This article details performances of English football clubs in international competitions.
International competitions European competitions With 52 UEFA club competition trophies won, English football clubs are the second-most successful in European football, behind only Spain (67). In the top-tier, the UEFA Champions League, a record six English clubs have won a total of 15 titles and lost a further 12 finals, behind Spanish clubs with 20 and 11, respectively. In the second-tier, the UEFA Europa League, English clubs are second, with eleven victories and nine losses in the finals. In the former second-tier UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, English teams won a record eight titles and had a further five finalists. In the non-UEFA organized Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, English clubs provided four winners and four runners-up, the second-most behind Spain with six and three, respectively. In the newly created third-tier UEFA Conference League, English clubs have a record three titles so far. In the former fourth-tier UEFA Intertoto Cup, England won four titles and had a further final appearance, placing it fifth in the rankings, although English clubs were notorious for treating the tournament with disdain, either sending "B" squads or withdrawing from it altogether.Risolo, Don (2010). Soccer Stories: Anecdotes, Oddities, Lore, and Amazing Feats p.109. U of Nebraska Press. Retrieved 29 February 2012. In the single-tie UEFA Super Cup, England has ten winners and twelve runners-up, the second-most behind Spain with 17 and 15, respectively.
Heysel ban English teams have participated in UEFA competitions every year except for 1955–56 and the years between 1985 and 1990, when in the aftermath of the Heysel Stadium disaster all English clubs were banned from Europe by UEFA; Liverpool, who had been playing at the Heysel Stadium against Italian side Juventus, were banned for six years, until 1991.
Intercontinental competitions English clubs made a total of six appearances in the single-tie Intercontinental Cup organized by UEFA and CONMEBOL, winning only one of them, and withdrew a further three times. Despite its international status of the Club World Championship, English teams did not take the competition seriously enough. English clubs have won the FIFA-organized Club World Cup five times, the second-most behind only Spain, with eight.Risolo, Don (2010). Soccer Stories: Anecdotes, Oddities, Lore, and Amazing Feats p.109. U of Nebraska Press. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
Upton Park represented Great Britain in the football tournament at the 1900 Summer Olympics, which at that time was organized solely by the International Olympic Committee, and won the gold medal.
Other competitions Prior to the establishment of official UEFA competitions in the 1950s, England had been pioneers in early continental football, organizing the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy, which was won by West Auckland when they defeated Juventus in 1909. In 1969, due to the non-top-flight Swindon Town winning the Football League Cup, the Anglo-Italian League Cup was created to allow alternative European football outside UEFA regulations. It continued off-and-on until 1976.
Qualification for UEFA competitions From the 2021–22 season, the various permutations allow for a maximum of five English clubs to qualify for the UEFA Champions League, three for the UEFA Europa League and one for the UEFA Conference League. From the 2018–19 season, the top four clubs in Europe's four highest ranked leagues qualify directly to the group stage. These nations are currently England, Germany, Italy, and Spain. The minimum quota is for four English clubs to qualify for the UEFA Champions League and two for the UEFA Europa League.
CompetitionWho qualifiesNotesUEFA Champions League group stagePremier League 1stPremier League 2ndPremier League 3rdPremier League 4thUEFA Champions League winnersSince the 2015–16 season, the UEFA Champions League winners gain entry to the UEFA Champions League in the group stages.UEFA Europa League winnersPrior to the 2015–16 season, there was a limit of four clubs from each association entering the Champions League. If a club outside of England's top four won the Champions League, the 4th placed club would be demoted to the Europa League in the following season. This occurred in the 2011–12 season when Chelsea won the Champions League but only finished sixth in the Premier League. They replaced the fourth-placed team Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League, who were demoted to the Europa League.
From the 2018–19 season, the UEFA Europa League winners gain entry to the UEFA Champions League in the group stage.
