Champions League Information

The UEFA Champions League (which used to be named and is often still called the European Cup) is an annual club football competition organized by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for the most successful football clubs in Europe. It is one of the most prestigious club trophies in the sport along with South America's Copa Libertadores. It has a global audience of more than a billion people.

The tournament was inaugurated in 1955 at the suggestion of the French sports journalist and L'Équipe editor Gabriel Hanot, as a competition for winners of the European national football leagues under the name of the European Cup, but since the 1992–1993 season the competing teams have been the top performing domestic teams of Europe and the tournament has been renamed the UEFA Champions League, though some teams competing have never been champions in their respective countries. The UEFA Champions League is not to be confused with the UEFA Cup, the secondary championship for European club teams, or with the now defunct Cup Winners Cup.