1971–72 UEFA Cup
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 14 September 1971 – 17 May 1972 |
| Teams | 63 (from 31 associations) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Tottenham Hotspur (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 122 |
| Goals scored | 368 (3.02 per match) |
| Attendance | 2,110,102 (17,296 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Ludwig Bründl (Eintracht Braunschweig) 10 goals |
1972–73 → | |
The 1971–72 UEFA Cup was the inaugural season of the UEFA Cup, now known as the UEFA Europa League, which became the third club football competition organised by UEFA. The tournament retained the structure and format of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, which ran from 1955 to 1971 and had been held independently of UEFA by an organizing committee composed mostly of FIFA executives.
The final was played in England over two legs, at Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, and at White Hart Lane, London. The first UEFA Cup was won by Tottenham Hotspur, who defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers by an aggregate result of 3–2.
English clubs had won the last four editions of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. This was the first ever European final between two clubs from England, a feat that would not be repeated until the 2008 UEFA Champions League final. This was Wolverhampton's lone appearance in a European final, and Tottenham's second European title, nine years after their success in the European Cup Winners' Cup.