EURO 2008 Qualifying
Union des Associations Européennes de Football (UEFA)
UEFA - the Union of European Football Associations - is the governing body of football on the continent of Europe. UEFA’s core mission is to promote, protect and develop European football at every level of the game, to promote the principles of unity and solidarity, and to deal with all questions relating to European football.
UEFA / uefa.com / uefa website / uefa logo / european football / football in europe / uefa associations / uefa competitions / uefa cups
UEFA Stands for the Union of European
Football Associations. European football’s
governing body is one of six confederations
that form the global football federation,
FIFA. It comprises 52 national associations,
from Albania to Wales. UEFA was founded on
15 June 1954 in Basle, Switzerland. Its headquarters
were in Paris until 1959, when they
moved to Berne, Switzerland. UEFA has been
based in Nyon, near Geneva, since 1995.
The UEFA president, currently Lennart
Johansson, also acts as vice-president of
FIFA.
UEFA Chief Executives
* France - Henri Delaunay (1954 - 55)
* France - Pierre Delaunay (1955 - 60)
* Switzerland - Hans Bangerter (1960 - 89)
* Germany - Gerhard Aigner (1989 - 2003)
* Sweden - Lars-Christer Olsson (2003-)
UEFA Presidents
* Denmark - Ebbe Schwartz (1954-62)
* Switzerland - Gustav Wiederkehr (1962-72)
* Italy - Artemio Franchi(1972-83)
* France - Jacques Georges (1983-90)
* Sweden - Lennart Johansson (1990-)
UEFA International Competitions
The main competition for men's national teams is the European Football Championship, started in 1958, with the first finals in 1960, and known as the European Nations Cup until 1964. UEFA also runs national competitions at Under-21, Under-19 and Under-17 levels. For women's national teams, UEFA operates the UEFA Women's Championship for senior national sides and the UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship at under-19 level.
UEFA also organises the UEFA/CAF Meridian Cup with CAF for youth teams.
In futsal there is the UEFA Futsal Championship.
UEFA Club Competitions
UEFA also runs the two main club competitions in Europe: the UEFA Champions League was first held in 1955, and was known as the European Champion Clubs Cup (or just European Cup) until 1991; and the UEFA Cup, for national knockout cup winners and high-placed league teams, was launched by UEFA in 1971 as a successor to the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (also begun in 1955). A third competition, the Cup Winners' Cup, started in 1960 and was absorbed into the UEFA Cup in 1999. Only four teams have won each of the three competitions, a feat that is no longer possible for any team that did not win the Cup Winners' Cup. There are currently ten teams throughout Europe that have won two of the three trophies; all have won the Cup Winners Cup and six require a win in the Champions League and four require a UEFA Cup win.
The UEFA Super Cup, which pits the winners of the Champions League against the winners of the UEFA Cup (previously the winners of the Cup Winners' Cup), came into being in 1973.
The UEFA Intertoto Cup is a summer competition, previously operated by several Central European football associations, which was relaunched by UEFA in 1995 as a qualifying competition for the UEFA Cup. Recently, UEFA launched the UEFA Regions Cup, for semi-professional teams. UEFA also conducts the UEFA Women's Cup for women's club teams.
In futsal there is the UEFA Futsal Cup.
The European/South American Cup was jointly organised with CONMEBOL between the Champions League and the Copa Libertadores winners.
UEFA World Cup Qualifiers
* 1930 - Belgium, France, Romania, Yugoslavia
* 1934 - Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
* 1938 - Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland
* 1950 - England, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Yugoslavia
* 1954 - Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, England, France, Hungary, Italy, Scotland, Switzerland, Turkey, West Germany, Yugoslavia
* 1958 - Austria, Czechoslovakia, England, France, Hungary, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, USSR, Wales, West Germany, Yugoslavia
* 1962 - Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, England, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, USSR, West Germany, Yugoslavia
* 1966 - Bulgaria, England, France, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, USSR, West Germany
* 1970 - Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, England, Italy, Romania, Sweden, USSR, West Germany (plus Israel, who qualified as member of AFC)
* 1974 - Bulgaria, East Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Scotland, Sweden, West Germany, Yugoslavia
* 1978 - Austria, France, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, West Germany
* 1982 - Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, England, France, Hungary, Italy, Northern Ireland, Poland, Scotland, Spain, USSR, West Germany, Yugoslavia
* 1986 - Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, England, France, Hungary, Italy, Northern Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, USSR, West Germany
* 1990 - Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, England, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, USSR, West Germany, Yugoslavia
* 1994 - Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
* 1998 - Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Scotland, Spain, Yugoslavia FR
* 2002 - Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey
* 2006 - Croatia, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Serbia and Montenegro, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Ukraine
Union des Associations Européennes de Football
Route de Genève 46
NYON 2 1260
Switzerland
Tel:+41-848/00 27 27
Fax:+41-848/01 27 27