If you love watching European football matches, either at home or abroad, then you will undoubtedly be familiar with the name UEFA - The Union of European Football Associations. Here's a brief lowdown on what this administrative and controlling body for European football actually does.

UEFA has a largely representative function, not only within competitions, but also as a key part of other governing bodies, such as FIFA. However, much like WSOP (World Series of poker) and the NBA (National Basketball Association), UEFA also has its own league of professional competitions. The most notable of these competitions within the men's national teams is the UEFA European Football Championship, which was first started in 1958. For women, the equivalent is the UEFA European Women's Championship, which was started in the early 1980s. There are also a number of youth games which are played at a national level for both men's and women's teams.

Although the focus tends to be on international games within Europe, UEFA also allow semi-professional teams to represent their local regions as part of the UEFA Regions' Cup, which was launched in 1999.

Many of the strongest football teams in the world play as part of UEFA - which is party why this organisation is once of the wealthiest and most influential confederations. During the 2010 FIFA World Cup, thirteen of the thirty-two available team places were awarded to UEFA teams.

Although the UEFA headquarters were based in Paris for a good many years, it now has its administrative centre in Switzerland - the country where the association was originally founded in 1954. However, both these areas remain popular destinations for fans of European football. Today, there are a total of fifty-three national football teams which are part of UEFA, and the French former player and manager, Michel Platini.