The UEFA Europa League is the second most prestigious European club tournament. The tournament was founded in the early 1970s. In 2009, it underwent a reorganisation, and in May 2010, the first final of the reformed tournament took place. The event was held at the HSH Nordbank Arena in Hamburg.
Qualification for the Europa League is achieved in two ways: based on the results of national championships (through certain prize places, which depend on the UEFA ranking) and by winning the national cup, provided that the team has not already qualified for the Champions League.
History of the Europa League
The tournament, which existed from the 1971/72 to 2008/09 seasons under the name UEFA Cup, has undergone significant changes. Until the 1998/99 season, national cup winners did not participate (there was a Cup Winners’ Cup for them). As a result of the merger of the UEFA Cup and the Cup Winners’ Cup, the name UEFA Cup was retained, and from the 2009/10 season, after a change in format, it was given its current name — UEFA Europa League.
The Fair Cities Cup is considered the predecessor of the UEFA Cup, but UEFA does not officially recognise this tournament, so victories in it are not recognised as victories in the UEFA Cup.
From the 2004/05 season, a group stage was added to the tournament, preceding the play-off stage. In 2009, as a result of the rebranding of European competitions, the UEFA Cup was merged with the Intertoto Cup, and the format of the competition was expanded to include teams from the Intertoto Cup, which begin the competition with four qualifying rounds. The winner of the Europa League has the right to participate in the UEFA Super Cup and the Champions League the following season.
Trophy
The UEFA Europa League trophy is the heaviest of all UEFA trophies, despite the fact that, unlike other cups awarded in European club competitions, it has no handles.
The UEFA Europa League trophy is awarded to the most daring and dynamic teams that win the annual final. It is the heaviest UEFA cup, weighing 15 kg. Its dimensions are: height 65 cm, width 33 cm, depth 23 cm.
The trophy, a silver cup on a yellow marble pedestal, was designed and manufactured in the Bertoni workshop in Milan. Above the pedestal, a group of players appear to be competing for the ball, but in fact the players are supporting an octagonal ‘cup’ decorated with the UEFA logo.
The original trophy remains with UEFA on a permanent basis, and the winning club is awarded a full-size replica. Any club that wins the trophy three times in a row or five times in total receives a special mark of recognition, after which the cycle starts from scratch. This happened in the 2015/16 season when Sevilla fulfilled both criteria, winning their third consecutive title and fifth overall.
Anthem
At the start of the 2015/16 season, a new UEFA Europa League anthem was unveiled. Written by Michael Kadelbach and recorded in Berlin, the anthem accompanies the centre circle ceremony at the start of all tournament matches and is also played at the start and end of all Europa League broadcasts.
The previous anthem was written by Frenchman Johann Zwieg and recorded by the Paris Opera Orchestra in autumn 2009 for the inaugural 2009/10 Europa League season.
