The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, sometimes referred to as the European Fairs Cup, Fairs Cities' Cup, or simply as the Fairs Cup, was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. It is considered the predecessor to the UEFA Cup. The competition was the idea of FIFA vice-president and executive committee member Ernst Thommen, Italian Football Federation president and FIFA executive committee member Ottorino Barassi, and the English Football Association general secretary, Stanley Rous, who later became an executive committee member and vice-president of UEFA (1958–1961) and president of FIFA (1961–1974). As the name suggests, the competition was set up to promote international trade fairs. Friendly games were regularly held between teams from cities holding trade fairs and it was from these games that the competition evolved. Initially, the competition was only open to cities that hosted trade fairs, and where the cities' clubs finished in their national league had no relevance. Early competitions also featured a "one city, one team" rule, with some teams selected from multiple clubs.

The UEFA Europa League is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It is the second-tier competition of European club football, ranking below the UEFA Champions League and above the UEFA Europa Conference League.