The Za Lužánkami Stadium ( Czech : Stadion Za Lužánkami ) is a closed stadium in Brno , Czech Republic . It was primarily used for football , and was the home ground of FC Zbrojovka Brno . It held up to 50,000 people.
62-515: The stadium was constructed between 1949 and 1953 and was the biggest stadium in Czechoslovakia during the 1960s and 1970s. Za Lužánkami holds the record for the highest attendance in the Czech First League , set in a match between Brno and Slavia Prague during the 1996–97 Czech First League season. It was closed in 2001 after 1. FC Brno moved to Městský fotbalový stadion Srbská . The club
124-592: A Europa League game as a musical element of the competition's opening sequence. The competition's first anthem was composed by Yohann Zveig and recorded by the Paris Opera in early 2009. The theme for the re-branded UEFA Cup competition was first officially unveiled at the Grimaldi Forum on 28 August 2009 before the 2009–10 season group stage draw. A new anthem was composed by Michael Kadelbach and recorded in Berlin and
186-711: A change in qualifying criteria. The winner of the UEFA Europa League qualifies for the UEFA Super Cup , for the following season's UEFA Champions League since the 2014–15 season, entering at the group stage, as well as for the UEFA–CONMEBOL Club Challenge — a friendly cup against the winners of the CONMEBOL Copa Sudamericana — since 2023. In the 2024–25 season, the group stage was replaced with an expanded league phase. Spanish clubs have
248-568: A cup winner). Since Gibraltar was accepted as a full UEFA member at the 24 May 2013 UEFA Congress in London, their cup winner also qualified for the Europa League. Although the other teams were the next-highest-ranked in each domestic league (after those qualifying for the UEFA Champions League), France and England continued to use one spot for their league-cup winners. With the abolition of
310-561: A greater number of berths in UEFA Cup to the more successful nations. Three nations had four places, five nations had three places, thirteen nations had two places, and eleven nations only one place. Since 1998, a similar system has been used for the UEFA Champions League . Before 1980, the entrance criteria of the last Fairs Cup was used. The competition was traditionally a pure knockout tournament. All ties were two-legged , including
372-501: A match at Za Lužánkami. FC Zbrojovka Brno's youth team currently train near the stadium, which is rented out to supporters group Verime Zbrojovce, and plans have been unveiled for a £40 million overhaul. However, it has since returned to its abandoned and overgrown state. Stadion Za Lužánkami has hosted one friendly match of the Czech Republic national football team Czech First League The Czech First League , known as
434-500: A multiple-winner badge. As of 2016–17 , only Sevilla has earned the honour to wear the multiple-winner badge, having achieved both of the prerequisites in 2016 . The trophy was designed and crafted by Silvio Gazzaniga , who also designed the FIFA World Cup Trophy , working for Bertoni , for the 1972 UEFA Cup Final . It weighs 15 kg (33 lb) and is silver on a yellow marble plinth. 67 centimetres (26 in) tall,
496-401: A round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final (all of the knockout games except the final are played over two legs). The league phase consists of each team playing a total of eight matches, with four at home and four away. The top eight teams from the league phase receive a bye to the round of 16, while the teams ranked 9th to 24th contest the knockout play-offs with the winners advancing to
558-460: A standard number of three berths (across both the Europa League and the Conference League), except: Usually, each country's places are awarded to teams who finish in various runners-up places in its top-flight league and the winner of the main cup competition . Typically the teams qualifying via the league are those in the highest places not eligible for the UEFA Champions League ; however,
620-494: A third year in a row beating Liverpool in the 2016 final, making them the most successful team in the history of the competition with five titles. Atlético won their third title in 2018. The 2019 all-London final between Chelsea and Arsenal was the first UEFA Cup/Europa League final between two teams from the same city. Sevilla added a record-extending sixth victory in 2020, after defeating Inter Milan , and won an unprecedented seventh title in 2023. The UEFA Cup, also known as
682-601: Is no longer qualified through the cup berth. These rules became effective for the 2015–16 season. Beginning with the 2018–19 tournament , all domestic champions eliminated in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League will transfer to the Europa League, rather than just teams that are eliminated in the third-qualifying and play-off rounds. Europa League qualifying will also provide a separate champions route for these teams, allowing more opportunities for domestic league champions to compete against each other. If
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#1733093160253744-418: The 2020 final . The era of the 2000s began with victory for Galatasaray , the first Turkish team to win the trophy, defeating Arsenal . Liverpool won the competition for the third time in 2001. In 2002, Feyenoord became winners for the second time, defeating Borussia Dortmund . Porto triumphed in the 2003 and 2011 tournaments, with the latter victory against fellow Portuguese side Braga . In 2004,
806-561: The 2024–25 season, the winner of the Europa League can no longer defend their title as they automatically qualify for the Champions League league phase and teams cannot be transferred from that phase to the Europa League. From 1995 to 2015, three leagues gained one extra place via the UEFA Respect Fair Play ranking . The format involves a league phase and a knockout phase consisting of preliminary knockout play-offs, followed by
868-561: The 2024–25 Czech First League . In 1997 the league started a sponsorship deal with Pilsner Urquell Brewery and became known as the Gambrinus liga (after the company's Gambrinus beer ). In 2008, the sponsorship was extended until the end of the 2013–14 season. In May 2014, the league announced a four-year sponsorship deal with betting firm Synot, becoming the Synot liga . However, in January 2016
930-517: The Belgian league awards one place via a playoff between First A and First B teams. Before its discontinuation in 2020–21, France offered a place to the winners of the Coupe de la Ligue . A team may qualify for European competitions through more than one route. In all cases, if a club is eligible to enter the UEFA Champions League then the Champions League place takes precedence and the club does not enter
992-640: The Chance liga for sponsorship reasons, is a Czech professional league for football clubs. At the top of the Czech football league system , it is the country's primary football competition. Seasons typically run from August to May, most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays with few games played on Fridays. All Chance liga clubs qualify for the Czech Cup . The history of the Czech football league began with its reorganization for
1054-521: The Coupe UEFA , is the trophy awarded annually by UEFA to the football club that wins the UEFA Europa League. Before the 2009–10 season , both the competition and the trophy were known as the 'UEFA Cup'. Before the competition was renamed the UEFA Europa League in the 2009–10 season , the UEFA regulations stated that a club could keep the original trophy for a year before returning it to UEFA. After its return,
1116-491: The Czech National Football League . Due to positive tests for Covid-19 in the 2019–20 season the relegation group was abandoned. The league announced that due to time pressure the relegation group would remain unfinished and as a consequence, no team could be relegated. As the winner of the second league should be promoted, and to avoid playing the 2020–21 season with an odd number of teams, automatic promotion
1178-475: The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup , which was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. The competition grew from 11 teams during the first edition ( 1955–58 ) to 64 teams by the last edition which was played in 1970–71 . It was replaced by the UEFA Cup, a new seasonal confederation competition with different regulations, format and disciplinary committee. The UEFA Cup was first played in
1240-458: The Intertoto Cup , all participants in the Europa League are qualified through domestic routes. The higher an association is ranked in the UEFA coefficients, the later its members begin the qualification. However, every team except for the title-holder (until the 2014–15 season) and the highest-ranked (the cup winner or the best Europa League-qualified) from the top (six from 2012 to 2015, 12 since
1302-553: The UEFA Conference League . Introduced in 1971 as the UEFA Cup, it replaced the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup . The UEFA Cup was the third-tier European club competition from 1971 to 1999 before the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was discontinued, and it is still often referred to as the "C3" in reference to this. Clubs qualify for the competition based on their performance in their national leagues and cup competitions. In 1999 ,
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#17330931602531364-562: The UEFA Fair Play ranking winners (until 2015–16), and eleven places in the second qualifying round for the UEFA Intertoto Cup winners. Winners of the qualifying rounds then joined teams from the associations ranked 1–13 in the first round proper. In addition, non-qualifiers in the third qualifying round of the Champions League also joined the competition at this point along with the current title-holders (unless they had qualified for
1426-453: The (first) group stage of the Champions League. From the 2004–05 season, the competition started with two knockout qualifying rounds held in July and August. Participants from associations ranked 18 and lower entered the first qualifying round with those from associations ranked 9–18 joining them in the second qualifying round. In addition, three places in the first qualifying round were reserved for
1488-496: The 1971–72 season, and ended with an all-English final between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur , with Spurs taking the first honours. The competition has since gained greater prestige and interest from the mass media than the Fairs Cup. The title was retained by another English club, Liverpool , in 1973, who defeated Borussia Mönchengladbach in the final. Gladbach won the competition in 1975 and 1979, and reached
1550-474: The 1990s was in 1996. Internazionale reached the final the following two years, losing in 1997 to Schalke 04 on penalties, and winning another all-Italian final in 1998, taking home the cup for the third time in only eight years. Parma won the cup in 1999, the last win of the Italian-domination era. It was the last UEFA Cup/Europa League final appearance for any Italian club until Internazionale reached
1612-668: The 1993–94 season following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia and therefore the league became the successor of the Czechoslovak League . Thirty-five clubs have competed in the Czech First League since its founding. Sparta Prague has won the title 14 times, the most among Czech clubs and are the reigning champions. Other clubs that were crowned as champions are Slavia Prague , Slovan Liberec , Baník Ostrava and Viktoria Plzeň . Based on performances in European competitions over
1674-421: The 2015–16 season) associations had to play at least one qualification round. Except for the teams mentioned, all teams eliminated in the Champions League preliminary round, qualifying rounds and play-off round were transferred to the Europa League. The 12 winners and runners-up in the group stage advanced to the knockout round, with eight third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage. The distribution
1736-419: The Champions League via their national league), for a total of 80 teams in the first round. After the first knockout round, the 40 survivors entered a group stage, with the clubs being drawn into eight groups of five each. Unlike the Champions League group stage, the UEFA Cup group stage was played in a single round-robin format , with each club playing two home and two away games. The top three teams in each of
1798-417: The Champions League, in addition to their other qualifying teams. More recently, clubs that are knocked out of the qualifying round and (prior to 2024–25) the group stage of the Champions League can also join the UEFA Europa League, at different stages (see below). Formerly, the reigning champions qualified for the Europa League to defend their title, but since 2015 they qualify for the Champions League. From
1860-520: The Czech First League. Europa League The UEFA Europa League (previously known as the UEFA Cup ), abbreviated as UEL , is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It is the second-tier competition of European club football , ranking below the UEFA Champions League and above
1922-461: The Europa League from 2021 onwards. With a majority of the former entrants into the Europa League now participating solely in the UECL, the Europa League itself would have a greatly reduced format which will focus primarily around its group stage. There would also be an additional knockout round before the knockout phase proper, allowing for third-placed teams in the Champions League group stage to fall into
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1984-515: The Europa League title holders already qualified for the Champions League group stage via their domestic league, the following changes to the access list would be made: The announcement of the UEFA Europa Conference League , a tertiary competition which would serve to split off the lower-ranked teams in the Europa League to give them a greater chance to compete, included a document from UEFA listing their intentions for qualification to
2046-470: The Europa League while still keeping the knockout stage itself at only 16 teams total. Changes would be made if the Europa Conference League title holders qualified through their league position: Changes will be made to the access list above if the Europa League or Conference League title holder qualifies for the tournament via their domestic leagues. Similar to the UEFA Champions League,
2108-464: The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was merged with the UEFA Cup and discontinued as a separate competition. From the 2004–05 season a group stage was added before the knockout phase. The competition took on its current name in 2009 , following a change in format. The 2009 re-branding included a merge with the UEFA Intertoto Cup , producing an enlarged competition format, with an expanded group stage and
2170-417: The UEFA Europa League. The UEFA Europa League place is then granted to another club or vacated if the maximum limit of teams qualifying for European competitions is exceeded. If a team qualifies for European competition through both winning a cup and league placing, the "spare" UEFA Europa League place will go to the highest placed league team which has not already qualified for European competition, depending on
2232-524: The Wednesday ten days before the Champions League final. Qualification changed significantly. Associations ranked 7–9 in the UEFA coefficients sent the cup winners and three (two since the 2015–16 season) other teams to the UEFA Europa League qualification; all other nations sent a cup winner and two other teams, except for Andorra and San Marino (who sent a cup winner and a runner-up) and Liechtenstein (who sent only
2294-400: The club could keep a four-fifths scale replica of the original trophy. Upon their third consecutive win or fifth win overall, a club could retain the trophy permanently. Under the new regulations, the trophy remains in UEFA's keeping at all times. A full-size replica trophy is awarded to each winner of the competition. A club that wins three consecutive times or five times overall will receive
2356-594: The commencement of the Italian clubs' domination, when Diego Maradona 's Napoli defeated VfB Stuttgart . The 1990s started with two all-Italian finals, and in 1992, Torino lost the final to Ajax on the away goals rule . Juventus won the competition for a third time in 1993. Inter Milan kept the cup in Italy in 1994. 1995 saw a third all-Italian final, with Parma proving their consistency after two consecutive Cup Winners' Cup finals. The only final with no Italians in
