The Champions League is one of the top soccer tournaments in the world. It is run by UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations, one of six regional member confederations that make up FIFA, the sport’s global governing body. The competition is played by the champion clubs (and, in some cases, runners-up) of national leagues from across Europe.
The tournament’s first edition was held in 1955-56 as the European Cup, and it grew to include teams from more nations as the years went by. It was later renamed as the Champions League, and it has remained in the same basic format since then.
During the league phase, a team’s points earned in home-and-away games determine their ranking and placement in each group. The highest-ranked teams from each group advance to the knockout phase, which begins in February or March.
In the knockout phase, two-legged games against one another determine the winner of each tie. The team that scores more goals over the course of both legs—a process known as aggregation—advances to the next round.
Real Madrid has dominated the Champions League in recent years, winning nine titles between 1992-93 and 2023-24 to lead all teams. The other teams with multiple championship wins in the history of the tournament include Liverpool (England), Bayern Munich (Germany) and AC Milan (Italy). Some of the greatest names in football have lifted the trophy, including Johan Cruyff, Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi.