1980–81 UEFA Cup
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 17 September 1980 – 20 May 1981 |
| Teams | 64 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Ipswich Town (1st title) |
| Runners-up | AZ Alkmaar |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 126 |
| Goals scored | 376 (2.98 per match) |
| Attendance | 2,354,939 (18,690 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | John Wark (Ipswich Town) 14 goals |
← 1979–80 1981–82 → | |
The 1980–81 UEFA Cup was the 10th edition of the UEFA Cup, the third-tier club football competition organised by UEFA. The final was played over two legs at Portman Road, Ipswich, England, and at the Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was won by Ipswich Town of England, who defeated AZ Alkmaar of the Netherlands by an aggregate result of 5–4 to claim their only UEFA Cup title.
This was the only European title for Ipswich Town, who never made it past a quarterfinal round before, and would never go beyond the third round in future competitions. As of 2024, this has been the only appearance in a major European final for both teams, which was also the case with the finalists of the European Cup Winners' Cup that season. Both are the only current instances in a major UEFA tournament; it has also happened with the finalists of the 1968–69 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, which is considered an unofficial tournament by UEFA.
The UEFA ranking was introduced to serve as the method to determine the number of competing teams per country, and the Fairs Cup entry criteria was finally abolished.