With the exception of the small Alpine nation of Liechtenstein, all UEFA members run their own domestic league system. That is European football.īayern Munich became the only German club to truly master Europe’s complex system when it won the Bundesliga, DFB Cup and UEFA Champions League, as well as the Supercup, under Jupp Heynckes in 2012/13. Imagine if all 50 US states, plus territories like Guam and Puerto Rico, had their own governing bodies deciding how their soccer leagues – consisting of numerous levels – should operate. For some people, that's like having Australia compete in Eurovision… Some, such as Kazakhstan, are not geographically recognized as being in Europe. Some of those are not even sovereign nations, such as Gibraltar and the Faroe Islands, while sovereign states like Monaco and the Vatican City are not represented. There are 55 national association members in UEFA. This has created a range of differing leagues, as well as qualification processes for the UEFA Champions League and Europa League.

Although governing body UEFA oversees continental competitions, individual nations are able to operate their domestic leagues and cups in a manner best suited to the country. The structure of European football is complex. How is European soccer structured with leagues and cup competitions? What are the rules and regulations of soccer?.

What happend to soccer