2418-421: The company announced that their deal would conclude at the end of the 2015–16 season. In July 2016 a new two-year sponsorship deal was announced, with the league partnering ePojisteni.cz, an online insurance company. The league subsequently became known as the ePojisteni.cz liga . Due to a government subsidy scandal and the arrest of FAČR chairman Miroslav Pelta [ cs ] , ePojisteni.cz terminated
2480-450: The contract prematurely in May 2017. The league was then renamed HET liga for the 2017–18 season, after paint manufacturer HET. In October 2016, FAČR , League Football Association and Czech betting company Fortuna signed a 6-year partnership deal. In accordance with this deal, the Czech First League will be called Fortuna liga from the 2018–19 season. In April 2024, a new partnership deal
2542-450: The cup is formed by a base with two onyx discs in which a band with the flags of the UEFA member nations is inserted. The lower part of the sculpture symbolises the stylised footballers and is surmounted by a hand-embossed slab. A musical theme for the competition, the Anthem, is played before every Europa League game at a stadium hosting such an event and before every television broadcast of
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2604-423: The cup returned to Spain with Valencia being victorious. CSKA Moscow won in 2005. Sevilla succeeded on two consecutive occasions in 2006 and 2007, the latter in a final against fellow Spaniards Espanyol . Zenit Saint Petersburg won in 2008. Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk , won in 2009, the first Ukrainian side to do so. Since the 2009–10 season, the competition was rebranded as the UEFA Europa League. At
2666-454: The eight groups qualified for the main knockout round along with the eight third-placed teams in the Champions League group stage. From then on a series of two-legged knockout ties were played before a single-legged final, traditionally held on a Wednesday in May, exactly one week before the Champions League final. In the 2009–10 season , the competition was rebranded as the UEFA Europa League to raise its profile. Eight more teams qualified for
2728-533: The final in 1980. Feyenoord won the cup in 1974 after defeating Tottenham Hotspur 4–2 on aggregate (2–2 in London, 2–0 in Rotterdam). Liverpool won the competition for the second time in 1976 after defeating Club Brugge in the final. During the 1980s, IFK Göteborg (1982 and 1987) and Real Madrid (1985 and 1986) won the competition twice each, with Anderlecht reaching two consecutive finals, winning in 1983 and losing to Tottenham Hotspur in 1984. 1989 saw
2790-441: The final. Starting with the 1997–98 season , the final became a one-off match, but all other ties remained two-legged. Before the 2004–05 season , the tournament consisted of one qualifying round, followed by a series of knockout rounds. The sixteen non-qualifiers from the final qualifying round of the Champions League entered at the first round proper; later in the tournament, the survivors were joined by third-place finishers from
2852-630: The fourth-placed or fifth-placed (it depends on the result of the Czech Cup and on the Czech coefficient rankings between European football leagues) of the championship group to determine who will participate in the Europa League . The teams from 11th to 16th position play in the same format as the championship group. The team finishing in 16th position is relegated directly to the Czech National Football League , while teams in 15th and 14th places play relegation play-offs against teams finishing 2nd and 3rd in
2914-412: The group stage, which consisted of 12 groups with four teams each (in a double round-robin); the top two teams in each group advanced. The competition was then similar to the previous format, with four rounds of two-legged knockout rounds and a one-off final held at a neutral ground which met UEFA's Category Four stadium criteria . Matches are generally played on Thursdays. The final was played in May, on
2976-408: The highest number of victories (14 wins), followed by teams from Italy (10 wins) and England (9 wins). The title has been won by 30 clubs, 14 of which have won it more than once. The most successful club in the competition is Sevilla , with seven titles. Colombian striker Radamel Falcao holds the record of most goals (17) scored in a single season of the tournament. The UEFA Cup was preceded by
3038-501: The knock-out stage triggered additional bonuses: €500,000 for the round of 32, €1,200,000 for the round of 16, €1,800,000 for the quarter-finals and €2,800,000 for the semi-finals. The losing finalists received €4,600,000 and the champions received €8,600,000. The UEFA Europa League is sponsored by seven multinational corporations, which share the same partners as the UEFA Conference League. The tournament's main sponsors for
3100-403: The league. During the course of a season, which lasted from August to May, each club played the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 30 games. The 2018–19 season was the first season played with the new competition format. After the regular season, which lasts from July to April and involves each team playing every other team home and away,
