The Union of European Football Associations (French: Union des Associations Européennes de Football) is the administrative and controlling body for European association football and futsal. It is almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA (usually pronounced /juːˈeɪfə/ ew-AY-fə).

UEFA represents the national football associations of Europe, runs Europewide national and club competitions, and controls the prize money, regulations and media rights to those competitions. Several national football associations which are, at least partly, geographically in Asia belong to UEFA rather than the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). These nations are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Israel, Cyprus and Turkey (Israel and Kazakhstan are former AFC members). Cyprus chose to be classed as a European football nation – it had the choice of Europe, Asia or Africa.

UEFA is the biggest of six continental confederations of FIFA. Of all the confederations, it is by far the strongest in terms of wealth and influence at the club level. Virtually all of the world's top players play in European leagues in part due to the salaries available from the world's wealthiest football clubs, particularly in England, Germany, Italy and Spain. Many of the world's strongest national sides are in UEFA. Of the 32 available spots in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, 13 were allocated to UEFA national teams, and currently 12 of the top 20 teams in the FIFA World Rankings are UEFA members. UEFA is nearly as strong in the women's game, with five of the 16 places in the upcoming 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup guaranteed to UEFA members and a sixth possible, and 13 of the top 20 teams in the most recent FIFA Women's World Rankings are from UEFA, including double defending World Cup champion Germany.

UEFA was founded on 15 June 1954 in Basel, Switzerland following discussions between the French, Italian and Belgian FAs. The headquarters was in Paris until 1959 when the organization moved to Bern. Henri Delaunay was the first General Secretary and Ebbe Schwartz the president. Its administrative center has been in Nyon, Switzerland, since 1995. It was initially made up of 25 national associations. Currently there are 53 associations (see the bottom of this page or List of UEFA national football teams). UEFA national teams have won ten FIFA World Cups (Italy 4, Germany 3, England, France and Spain, one trophy each), and UEFA clubs have won 21 Intercontinental Cups and three FIFA Club World Cups. In the women's game, UEFA sides have won three World Cups (Germany 2, Norway 1) and one Olympic gold medal (Norway).

UEFA, as a representative of the national associations, has had a number of bruising clashes with the European Commission. In the 1990s the issues of television rights and especially international transfers (the Bosman ruling) have had to undergo some major changes to remain in line with European law.

The current UEFA President is Michel Platini.

See also: List of Presidents of UEFA

From Wikipedia under the GNU Free Documentation License
Fri Sep 3 10:37:16 2010

Who qualifies for the UEFA Cup if Portsmouth win the FA Cup AND finish 5th in the league?
Q. Will it be Cardiff, who will be the FA Cup runners up, or will it be the 6th place team in the league? In previous seasons, when a team has already qualified for europe through their league position, the uefa cup place for winning the cup defers to the runner up, but i THINK that only happens if the winner has qualified for the champions league. My understanding is that the place will defer to the 6th place league team, but can anyone confirm?
Asked by richard.culver - Fri Apr 18 06:46:10 2008 - - 4 Answers - 0 Comments

A. if Portsmouth wins the FA Cup & finish in 5th place in the Premiership, then Cardiff City will get the UEFA Cup spot as the FA Cup runners-up.
Answered by foongwk140804 - Sat Apr 19 21:19:30 2008

Are there any good places in NYC to buy UEFA gear?
Q. Are there any good stores in NYC where I can buy UEFA gear? Champions League stuff? Like Manchester United, Chelsea, Inter, Barcelona, Liverpool, etc.? THANKS!
Asked by Brian H - Sat Apr 5 02:37:57 2008 - - 1 Answers - 0 Comments

A. idk
Answered by mrows :3 - Sat Apr 5 02:44:41 2008

Which teams do you think will be challenging for the UEFA cup places this season?
Q. Also, which Premier league teams are in the UEFA cup this season?
Asked by Wombat - Mon Aug 18 13:18:03 2008 - - 3 Answers - 0 Comments

A. This season I think any of Tottenham Hotspur, Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa, Everton, Manchester City, Portsmouth, Newcastle United and West Ham United could qualify via the league. I've got Spurs, Portsmouth and Newcastle down for fifth, sixth and seventh at the moment but it's going to be really tight as usual. Everton, Tottenham and Portsmouth are competing this year.
Answered by ESKI-BOY - Mon Aug 18 13:30:13 2008

From Yahoo Answer Search: "uefa"
Wed Jul 21 01:02:48 2010

Braga bring Viana back to Portugal - UEFA.com
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SkySports Harry Redknapp is determined to bolster his squad ahead of the transfer deadline on Tuesday, especially after earning qualification to the UEFA Champions ... Tottenham Hotspur poised to increase Young interest FansFC.com Premier League must waive licence rule if Bob Bradley is to coach Aston Villa IMScouting Bob Bradley's Options Dwindle as Aston Villa Distances Itself From US Coach FanHouse TSL Buzz  - Daily Mail  - Transfer Tavern (blog)
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Fri Sep 3 10:37:18 2010

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UEFA

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Man United Vs Liverpool Liverpool crash out of the UEFA Cup League Table March

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Fri Sep 3 10:37:19 2010

Werder Bremen vs Sampdoria Live UEFA Champions League ...
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Fri Sep 3 10:37:20 2010

FC Barcelona Champions League Final 2009 Award Presentation
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Wed, 27 May 2009 14:53:10 PDT

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 Euro 2004 All Goals (Piala Eropa Portugal 2004)
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Fri, 29 Jan 2010 07:55:49 PST

All the goals of UEFA Euro 2004 in Portugal. Group A : Portugal, Greece, Spain, Russia. Group B : France, England, Switzerland, Croatia. Group C ... youtube.com.

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Fri Sep 3 10:37:19 2010