What is the UEFA Super Cup? Format, all-time winners of European trophy game explained
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Once the opening whistle blows at Red Bull Arena in Salzburg on the evening of August 12, the 2026/27 European club football season will officially be under way.
That's when the UEFA Super Cup kicks off, as two European champions from last season clash in a showcase match to begin the new campaign.
It's a game which has ceremoniously opened each new campaign for a number of years, signalling the start of a fresh season beginning anew.
The Sporting News explains how the Super Cup works, and who will contest the 2026 edition of the trophy match.
MORE:List of UEFA Super Cup winners all-time
What is the UEFA Super Cup?
The UEFA Super Cup is a trophy match organised by the European football governing body, placed at the start of the club season to honor the previous two European champions from the past campaign.
The match pits the previous season's UEFA Champions League title winner against the UEFA Europa League winner from the previous campaign in a winner-take-all showcase match.
The match is seen as the curtain-raiser to the new campaign, often played just before most European leagues get under way in mid-August.
Does UEFA Super Cup count as a major trophy?
While the UEFA Super Cup is not thought of as the most prestigious trophy in Europe, it still is considered a major trophy.
The reason is because the two participating clubs had to win a European trophy just to qualify for the match, so winning the silverware is coveted by clubs across the continent even if the match itself is thought of as a showcase.
Who is playing in 2026 UEFA Super Cup?
In 2026, the participants are Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa.
PSG won the Champions League last season, their second straight European title. They won the UEFA Super Cup last time around, beating Tottenham 2-2 on penalties.
Aston Villa, meanwhile, won the Europa League in the 2025/26 season, their first continental trophy since the 2001 Intertoto Cup title. This puts them in the UEFA Super Cup for the first time since 1982 when they defeated Barcelona 3-1 across two legs, which is how it was played at the time.
UEFA Super Cup format
In 2026, the UEFA Super Cup is played as a one-off match, which goes straight to penalties if the game is tied at the end of regulation.
It has been like this since 2024, when extra-time was scrapped, and since 1998 when the format was changed from a two-legged affair to a single-match format.
Does UEFA Super Cup go to extra time and penalties?
If the UEFA Super Cup is tied at the end of 90 minutes of regulation, the game progresses straight to a penalty shootout.
Up to 2023, the rules stipulated that matches which are level advance to 30 minutes of extra-time before penalties, but that was scrapped starting with the 2024 edition to ease the burden on players and squads at the start of the season.
Past winners of UEFA Super Cup
The UEFA Super Cup was first contested in 1974 when it was played across two legs and pitted the defending European Cup champions against the Cup Winners' Cup title-winners.
SeasonWinnerRunner-upScore2025Paris Saint-GermainTottenham2-2 (5-4 on penalties)2024Real MadridAtalanta2-02023Manchester CitySevilla1-1 (5-4 on penalties)2022Real MadridEintracht Frankfurt 2-02021ChelseaVillarreal 1-1 (6-5 on penalties)2020Bayern MunichSevilla2-1 (after extra-time)2019LiverpoolChelsea2-2 (5-4 on penalties)2018Atletico MadridReal Madrid4-2 (after extra-time)2017Real MadridManchester United2-12016Real MadridSevilla3-2 (after extra-time)2015BarcelonaSevilla5-4 (after extra-time)2014Real MadridSevilla2-02013Bayern MunichChelsea2-2 (5-4 on penalties)2012Atletico MadridChelsea4-12011BarcelonaPorto2-02010Atletico MadridInter2-02009BarcelonaShakhtar Donetsk1-0 (after extra-time)2008Zenit St. PetersburgManchester United2-12007MilanSevilla3-12006SevillaBarcelona3-02005LiverpoolCSKA Moscow3-1 (after extra-time)2004Valencia Porto2-12003MilanPorto1-02002Real MadridBorussia Dortmund3-12001LiverpoolBayern Munich3-22000Galatasaray Real Madrid2-1 (golden goal)1999LazioManchester United1-01998ChelseaReal Madrid1-01997BarcelonaBorussia Dortmund3-1 aggregate1996JuventusPSG9-2 aggregate1995AjaxReal Zaragoza5-1 aggregate1994MilanArsenal2-0 aggregate1993ParmaMilan2-1 aggregate1992BarcelonaWerder Bremen3-2 aggregate1991Manchester UnitedRed Star Belgrade 1-01990MilanSampdoria3-1 aggregate1989MilanBarcelona2-1 aggregate1988MechelenPSV Eidenhoven3-1 aggregate1987PortoAjax 2-0 aggregate 1986Steaua BucharestDynamo Kiev1-01984Juventus Liverpool 2-0 1983AberdeenHamburg 2-0 aggregate 1982Aston VillaBarcelona 3-1 aggregate1980Valencia Nottingham Forest2-2 aggregate (away goals win)1979Nottingham ForestBarcelona2-1 aggregate1978AnderlechtLiverpool4-3 aggregate1977LiverpoolHamburg 7-1 aggregate1976AnderlechtBayern Munich5-3 aggregate1975Dynamo KievBayern Munich3-0 aggregate1974AjaxMilan6-1 aggregate