The Europa League, formerly known as the UEFA Cup, was first introduced in 1971 as a tournament for European football clubs that didn't qualify for the European Cup (now known as the Champions League). The competition has gone through several format changes over the years, including the addition of a group stage in 2004 and the merger with the Cup Winners' Cup in 1999.

Today, the Europa League features 48 teams in the group stage, divided into 12 groups of four. Each team plays the other three teams in their group twice, once at home and once away. The top two teams from each group advance to the knockout rounds, where they are joined by eight teams that finished third in their respective Champions League groups.

The knockout rounds are played over two legs, with the team that scores the most goals over the two legs advancing to the next round. In the event of a tie, away goals are used as a tiebreaker. If the teams are still tied after away goals, the match goes to extra time and potentially penalties.

The final is played at a predetermined neutral venue, with the winner qualifying for the following season's Champions League. The Europa League has also been a route to the Champions League for the winner of the competition since 2015, with the winner qualifying directly for the group stage of the following season's Champions League.

As mentioned earlier, Sevilla FC is the most successful club in the competition's history, having won the tournament a record six times. Other notable winners include Juventus, Liverpool, Inter Milan, and Atletico Madrid