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Previously called the UEFA Cup, the competition as of June 2009 for the 2009 10 football season is now the Europa League, following a change in format. For UEFA footballing records purposes, the Europa League and UEFA Cup are considered the same competition, with the change of name being simply a rebranding. The competition replaced the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup; however, for UEFA records purposes, the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup is not recognised as the direct predecessor of the UEFA Cup. 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 knock out stage. The 2009 rebranding included a merge with the UEFA Intertoto Cup, producing an enlarged competition format, with an expanded group stage and changed qualifying criteria. AtlΓ©tico Madrid of Spain are the current champions of the competition, having beaten English side Fulham in the 2010 final on 12 May 2010, the first time the competition was known as the UEFA Europa League. The most successful clubs in the competition are Internazionale, Juventus and Liverpool with three titles apiece. |
