Most nations in Europe have at least one domestic soccer league, with roughly 20 teams. The most respected are the English Premier League, the Bundesliga in Germany, La Liga in Spain, Serie A in Italy, the Eredivisie in the Netherlands and Le Championat in France.

Getting Sent Down

Bad teams are "relegated" to lower-division leagues. For example, the worst teams in the English Premier League at the end of a season are forced to play the following season in the lower-ranked "Championship" division, while the top four teams from the Championship move up to the Premiership to replace the relegated ones.

Long Seasons

Seasons generally run from August through May, with league games played about once a week. Teams often break away from league play, however, to compete in various other tournaments that run concurrently with the league season. Also, players can leave their club teams to play with national teams in qualifying games for the World Cup or European Championships.

UEFA ~ Champions

The best teams also play in the UEFA Champions League, the most prestigious tournament on the continent. It's open to the defending champions of most of the UEFA member associations - the acronym stands for Union of European Football Associations - as well as the teams that finished second through fourth in the strongest leagues the previous season.

UEFA ~ Cup

Teams that finish high in their domestic leagues but don't qualify for the Champions League can play in the UEFA Cup, the second-most important tournament in Europe. Qualifying for the tournament can be complicated, however.

Euro Title

The European Championships are contested by national teams every four years, in the middle of the four-year World Cup cycle. The next tournament will be held in Switzerland and Austria.

Scandal Alert

The top leagues in several nations have been rocked recently by match-fixing scandals, most notably Serie A in Italy, where three teams have been penalized in the standings for fixing matches and powerhouse Juventus has been relegated to a second-division league.

- Compiled by Michael C. Lewis