PitchPrimer

Leagues

Five domestic leagues, 96 clubs. Each page explains how the league works before it shows you a table, because a table means nothing until you know what the top and bottom of it do.

The European competitions

These run midweek, alongside the domestic leagues rather than instead of them. A club can be playing in two or three competitions at once, which is the part that confuses most people arriving from American sport.

  • Europe

    UEFA Champions League

    The competition every club in Europe is trying to reach. Clubs qualify by finishing near the top of their own domestic league, then play each other midweek across the season while their domestic league continues around it.

    How it works
  • Europe

    UEFA Europa League

    The second tier of European club football. Clubs reach it by finishing just below the Champions League places at home, and winning it now earns a Champions League place the following season, which has made it far more valuable than it used to be.

    How it works
  • Europe

    UEFA Conference League

    The third tier of European club football, created in 2021 so clubs from smaller leagues and mid-table clubs from bigger ones get a European campaign of their own.

    How it works

Domestic cups are not included, and we hold no tables or squads for the European competitions. Our data provider puts them behind a paid tier or does not carry them at all. We would rather explain how they work than show you an empty table.