3162-480: The past five years, the league is ranked 10th in the UEFA league rankings for the 2024–25 season. In the inaugural season, two points were awarded for a win, before switching to three points for a win in 1994. Teams are ranked by total points, in the case of two or more teams finishing with equal points, the head-to-head record between the teams is used for ranking, counting points in relevant games, then goal difference and then goals scored. There were 16 clubs in
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#17330931602533224-411: The prize money received by the clubs is divided into fixed payments based on participation and results, and variable amounts that depend of the value of their TV market. For the 2021–22 season , group stage participation in the Europa League awarded a base fee of €3,630,000. A victory in the group pays €630,000 and a draw €210,000. Each group winner earns €1,100,000 and each runner-up €550,000. Reaching
3286-432: The round of 16. The teams ranked 25th to 36th in the league phase and the losers of the play-offs are eliminated from the competition. The final is played at a neutral venue. The winner of the competition is entitled to participate in the UEFA Champions League league phase the following season. The competition's matches are usually played on Thursdays. UEFA coefficients were introduced in 1980 and, until 1999, they gave
3348-411: The rules of the national association, or vacated, if the described limit is reached. The top three ranked associations may qualify for a fourth berth if both the Champions League and Europa League champions are from that association and do not qualify for European competition through their domestic performance. In that case, the fourth-placed team in that association will join the Europa League instead of
3410-661: The same time, the UEFA Intertoto Cup , UEFA's third-tier competition, was discontinued and merged into the new Europa League. Atlético Madrid won twice in three seasons, in 2010 and 2012, the latter in another all-Spanish final between them and Athletic Bilbao . In 2013, Chelsea became the first Champions League holders to win the UEFA Cup/Europa League the following year. In 2014, Sevilla won their third cup in eight years after defeating Benfica on penalties. In 2015, Sevilla won their fourth UEFA Cup/Europa League and, in an unprecedented feat, they defended their title
3472-454: The stands. FC Zbrojovka Brno captain, Petr Švancara , took it upon himself to try and restore the stadium in order that he could play a farewell game at Za Lužánkami. This effort expanded into a volunteer campaign, back by crowdfunding, to have the stadium ready to host a final game for Švancara. The project was a success, and on 27 June 2015 approximately 35,000 spectators watched two teams composed largely of former FC Zbrojovka Brno players play
3534-405: The teams are divided into three groups. The top six teams enter the championship group, with the first-placed team being named champions. The teams play against each other only once, playing total of five additional matches. Points earned are added to the points from the regular season. The teams 7th–10th position after 30 games take part in the Europa League play-offs. The best of them play against
3596-586: Was announced with the betting company Chance. In accordance with this deal, the Czech First League will be called Chance liga from the 2024–25 season. After the 2023–24 season. The table counts all the seasons since the Czech First League was founded in 1993. Highlighted teams will be competing in the 2024–25 Czech First League . The following data indicates Czech coefficient rankings between European football leagues. Following statistics count only seasons of Czech First League since its inception in 1993. Highlighted players currently plays in
3658-406: Was changed in 2014 to broaden the competition's appeal, giving the Europa League champions a Champions League qualification berth, more teams automatically qualified for the group stage. If cup winners had already qualified for European competition through league performance, their place in the league is vacated and goes to the best-ranked teams not qualified for European competition; the cup runner-up
3720-465: Was forced to move, since the stadium did not meet the football association and FIFA criteria. Plans for a reconstruction of the stadium, whereby the team of FC Zbrojovka Brno would return, were made, but in June 2012 it was announced that, due to financial concerns, the proposed reconstruction was on hold. The stadium fell into disrepair, with trees and bushes growing within it and homeless people living in
3782-451: Was granted to the second placed team as well. There were 18 clubs in the league, each club played the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 34 games. The three lowest placed teams were relegated to the second tier (Czech National Football League). From the 2021–22 season, the system returned to its previous format. Percentage of titles won by club The following 16 clubs are competing in
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#17330931602533844-414: Was launched as part of the competition's rebranding at the start of the 2015–16 season . A new anthem created by MassiveMusic was composed for the start of the 2018–19 season . It is also used for UEFA Conference League matches. Qualification for the competition is based on UEFA coefficients , with better entrance rounds being offered to the more successful nations. In practice, each association has
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