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
This page details statistics of the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League. Unless notified these statistics concern all seasons since inception of the UEFA Cup in the 1971–72 season, including qualifying rounds.[1] The UEFA Cup replaced the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in the 1971–72 season, so the Fairs Cup is not considered a UEFA competition, and hence clubs' records in the Fairs Cup are not considered part of their European record.[2]
Clubs from eleven countries have provided tournament winners. Spanish clubs have been the most successful, winning a total of fourteen titles. Italy and England are second with nine each, while the other multiple-time winners are Germany with seven, Netherlands with four, and Portugal, Sweden and Russia with two each. The only other countries to provide a tournament winner are Belgium, Ukraine, and Turkey. France, Scotland, Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Austria have all provided losing finalists.
Clubs from a total of 53 European cities have participated in the tournament final. Clubs from 27 cities have provided winners, with the clear city leaders being Sevilla and Madrid (seven and five respectively).
All-time top 25 UEFA Cup and Europa League rankings
As of 22 May 2024[5]
Note: Clubs ranked on theoretical points total (2 points for a win, 1 point for draw, results after extra time count, all matches that went to penalties count as draw). Includes qualifying matches.
Number of participating clubs by country of the Europa League era
The following is a list of clubs that have played in the Europa League group stage.
Season in Bold: Team qualified for knockout phase that season
Number of participating clubs in the group stage of the UEFA Cup era
Team in Bold: qualified for knockout phase
Club appearances
Performance review
By semi-final appearances
Consecutive appearances
As of 12 December 2023
Bold = Ongoing streak Italics = Currently in Champions League, but may still drop down to Europa League
Undefeated champions
The only teams in UEFA Cup history to win the tournament undefeated are:
Until 1997, the UEFA Cup was the only European club competition which routinely allocated multiple entrants to many countries. This has led to several finals featuring two clubs from the same country:
During the 1979–80 season, West Germany had five entrants including cup holders Borussia Mönchengladbach. All five managed to reach the quarter-final stage and both semi-finals ended up being all West German affairs. Ultimately, Eintracht Frankfurt defeated Borussia Mönchengladbach in the final. No West German club that season was eliminated by a non-German club.
During the 1997–98 season, France had seven entrants: Strasbourg as winner of French Coupe de la Ligue, Nantes as third-placed team from French Division 1, FC Girondins de Bordeaux as fourth-placed team from French Division 1, Metz as fifth-placed team from French Division 1, and also Auxerre, Bastia and Lyon as 1997 UEFA Intertoto Cup Group winners. Nevertheless, only one, Auxerre, reach the quarter-finals, where they were eliminated by Lazio.
Two clubs have managed to win consecutive UEFA Cups/Europa Leagues: Real Madrid in 1985 and 1986, and Sevilla (twice) in 2006 and 2007 and then again in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Entering both the Champions League and/or its qualifying rounds and the UEFA Cup in the same season has now become so common that a separate statistic of all clubs having done so in three or more consecutive seasons may be of interest (the means of entering the UEFA Cup is indicated in the last column in chronological order, G denoting group stage, q denoting qualifying round):
Several times, winning the UEFA Cup was a club's only chance to qualify for European competition in the next season. A win by such a mid-table (and non-domestic-cup-winning) club then led to an extra place in the UEFA Cup (or an extra place in the UEFA Champions League since 2015) for the country in question. The following clubs managed to save their season by winning the UEFA Cup:
2. 80,465 – Tottenham Hotspur 2–2 Gent, 23 February 2017, Round of 32 second leg
3. 79,468 – Barcelona 2–3 Eintracht Frankfurt, 14 April 2022, Quarter-finals second leg
4. 75,180 – Manchester United 1–1 Liverpool, 17 March 2016, Round of 16 second leg
5. 75,138 – Manchester United 1–1 Celta Vigo, 11 May 2017, Semi-finals second leg
Sources:[7]
Individuals' goals
Most goals in a single match
The record for most goals scored in a single match across all UEFA Cup/Europa League seasons is held by Eldar Hadžimehmedović, after he scored six goals for Lyn against NSÍ Runavík in the 2003–04 qualifying round.[8]
^"UEFA Europa League statistics handbook". UEFA.com. 1 June 2022.
^"uefa.com - UEFA - News & Features - News Specific". August 14, 2002. Archived from the original on 2002-08-14.
^Saffer, Paul (18 May 2016). "Reyes's fifth win: top UEFA club cup winners". UEFA. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
^Stone, Simon (26 May 2021). "Villarreal 1–1 Manchester United (11–10 on pens): David de Gea spot kick saved in epic Europa League final shootout". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
^"All-time records 1971–2023" (PDF). UEFA. 19 September 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 December 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
^"Dortmund set record group stage crowd". UEFA.com. 17 September 2015.
^"Tottenham-Gent beats #UEL attendance record". UEFA.com. 23 February 2017.
^"Lyn 6-0 NSI Runavik". WhoScored. 11 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
^"Europa League: Aritz Aduriz hits five in Athletic Bilbao win". BBC. 3 November 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
^ a b"UEFA Europa League Statistics Handbook 2016/17" (PDF). uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. p. 13. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 December 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
^"UEFA Europa League all-time top scorers". UEFA.com. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
^"Europa League – All-time Topscorers". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
^"Europa League – All-time appearances". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
Bibliography
UEFA (2022). "1. Facts & figures". UEFA Europa League Statistics Handbook 2022/23 (PDF). 2022–23 Season Update
UEFA (2022b). "2. Finals". UEFA Europa League Statistics Handbook 2022/23 (PDF). 2022–23 Season Update
UEFA (2022c). "3. All-time records 1971–2023". UEFA Europa League Statistics Handbook 2022/23 (PDF). 2022–23 Season Update