It was organized by the European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) annually for men's and women's teams.
The competition was contested by the current national champion team of ETTU member associations of each season.
The success of the Champions League called for the discontinuation of the Men's European Cup in 2001/02, after three years' co-existence, and ultimately replaced the women's competition as well in session 2005/06.
This led to the promotion of table tennis in the Eastern Europe, where players had the best training facilities and good coaches available.
This shift is owing to the growing professionalization in the sports and the sponsorship obtained in those countries, thus attracting some top foreign players playing for the Western European clubs.