The competition first used the name UEFA Champions League in 1992. The 1992–93 season was the first edition after UEFA rebranded the European Champion Clubs’ Cup, although the new branding initially appeared most prominently around the group stage.
The change reflected a major format shift. Instead of being exclusively a straight knockout tournament for domestic champions, the competition introduced a group phase involving eight teams, including the defending champion and seven national champions. Marseille won the inaugural Champions League final in 1993, defeating Milan 1–0.
A common mix-up is confusing the 1992 rebranding with the competition’s first season overall. The European Cup began in 1955, so 1992 marks the start of the Champions League era, not the birth of UEFA’s premier European club tournament. Another nuance is that the UEFA prefix and branding were phased into different parts of the tournament during the early seasons.