As each English Premier League season winds down, there is a phrase that will be tossed around quite a bit: “Get into Europe.” What does this mean?

(Updated June 13, 2023)

The short answer here is that “making the top four” means “Qualify for European club competition next season.” But let’s go just a little deeper into it.

How is Soccer Organized Worldwide?

Without getting lost in the details, world soccer is divided into regions; there are seven of them, and Europe is one. Within each region there are three types of competitions: nation vs nation to qualify for the World Cup every four years, nation vs nation for the regional championship every (some other) four years, and club vs club for the regional championship. World Cup Qualifying is called just that. The others, in Europe’s case, are the European Championships and the Champions League.

The way teams qualify for the Champions League is also pretty complicated, but let’s keep it simple here. In England’s Premier League, the top four teams go to the group stage. This is basically what people mean when they say “Get into Europe.” The Champions League starts in September and ends in May.

This video is all about the worldwide structure of football:

Three Tournaments: Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League

It’s called the Champions League, by the way, because it used to be you had to win your home country to get in. But obviously that limits the number of teams, therefore the number of games, and therefore — and most importantly — the amount of money to be made by the clubs, the TV networks, and the criminal syndicate known as FIFA that runs this whole operation. So they have expanded it ever since. In two of the past four seasons, it has been an all-English final.

There is another European championship; it’s called the Europa League. Here, England is represented by the team finishing 5th and the team winning the FA Cup — unless the latter also qualifies for Champions League, in which case their spot goes to the no. 6 team. (Read all about the Europa League here.)

Now there is yet another European tournament, the UEFA Europa Conference League! This one takes the winner of the League Cup — again, unless that team qualifies elsewhere, in which case the next highest club in the table goes. Usually, this is no. 7 in England.

English Teams in the 2023-24 Champions League

For the 2023-24 competition, England are represented in the Champions League by Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United and Newcastle. All four made it based on their Premier League finish, as well as Manchester City securing an automatic qualification by winning the 2022-23 Champions League.

Here is the schedule for the 2023-24 Champions League.

English Teams in the 2023-24 Europa League

Liverpool and Brighton and Hove Albion have both qualified for the 2023-24 Europa League. Liverpool got there based on finishing 5th in the Premier League. Brighton made it because Manchester City won the FA Cup, so the 6th-place Seagulls took their spot. In addition to these two, West Ham have also qualified from winning the 2022-23 Europa Conference League.

Here is the schedule for the 2023-24 Europa League.

English Teams in the 2023-24 Europa Conference League

(Related: What is the Europa Conference League?)

Since Manchester United won the League Cup, their spot goes to the next-highest team in the table: no. 7 Aston Villa.

Here is the schedule for the 2023-24 Europa Conference League.

Subscribe to our “Groundhopper” newsletter