uefa cup format

Competition format
The current competition format was first adopted for the 2004–05 season. The major change was the introduction of a group stage and two qualifying rounds instead of one. Additional changes were introduced for 2006–07 season due to the changes in the UEFA Intertoto Cup format. UEFA will change the format to have twelve groups of four teams in the second round instead of the current eight groups of five teams, starting in the season 2009–10. [6]
Historical formats
The competition was traditionally a pure knockout tournament. All ties were two-legged, including the final. Starting with the 1998 event, the final became a one-off match, but all other ties remained two-legged.
Before the 2004–05 season, the tournament consisted of one qualifying round, followed by a series of knockout rounds. The 16 losers in the third qualifying round of the Champions League entered at the first round proper; later in the tournament, the survivors would be joined by third-place finishers in the group phase of the Champions League.
UEFA Cup format
The UEFA Cup starts with two knockout qualifying rounds held in July and August. Participants from associations ranked 18 and lower enter the first qualifying round, and participants from associations ranked 9–18 join them in the second qualifying round. In addition, three places in the first qualifying round are reserved for the Fair Play winners, and eleven places in the second qualifying round are reserved for the UEFA Intertoto Cup winners.
Winners of the qualifying rounds join teams from the associations ranked 1–13 in the first round proper. In addition, losers in the third qualifying round of the Champions League also enter this round, and another place is reserved for the title-holders. There are 80 teams total in this round.
After the first round proper, the 40 survivors enter a group phase, with the clubs being drawn into eight groups of five each. Unlike the Champions League group phase, the UEFA Cup group phase is played in a single round-robin format, with each club playing two home and two away games. The top three teams in each of the eight groups advance, 24 in total, where they are joined by the eight third-place teams in the Champions League group phase.
After the group stage there is a winter break. From this point, knockout play resumes, with two-legged ties leading to the one-off final, which is held at a neutral ground meeting UEFA's criteria for a four star stadium.
Seeding is used to protect stronger teams in the qualifying rounds, first round and group stage.
Most ties are played on Thursdays to avoid interfering with Champions League matches which are taking place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Some matches are also played on Wednesdays when the Champions League is not playing that week. Earlier stages of the

The UEFA Cup trophy.
[edit] New format in 2009–10
From the 2009–2010 season, the competition will be rebranded as the UEFA Europa League in a bid to increase the competition's profile. [2]
A new format for the UEFA Europa League will be introduced for the three-year cycle, starting in the 2009–2010 season. The biggest change is that there will be a group stage with 12 groups of four teams (in a double round robin) instead of eight groups of five (in a single round robin).
Qualification will also change significantly. Associations ranked 7–9 in the UEFA coefficients will send the Cup winner and three other teams to the UEFA Europa League qualification, all other nations send a Cup winner and two other teams, except Liechtenstein, Andorra and San Marino, who will only send a Cup winner. Usually, the other teams will be the next highest ranked clubs in each domestic league after those qualifying for the UEFA Champions League, however France and England will most likely continue to use one spot for their League Cup winner. Additionally, three places in the first of four qualifying rounds are still reserved for Fair Play winners. For the inaugural 2009–2010 season these places will go to Rosenborg of Norway, Randers of Denmark and Motherwell of Scotland.
Generally, the higher an association is ranked in the UEFA coefficients, the later its clubs start in the qualification, however every team except the title holder has to play at least one qualification round.
Apart from the teams mentioned, an additional 15 losing teams from the Champions League qualification round three will enter in the fourth and last UEFA Europa League qualification round, formerly known as the first round, and the 10 losers of the Champions League qualification round 4 will directly enter the UEFA Europa League group stage. The 12 winners and the 12 runners-up in the group stage will advance to the first knock out round, together with eight 3rd placed teams from the Champions League group stage. The losing finalist for the domestic cup competition will still be entitled to be entered for the UEFA Europa League should the domestic cup winners qualify for the UEFA Champions League. [7]
Like the UEFA Cup, the Intertoto Cup will be folded into the UEFA Europa League, much like the Cup Winners' Cup had been in the late 1990s.