Soccer clubs of Europe play the most of their football in their own national football European leagues. Not all European leagues are the same, most are different in the number of teams that participate or in the number of levels the league has. Usually, the bigger the country, the more teams play in the league. Some small countries like Monaco, do not have their own league but play in the league in the country next to them (Monaco plays in the French league). All European leagues are controlled by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). It has 53 member associations, which are responsible for administrating the football in their nations.

It is important to note that not all members of UEFA are situated in Europe. Still, their leagues are considered a part of the European leagues. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Israel, Cyprus and Turkey are countries whose territory is not entirely or at all located in Europe. Still, because their leagues are considered to be a part of European leagues, they can participate in European competitions,  the Champions League and the Europa League. Some nations are not members of UEFA, due to various reasons, but they are part of the European League. Monaco is not a member because he plays in the French league; Vatican City is not a member because it does not have a football association, or a team for that matter. The United Kingdom is not a member as such, because it is divided into four different football associations (Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland), all of which are part of the European Leagues. On the other hand, Faroe Islands, formally a part of Denmark, have their own association and are also a part of the European Leagues.

UEFA regulations and rules sometimes do not allow some region or country to be part of the European Leagues. UEFA applicants therefore must be recognized as a country by the United Nations. That is why Gibraltar’s application has been rejected and Kosovo cannot be accepted to be a part of the European Leagues.

Every country except Liechtenstein has their own league system, which has a different number of teams and division levels. The clubs in each nation compete to be the club champion, in the league and in the cup system, so that they could participate in the next years European leagues competitions. Each team plays with everyone else twice, at their own stadium and at their oppositions.

After the end of each season, the clubs on the end of the table, the number varies, get relegated to the division level below the one they were playing in. The clubs on the top of that division level get promoted into the division above them. This means that after each season any European league does not have the same teams in the next season. The only exception is San Marino, where there is only one level. Usually only the top division teams can participate in the European league competitions, because the lower ones have little chances to get into those competitions.

The first European league was in England, founded in 1888. It is also considered to be the best European league, because it has the highest UEFA ranking.