The staging ground for the kingmakers, The European Cup was introduced in 1955 after several attempts to establish a continental Championship for the biggest teams across continental Europe.

And after its 37-year reign, The European Cup became the Champions League in 1992. And it is rebranding to ensure robust competition and more game time for the biggest teams in Europe.

How European Cup began

For the first time, two Champions from two nations met in the 1895 World Championship played by Sunderland and Hearts. Other competitions like Challenge Cup, Mitropa Cup, Coupe des Nations, and the European Cup were eventually organized with the invitation of six teams.

Why the European Cup was rebranded as the Champions League

The European Cup had a different format which resulted in fewer fixtures for Europe’s biggest clubs, who are always on the verge of early elimination, as the competition had First round ties instead of the round of 16, which the UCL adopts.

In the European Cup, the football superpowers in Europe faced the issue of early elimination, which had been a problem for some football owners like AC Milan boss Silvio Berlusconi at the time.

As a result, a new competition called the Superleague was proposed, allowing more game time for the big clubs on the continent. But it did not happen in the end. However, the concerns of big teams facing elimination became a topic.

In 1992 after the concerns of big teams were acknowledged, UEFA rebranded the European Cup to the Champions League to allow for more game time for the big teams, without which the essence of the continental competition would be meaningless.