Competitions
Football competitions cover the leagues, cups and tournaments that structure the season. This section explains how the main competitions work, how teams qualify between them, and how international football fits alongside the club game.
This section explains the main football competitions and how they fit together, from the World Cup through to domestic leagues and cups.
Football competitions split broadly into two halves — international football, played between national teams, and club football, played between clubs. Club football itself runs in three layers: national leagues and cups within a country, continental competitions between clubs from across a confederation, and global competitions that bring together leading clubs from different confederations.
The pages in this section start at that broad level and work down to specific competitions. The introduction covers how leagues, cups and tournaments work in general. From there, dedicated pages cover the World Cup, major continental national-team tournaments, leading club competitions across the world, and the women's game alongside them.
These are the best pages to read first to understand how football competitions fit together.
A selection of the most-followed competitions in the section, from international tournaments and European club football to the major domestic leagues and the women's game. They are good places to go once the overviews above make sense.
The biggest tournament in football. It is held every four years between senior men’s national teams from around the world, bringing countries from every confederation together to compete for a single global title.
Read about the World CupUEFA's main international tournament for European national teams, commonly known as the Euros. Held every four years, it brings together Europe's leading national sides to decide the continental champions.
Read about the EurosThe top club competition in European football. It is contested by 36 clubs from across the continent, with qualifying rounds beginning in summer and the main league phase running from September to January before the knockout rounds decide the champions in late May or early June.
Read about the Champions LeagueThe second-tier club competition in European football, sitting below the Champions League and above the Conference League. It uses the same 36-team league phase as the Champions League and gives its winners a route into the following season's Champions League.
Read about the Europa LeagueThe top division of English football, contested by 20 clubs across a 38-game season that runs from August to May. It is one of the world's most-watched football leagues and sits at the top of the English football pyramid, above the Championship, League One and League Two.
Read about the Premier LeagueThe top division of Spanish football, contested by 20 clubs across a 38-game season from August to May. It is one of the strongest leagues in the world and the home of two of football's most successful clubs — Real Madrid and Barcelona. Their rivalry, known as El Clásico, is one of the league's defining fixtures and gives Spanish domestic football much of its global profile.
Read about La LigaThe top division of German football, contested by 18 clubs across a 34-game season from August to May. The league is known for its distinctive member-control model — the 50+1 rule — its high stadium attendances, and the long-term dominance of Bayern Munich, who have won most of the league's titles since its founding in 1963.
Read about the BundesligaThe top division of Italian football, contested by 20 clubs in a 38-match season from August to May. The modern national league dates to 1929-30, apart from its interruption during World War II, and is home to several of European football's most decorated clubs. The champions each season wear the scudetto — a small tricolour shield — on their shirts the following year.
Read about Serie AThe oldest national football competition in the world, first contested in 1871-72 and held in most seasons since, except during the two World Wars. It is open to hundreds of clubs across the professional leagues and the National League System, from Premier League giants to non-league sides. The competition culminates each May with a single-match final at Wembley Stadium, one of the showpiece fixtures in the English football calendar.
Read about the FA CupThe most important competition in women's football. Held every four years since 1991, it currently brings together 32 national teams in a month-long tournament that crowns the world champions of women's international football, with expansion to 48 teams approved from 2031. The United States are the most successful team with four titles, while Spain are the reigning champions after their 2023 win in Australia and New Zealand.
Read about the Women's World CupOnce you understand the competitions, the next step is usually to explore the history behind them or look up specific terms.
