The three league contests take place over the same two-day period, but are held at different European locations.
Organised by the European Athletic Association (EAA), the competition was first held in Bonn, West Germany in 1973 as a biennial event for the men's decathlon and women's pentathlon.
For the first five editions (1973–1981), the competition featured semi-final and final stages, but a league format with A, B and C divisions was adopted at the 1983 event.
The biennial schedule was changed to an annual one from the 1993 Cup onwards, at which point the league names took on their current titles.
[2] Individual performances in the Super league section of the competition qualify for the IAAF World Combined Events Challenge, which is an international series for athletes competing in combined events.