UEFA Intertoto Cup

The UEFA Intertoto Cup was a summer European football competition organised by the UEFA for clubs that had not qualified for the UEFA Champions League or the UEFA Cup. It served as an alternative route into European competitions and offered additional matches during the off-season. https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/01bc-0e6dc2e08375-9fcff288f3b0-1000--newcastle-awarded-intertoto-cup/

 History 
The competition was first launched in 1961 as the International Football Cup, initially intended to provide matches for football pools in Central Europe during the summer break. http://www.rsssf.com/tablesi/intertoto.html It was not organised by UEFA at the time, but it was sanctioned as an independent tournament.

In 1995, UEFA officially took over the competition and rebranded it as the UEFA Intertoto Cup. https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/history/background/ From then on, it was used as a qualifying route for the UEFA Cup (now known as the UEFA Europa League).
 Abolition 
In December 2007, UEFA announced the abolition of the Intertoto Cup, with the final edition taking place in 2008. This was part of a broader restructuring of European competitions ahead of the launch of the UEFA Europa League in the 2009–10 season.https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/news/01c1-0f84c3d99144-bc6533fca086-1000--uefa-to-merge-cup-competitions/
 Legacy 
The UEFA Intertoto Cup was a unique part of European football history, offering smaller or mid-table clubs the opportunity to compete in Europe and build international experience. Although discontinued, it remains remembered as a gateway to greater success for several clubs.

 Format 
The format of the tournament changed several times throughout its existence:

 1961–1994: Group-stage tournament with no link to UEFA competitions. Multiple group winners received prize money, but no club advanced to further continental tournaments.
 1995–2005: UEFA ran the competition as a knockout tournament with three winners each year, all of whom progressed to the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup.
 2006–2008: The format changed to allow eleven clubs to qualify for the UEFA Cup. The team that progressed furthest in the UEFA Cup from among those clubs was declared the Intertoto Cup winner for that season.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_UEFA_Intertoto_Cup_winners

 Winners 
Between 1995 and 2005, there were three winners per season. From 2006 to 2008, a single club was recognized as the tournament's top performer based on progress in the UEFA Cup.

Notable winners include:

 Hamburger SV, Schalke 04, and VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
 Villarreal CF (Spain)
 Newcastle United (England), recognized as the 2006 winner 
 SC Braga (Portugal), the final recognized winner in 2008 

French clubs were the most successful overall, with twelve different teams winning the competition between 1995 and 2008. 

 See also 

 UEFA Cup
 UEFA Europa League
 UEFA Champions League

 References