Moldova · Norway · Russia · Slovakia · Switzerland · Armenia · Belgium · Cyprus · Estonia · Georgia · Iceland · Kazakhstan · Luxembourg · Montenegro |
· Poland· San Marino
· Slovenia · Turkey · Austria · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Czech Republic · Faroe Islands · Germany · Republic of Ireland · Latvia · Macedonia · Netherlands · Portugal · Scotland · Spain · Ukraine |
Competitions
Selection tournaments
Men’s Tournaments
- UEFA qualification for the Soccer World Cup.
- Eurocup: tournament started in 1958, with the first finals in 1960, and known as the European Cup of Nations until 1964, it is the main tournament for national men’s teams.
- European Under-21 Championship.
- UEFA European Under-19 Championship.
- UEFA European Under-17 Championship.
- Meridian Cup with CAF for young teams from Europe and Africa.
- UEFA Regions ‘Cup, for non-professional players’ teams.
- UEFA Amateur Cup, disputed between 1967 and 1978 for the amateur teams.
- UEFA Futsal Championship: European championship of futsal teams.
Women’s Tournaments
- UEFA Women’s Championship
- UEFA European Women’s Under-19 Championship
- UEFA European Women’s Under-17 Championship
Club tournaments
- UEFA Champions League: (UEFA Champions League), competition played for the first time in 1955 under the name “European Champions Clubs’ Cup” until 1991.
- UEFA Europa League: competition instituted by UEFA in 1971 with the name “UEFA Cup” (UEFA Cup) as the successor to the Fairs Cup, a competition not affiliated with the European confederation and, therefore, not considered among the ‘UEFA competitions’ (UEFA club competitions)
- UEFA Super Cup: competition established in 1973, between the winner of the European Cup of Champions Clubs-UEFA Champions League and that of the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup (since 1999 it was replaced by the winner of the UEFA Cup-UEFA Europa League)
- UEFA Cup Winners ‘Cup (1961-1999): also known as the “European Cup Winners’ Cup”, it was a competition reserved for champion clubs of national cup tournaments.
- UEFA Intertoto Cup (1995 – 2008): competition established by UEFA in 1995 as the successor to the Karl Rappan Cup, a competition not affiliated with the European confederation.
- Intercontinental Cup (1960- 2004): Also known as “European-South American Cup” (European-South American Cup) or, since 1980, as “Copa Toyota” (Toyota Cup), was organized jointly by the European Union of Football Associations and the South American Football Confederation and reserved for the winner of the European Cup of Champions Clubs-UEFA Champions League and the winner of the Copa Libertadores de América. This tournament is considered the precursor to the FIFA Club World Championship.
Other tournaments
- UEFA Women’s Champions League for women’s football clubs.
- UEFA Futsal Cup: European futsal club championship.
