UEFA Europa League

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The competition was introduced in 1971 as the UEFA Cup, replacing the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. A group stage was added in the 2004–05 season. It took its current name in 2009, following a format change that included a merger with the UEFA Intertoto Cup. In 2024–25, the group stage was replaced by a 36-team league phase. The most successful club is Sevilla, with seven titles. Aston Villa are the current holders, having beaten SC Freiburg 3–0 in the 2026 final.

In Their Own Story

The final took place on May 24, 2017, at Friends Arena in Solna, Stockholm. Police had implemented strict security measures due to the threat of terrorist attacks and potential clashes between supporters, describing the situation as "the new normality" following two incidents in Stockholm in 2010 and just a month prior to the match. The opening ceremony was considerably reduced, with a minute's silence observed before kickoff in memory of the victims of the bombing in Manchester that occurred only two days earlier. For administrative purposes, Ajax was designated as the "home" team following a draw held on April 21, 2017, and wore their new home kit. Manchester United wore their outgoing away (European third) kit. The match began with Paul Pogba opening the scoring for Manchester United in the 18th minute. His low left-footed shot from just outside the penalty area deflected off Davinson Sánchez, wrong-footing the goalkeeper before looping over him into the net. Three minutes into the second half, Henrikh Mkhitaryan secured the victory with a right-footed finish from three yards out after Chris Smalling knocked the ball down to him following a corner from Juan Mata. The match ended 2–0 to Manchester United. Wayne Rooney entered the game minutes before the final whistle, took the captain's armband, and led his team to lift the trophy in what was his final game for United before returning to Everton less than two months later.

Reader's Guide

Winners qualify for the following season's UEFA Super Cup and UEFA Champions League. They have also occasionally played matches against the winners of the CONMEBOL Copa Sudamericana in the UEFA–CONMEBOL Club Challenge, most recently in 2023.

Did You Know?

• Ajax won the UEFA Cup in 1992, defeating Torino on the away goals rule in the final.
• The trophy was designed by Silvio Gazzaniga, who also designed the FIFA World Cup Trophy.