Also from that season, if English clubs win both the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, and neither finish the Premier League in a position that qualifies them for the UEFA Champions League, the following will happen: The club that won the UEFA Champions League will go straight into the group stage The UEFA Europa League winners will go into the UEFA Champions League group stage The club that finished fourth in the Premier League will transfer into the UEFA Europa League group stageUEFA Europa League group stageFA Cup winners or Premier League 6thIf the FA Cup winners qualify for the UEFA Champions League or the UEFA Europa League via the domestic league or European performance, by Regulation 3.04, the highest ranking non-qualified league club qualifies, taking the lowest Europa League spot (the League Cup spot – the League Cup inherits the League spot, and the League inherits the FA Cup spot).Premier League 5thUEFA Conference League winnersUEFA Conference League play-off roundLeague Cup winners or Premier League 6th/7thIf the League Cup winners have already qualified for Europe through other means, then the next highest-finishing Premier League club gets this placeUEFA Europa League first qualifying roundPremier League club with the best UEFA Fair Play ranking that has not already qualified for Europe, but only if England has one of the top three positions and has a fair play score of above eight.As of 2015, Fair Play no longer earns this Europa League spot. Instead, such teams will be awarded in cash prizes, with the money to be spent on related initiatives.
Wales-based clubs Note that some Football League clubs are not based in England. Because they are members of the Football Association of Wales (FAW), the question of which country clubs like Cardiff City and Swansea City should represent in European competitions has caused long-running discussions in UEFA. Despite being a member of the FAW, Swansea took up one of England's three available places in the UEFA Europa League in 2013–14, thanks to winning the League Cup in 2012–13. The right of Welsh clubs to take up such English places was in doubt until UEFA clarified the matter in March 2012.
Title winners Liverpool are the most successful English and British team internationally with fourteen honours, winning the most prestigious Champions League six times, also English and British records. A full list of winners is below.
English clubs by number of international honours Club Number of titlesEuropean competitions Intercontinental competitions Total European Cup/Champions League UEFA Cup/Europa League Conference League Cup Winners' Cup Intertoto Cup Super Cup Inter-Cities Fairs Cup FIFA Club World Cup Intercontinental Cup Olympic Games Liverpool 6 3 4 1 14 Chelsea 2 2 1 2 2 2 11 Manchester United 3 1 1 1 1 1 8 Aston Villa 1 1 1 1 4 Manchester City 1 1 1 1 4 Tottenham Hotspur 3 1 4 Nottingham Forest 2 1 3 West Ham United 1 1 1 3 Arsenal 1 1 2 Leeds United 2 2 Newcastle United 1 1 2 Ipswich Town 1 1 Crystal Palace 1 1 Everton 1 1 Fulham 1 1 Upton Park 1 1Total151138410451162
Chronology European Cup/Champions League UEFA Cup/Europa League Conference League Cup Winners' Cup Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Super Cup FIFA Club World Cup Intercontinental Cup Intertoto Cup Olympic Games 2022–23 – Manchester City 2025–26 – Aston Villa 2025–26 – Crystal Palace 1997–98 – Chelsea 1970–71 – Leeds United 2023 – Manchester City 2025 – Chelsea 1999 – Manchester United 2006 – Newcastle United 1900 – Upton Park 2020–21 – Chelsea 2024–25 – Tottenham Hotspur 2024–25 – Chelsea 1993–94 – Arsenal 1969–70 – Arsenal 2021 – Chelsea 2023 – Manchester City 2002 – Fulham 2018–19 – Liverpool 2018–19 – Chelsea 2022–23 – West Ham United 1990–91 – Manchester United 1968–69 – Newcastle United 2019 – Liverpool 2021 – Chelsea 2001 – Aston Villa 2011–12 – Chelsea 2016–17 – Manchester United 1984–85 – Everton 1967–68 – Leeds United 2005 – Liverpool 2019 – Liverpool 1999 – West Ham United 2007–08 – Manchester United 2012–13 – Chelsea 1970–71 – Chelsea 2001 – Liverpool 2008 – Manchester United 2004–05 – Liverpool 2000–01 – Liverpool 1969–70 – Manchester City 1998 – Chelsea 1998–99 – Manchester United 1983–84 – Tottenham Hotspur 1964–65 – West Ham United 1991 – Manchester United 1983–84 – Liverpool 1980–81 – Ipswich Town 1962–63 – Tottenham Hotspur 1982 – Aston Villa 1981–82 – Aston Villa 1975–76 – Liverpool 1979 – Nottingham Forest 1980–81 – Liverpool 1972–73 – Liverpool 1977 – Liverpool 1979–80 – Nottingham Forest 1971–72 – Tottenham Hotspur 1978–79 – Nottingham Forest 1977–78 – Liverpool 1976–77 – Liverpool 1967–68 – Manchester United
Full record Note: Clubs in bold won the corresponding competition that season.
European Cup/UEFA Champions League
English clubs have won the competition fifteen times and been runners-up on twelve occasions.