Editing UEFA (section)

== History and membership ==
UEFA was officially inaugurated on 15 June 1954 in [[Basel]], Switzerland, after consultation between the Italian, French, and Belgian associations.<ref>{{Cite news |date=18 May 2020 |title=60 years at the heart of football |website=UEFA.com|publisher=Union of European Football Associations |url=https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/EuroExperience/uefaorg/General/02/22/46/45/2224645_DOWNLOAD.pdf|access-date=18 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207025905/https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/EuroExperience/uefaorg/General/02/22/46/45/2224645_DOWNLOAD.pdf|archive-date=7 February 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> At the founding meeting, 25 members were present. However, six other associations which were not present were still recognised as founding members, bringing the total of founding associations to 31.<ref>{{cite web |last=Vieli |first=André |location=Nyon |url=https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/EuroExperience/uefaorg/General/02/22/46/45/2224645_DOWNLOAD.pdf |title=UEFA: 60 years at the heart of football |website=UEFA.com|publisher=Union of European Football Associations |page=169 |year=2014 |access-date=13 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207025905/https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/EuroExperience/uefaorg/General/02/22/46/45/2224645_DOWNLOAD.pdf |archive-date=7 February 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> UEFA grew to more than 50 members by the mid-1990s, as new associations were born out of the fragmentation of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia into their constituent states. UEFA's main headquarters after its foundation were located in Paris, but moved to [[Bern]] in 1960. Finally, they moved to [[Nyon]], Switzerland, in 1995, opening the organisation's current headquarters in 1999.<ref>{{cite news |title=UEFA marks ten years at headquarters |url=https://www.uefa.com/news/01de-0f8601b48d72-c2b80e6cab2d-1000--uefa-marks-ten-years-at-headquarters/ |website=UEFA.com|publisher=Union of European Football Associations |date=2 October 2009 |accessdate=31 August 2021}}</ref>

;Current members
UEFA membership coincides for the most part with recognition as a sovereign country in Europe (48 out of 55 members are sovereign UN member states), although there are some exceptions. One UN member state (Monaco) and one UN General Assembly non-member observer state (Vatican City) are not members. Some UEFA members are not sovereign states, but form part of a larger recognised sovereign state in the context of international law. These include England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales ([[constituent countries of the United Kingdom|UK constituent countries]]), Gibraltar ([[British Overseas Territories|UK overseas territory]]), Faroe Islands ([[Danish Realm]]), and Kosovo ([[International recognition of Kosovo|state with limited recognition]]), however, in the context of these countries, government functions concerning sport tend to be carried at the territorial level coterminous with the UEFA member entity. UEFA have previously declined membership to those deemed as non-sovereign countries like [[Jersey]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-uefa-jersey-idUKKCN1GA1B9 |first1= Brian |last1=Homewood |title=Jersey fails in bid to join UEFA |newspaper=Reuters |date=26 February 2018}}</ref>

Some UEFA members are transcontinental states (Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Turkey) and others are considered part of Europe both culturally and politically (Turkey, Cyprus and Armenia). Countries which had been members of the [[Asian Football Confederation]] (AFC) were also admitted to the European football association, such as Israel (because it had been banned from the AFC group in 1974) and Kazakhstan. Involving clubs, some UEFA member associations allow teams from outside their association's main territory to take part in their "domestic" competition, for example, [[AS Monaco FC|AS Monaco]] in the French League, Welsh clubs [[Cardiff City F.C.|Cardiff City]] or [[Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea City]] in the English League, or [[Derry City F.C.|Derry City]], situated in Northern Ireland, plays in the Republic of Ireland-based [[League of Ireland]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2019/0206/1027990-derry-city-fc-and-brexit/ |title=Derry City and Brexit: hard border politics, soft border football |work=RTE |first1=Conor |last1=Murray |date=7 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/feb/14/derry-city-brexit-league-of-ireland-northern-ireland-club |first1=Ewan |last1=Murray |title='We just want to watch football': Derry City caught in Brexit chaos |work=The Guardian |date=14 February 2019}}</ref>

On 28 February 2022, due to the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]] and in accordance with a recommendation by the [[International Olympic Committee]] (IOC), the UEFA suspended the participation of Russia.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Ukraine crisis: Fifa and Uefa suspend all Russian clubs and national teams |first1=Dan |last1=Roan |first2=Simon |last2=Stone |work=BBC Sport |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/athletics/60560567 |access-date=28 February 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228144323/https://www.bbc.com/sport/athletics/60560567 |archive-date= 28 February 2022 }}</ref><ref name="fifa-uefa">{{cite press release |url=https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/worldcup/qatar2022/media-releases/fifa-uefa-suspend-russian-clubs-and-national-teams-from-all-competitions |title=FIFA/UEFA suspend Russian clubs and national teams from all competitions |work=[[FIFA]] |date=28 February 2022 |access-date=28 February 2022 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228173247/https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/worldcup/qatar2022/media-releases/fifa-uefa-suspend-russian-clubs-and-national-teams-from-all-competitions |archive-date= 28 February 2022 }}</ref> The [[Russian Football Union]] unsuccessfully appealed the UEFA ban to the [[Court of Arbitration for Sport]], which upheld the ban.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/soccer/russia-rus/story/4619546/cas-reject-russias-appeal-over-world-cup-ban-after-ukraine-invasion |title=Russia World Cup ban appeal rejected by CAS |date=18 March 2022 |website=ESPN.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tas-cas.org/fileadmin/user_upload/8709_reasoned_OPM__publication_.pdf |title=CAS 2022/A/8709 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220415162803/https://www.tas-cas.org/fileadmin/user_upload/8709_reasoned_OPM__publication_.pdf |archive-date=15 April 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> On 26 September 2023 the ban was lifted for the [[Russia national under-17 football team|Russia U-17 team]] enabling them to complete in the [[2024 UEFA European Under-17 Championship|2024 Euro U-17]] with UEFA saying "by banning children from our competitions, we not only fail to recognise and uphold a fundamental right for their holistic development but we directly discriminate against them". The lifting of the ban also applied to all teams, men and women, of underage players.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/sep/26/uefa-ends-blanket-ban-on-russian-teams-by-allowing-under-17-teams-football-compete |title=Uefa ends blanket ban on Russian teams by allowing under-17 sides to compete |newspaper=The Guardian |date=26 September 2023 |last1=Ames |first1=Nick}}</ref> This was rejected by the FA of Ukraine, England, and Sweden, with all three threatening to boycott matches against Russia.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/66954582.amp |title=Ukraine FA asks European teams not to play Russia U17s |date=28 September 2023 |work=BBC Sport}}</ref>

;Europe's Big Five
Five of the UEFA national teams, [[Germany national football team|Germany]], [[Italy national football team|Italy]], [[France national football team|France]], [[England national football team|England]] and [[Spain national football team|Spain]], have won 12 out of 22 [[FIFA World Cup]]s for Europe. These five nations also make up the so-called «[[Big Five (association football)|Europe's Big Five]]», consisting of Spain's [[La Liga]], England's [[Premier League]], Germany's [[Bundesliga]], Italy's [[Serie A]] and France's [[Ligue 1]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sportspromedia.com/insights/analysis/premier-league-laliga-bundesliga-serie-a-ligue-1-big-five-domestic-tv-rights-deals/ |title=TV rights picture in Europe's 'big five' soccer leagues |work=sportspromedia |date=17 November 2023}}</ref>