<P> The European Cup began in 1955--56, but there was no English representative during that inaugural season as reigning champions Chelsea had been persuaded to withdraw by The Football League . The first English side to participate in the following edition was Manchester United, who were also the first English winners in 1968, ten years after their first attempt to win the cup had effectively ended when eight of their players died in the Munich air disaster when flying home from Belgrade after qualifying for the 1957--58 semi-final . Tottenham Hotspur won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1963 . </P> <P> Prior to that, England had been pioneers in establishing international competitions, with the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy, which was won by West Auckland when they defeated Italian side Juventus in 1909 . English teams have participated in UEFA competitions every year save for the years between 1985--1990, when in the aftermath of the Heysel Stadium disaster, all English clubs were banned from Europe by UEFA; Liverpool, who had been playing at the Heysel Stadium against Juventus, were banned for six years, until 1991 . Several teams have managed to play in Europe while being outside the top flight, including more recently Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic . </P> <P> From the 2015--16 season, the various permutations allow for a maximum of five English clubs to qualify for the UEFA Champions League and five for the UEFA Europa League . From the 2018 - 19 season, the top four clubs in Europe's four highest ranked leagues will qualify directly to the group stages . These leagues are currently England, Germany, Italy, and Spain . The minimum quota is for four English clubs to qualify for the UEFA Champions League and three for the UEFA Europa League . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Competition </Th> <Th> Who qualifies </Th> <Th> Notes </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> UEFA Champions League group stage </Td> <Td> Club finishing 1st in the Premier League </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Club finishing 2nd in the Premier League </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Club finishing 3rd in the Premier League </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Club finishing 4th in the Premier League </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> UEFA Champions League Winners </Td> <Td> From the 2015--16 season, the UEFA Champions League Winners will gain entry to the UEFA Champions League . If the UEFA Champions League Winners (irrespective of nationality) qualify for the UEFA Champions League through their domestic league this entry will be in the group stages; otherwise it will be in the play - off round . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> UEFA Champions League play - off round for non-champions </Td> <Td> UEFA Europa League Winners </Td> <Td> Prior to the 2015 - 16 season, there was a limit of four clubs from each association entering the Champions League . If a club outside of England's top four won the Champions League, the 4th placed club would be demoted to the Europa League in the following season . This occurred in the 2011--12 season when Chelsea won the Champions League but only finished sixth in the Premier League . They replaced Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League, who were demoted to the Europa League as the final English representative in the Champions League . <P> From the 2015--16 season the UEFA Europa League winners will gain entry to the UEFA Champions League . If the UEFA Champions League winners (irrespective of nationality) qualify for the UEFA Champions League through their domestic league this entry will be in the group stages; otherwise it will be in the play - off round . </P> <P> From the 2015--16 season, if English clubs win both the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, and neither finish the Premier League in a position that qualifies them for the UEFA Champions League, the following will happen: </P> <Ul> <Li> The club that won the UEFA Champions League will go straight into the group stage </Li> <Li> The UEFA Europa League winners will go into the UEFA Champions League play - offs </Li> <Li> The club that finished fourth in the Premier League will transfer into the UEFA Europa League </Li> </Ul> </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> UEFA Europa League group stage </Td> <Td> FA Cup winners </Td> <Td> If the FA Cup winners qualify for the UEFA Champions League or the UEFA Europa League via the domestic championship, by Regulation 3.04, the highest ranking non-qualified league club qualifies, taking the lowest Europa League spot (the League Cup spot--the League Cup inherits the League spot, and the League inherits the FA Cup spot). </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> UEFA Europa League play - off round </Td> <Td> Club finishing fifth in the Premier League </Td> <Td> If the fifth - placed club has already qualified for Europe through the FA Cup, then the next - highest Premier League finishers get this place </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> UEFA Europa League third qualifying round </Td> <Td> League Cup winners </Td> <Td> If the League Cup winners have already qualified for Europe by a high Premier League finish, then the next highest - finishing Premier League club gets this place </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> UEFA Europa League first qualifying round </Td> <Td> Premier League club with the best UEFA Fair Play ranking that has not already qualified for Europe, but only if England has one of the top three positions and has a fair play score of above eight . </Td> <Td> As of 2015, Fair Play no longer earns this Europa League spot . Instead, such teams will be awarded in cash prizes, with the monies to be spent on "fair play or respect themed projects". </Td> </Tr> </Table>

How many teams qualify for champions league in epl