HISTORY OF UEFA CUP

The UEFA Cup was first played in the 1971–72 season, with English team Tottenham Hotspur being the first winner. The 'one club per city' rule, inherited from the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, was dropped in 1975. English club Everton had finished fourth in the English league and could thus qualify but were barred from entry because city rivals Liverpool had also qualified by coming second. Everton appealed, saying the rule was an unfair anachronism, and UEFA agreed to overturn it.

The competition was traditionally open to the runners-up of domestic leagues, but the competition was merged with UEFA's previous second-tier European competition, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, in 1999. Since then, the winners of domestic cup competitions have also entered the UEFA Cup. Also, clubs eliminated in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League and the third placed teams at the end of the group phase could go on to compete in the UEFA Cup. Also admitted to the competition are three Fair Play representatives, eleven UEFA Intertoto Cup winners, and winners of some selected domestic League Cup competitions.
The UEFA Cup logo from 2004 to 2009

The winners keep the trophy for a year before returning it to UEFA. After its return, the club can keep a four-fifths scale replica of the original trophy. The regulations also state that the original trophy is awarded to any club that wins the UEFA Cup three times in a row or five times overall, though this has yet to occur as of 2008.

Four teams have won the UEFA Cup as well as their domestic league and cup competitions in the same season, those being IFK Göteborg in 1982, Galatasaray in 2000, Porto in 2003 and CSKA Moscow in 2005. This accomplishment is known as a treble that only Galatasaray completed with the European Super Cup. Additionally, Tottenham Hotspurs, Borussia Mönchengladbach, IFK Göteborg (twice), Ajax, Galatasaray and Feyenoord are the only teams to have won the cup without suffering a single loss in their campaign. RCD Espanyol is the single runner-up without a defeat. IFK Göteborg played 25 consecutive matches in the UEFA Cup between 1980 and 1987 without a single loss, including their 1981-82 and 1986-87 winning campaigns.

From the 2009–10 season onwards, the competition will be known as the UEFA Europa League.[2][3] The competition will be merged with the UEFA Intertoto Cup, the UEFA's third tier