The Europa League is the most winnable major trophy in European soccer, and the history backs it up. Sevilla have lifted it seven times, Unai Emery has won it five times across three different clubs, and Aston Villa added their name in May 2026 after three decades without a major honor. A club outside Europe’s financial elite can build an entire season around this trophy, which is something the Champions League almost never allows.
Why this trophy sits within reach
The simplest reason is the entry pool. The Europa League gathers 36 teams in its league phase, and most of them are mid table sides from the big five leagues, domestic cup winners from mid sized countries, and clubs that dropped out of Champions League qualifying. The continental superpowers are somewhere else.
That changes what a strong season looks like. In the Champions League, a well run club with a $200 million squad is fighting Real Madrid and Bayern Munich for the same prize. In the Europa League, that same club is often the wealthiest team in the draw.
- Clubs to have won the UEFA Cup or Europa League: 29
The trophy has also spread widely. Sides from eleven different countries have won it, and the list includes Ipswich Town, Galatasaray, Zenit Saint Petersburg, Shakhtar Donetsk and Villarreal. Very few competitions in world soccer have that kind of spread.
How the league phase changed the math
Since 2024/25, the Europa League has used the same structure as the Champions League. All 36 clubs sit in one table, each plays eight games against eight different opponents, and the top eight advance directly to the round of 16. Teams ranked ninth through twenty fourth go into a two legged knockout playoff.
That format rewards consistency over a single hot night. A team that wins five or six of its eight league phase matches earns a seeded path and avoids an extra two game round in February, which matters enormously for squads juggling a domestic title race or a relegation fight.
For the 2026/27 season, the league phase runs from September 16 through January 28, with most matchdays landing on Thursday. The knockout rounds then stretch from February to the final in May.
The Champions League prize that changed everything
The single biggest reason clubs now take this competition seriously is what sits on the other side of the final. Since the 2014/15 season, the Europa League winner qualifies automatically for the following season’s Champions League. The champion also earns a place in the UEFA Super Cup against the Champions League holders.
- Guaranteed Champions League place for the winner since: 2015
That rule turned the Europa League into a second door into Europe’s richest competition. A club sitting eighth in its domestic league in March can still reach the Champions League by winning six knockout games, and the prize money attached to a deep run adds tens of millions on top.
Manchester United proved the point in 2017, when a sixth place Premier League finish still ended in Champions League qualification. Aston Villa reached the 2026 final with a top five domestic finish already secured, which turned the trophy into pure upside.
The Sevilla blueprint
No club has understood this competition like Sevilla. Seven titles between 2006 and 2023, including three in a row from 2014 to 2016, built on a recruitment model that sold stars every summer and reloaded with undervalued replacements.
- Sevilla record in Europa League finals: 7 wins from 7
Their method was repeatable. Prioritize the competition openly, rotate heavily in the league, treat Thursday nights as the season’s centerpiece rather than a burden, and lean on the experience of players who had already won knockout ties in that environment.
Unai Emery took that philosophy with him. Three titles at Sevilla, one at Villarreal in 2021, and one at Aston Villa in 2026 make him the most decorated manager in the history of the competition, with five.
- Europa League titles won by Unai Emery: 5
What Aston Villa’s 2026 win says about the modern Europa League
Villa beat Freiburg 3 to 0 in the Istanbul final on May 20, 2026, with John McGinn supplying the assist for Emiliano Buendía’s second goal. It was the club’s first Europa League title and their second European trophy after the 1982 European Cup.
The run mattered beyond the silverware. Villa entered as favorites, played like it, and confirmed the pattern that defines this tournament in the current era. A Premier League club with real depth, a manager who understands the rhythm of Thursday soccer, and a clear priority almost always beats a squad discovering European knockout pressure for the first time.
What it means going forward
The competition is getting stronger, not weaker. Bigger clubs keep falling into it, whether through Champions League playoff defeats or domestic underperformance, and the financial reward for winning makes every serious contender treat it as a genuine objective.
For American viewers, that makes the Europa League one of the best value watches in soccer. The games are on Thursday afternoons in the US, the knockout rounds are packed with clubs on the edge of something historic, and the storylines arrive with less noise than the Champions League.
Frequently asked questions
Who has won the most Europa League titles? Sevilla, with seven. They won in 2006, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020 and 2023, and they have never lost a final in the competition.
Does the Europa League winner qualify for the Champions League? Yes. Since the 2014/15 season, the champion earns an automatic place in the following season’s Champions League league phase, plus a UEFA Super Cup appearance.
How many teams play in the Europa League? 36 clubs compete in the league phase, each playing eight matches. The top eight advance straight to the round of 16, while teams ranked ninth to twenty fourth enter a knockout playoff round.
Where can I watch the Europa League in the US? Paramount+ streams every Europa League match live in English through CBS Sports, with selected games on CBS Sports Network and free coverage on the CBS Sports Golazo Network. Spanish language coverage is split between TelevisaUnivision platforms and DAZN.