thumb|250px|[[Hamburger SV won the UEFA Intertoto Cup two times, a record jointly held with Schalke 04, VfB Stuttgart and Villarreal.]]
The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , "betting pool"), originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was discontinued after the 2008 tournament.
The tournament was founded in 1961–62, but was only taken over by UEFA in 1995. Initially, the tournament ended with a single champion, who received the Intertoto Cup. Starting in 1967, the tournament ended with a number of group winners (7 to 14 winners), who received cash prizes. When UEFA took on the tournament, it became a qualifier for the UEFA Cup, with 2 to 11 Intertoto winners advancing to the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup.
Any club who wished to participate had to apply for entry, with the highest placed clubs (by league position in their domestic league) at the end of the season entering the competition. The club did not have to be ranked directly below the clubs which had qualified for another UEFA competition; if the club that was in that position did not apply, they would not be eligible to compete, with the place instead going to the club that did apply.
The cup billed itself as providing both an opportunity for clubs who otherwise would not get the chance to enter the UEFA Cup and as an opportunity for sports lotteries (or pools) to continue during the summer.
This reflects its background, which was as a tournament solely for football pools. In 1995, the tournament came under official UEFA sanctioning and UEFA Cup qualification places were granted. Initially, two were provided; this was increased to three after one year, but in 2006, it was again increased to the final total of 11.
History
Beginnings
The Intertoto Cup was the idea of three men: Malmö FF chairman Eric Persson; the later FIFA vice-president and founder of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Ernst B. Thommen; and the Austrian coach Karl Rappan, who coached the Switzerland national team at the 1938 and 1954 FIFA World Cups. Following the threat of bans of English teams from all UEFA competitions,
In subsequent years, UEFA made it possible for nations to forfeit Intertoto places. For example, in 1998, Scotland, San Marino, and Moldova forfeited their places, while England, Portugal, and Greece forfeited one of their two, Crystal Palace being the sole English entrant despite finishing bottom of the Premier League. However, UEFA rejected the idea that the tournament was disruptive, pointing out that, among other successes, all three 2004 Intertoto Cup winners went on to qualify for the Champions League in 2004-05: Schalke and Lille qualified directly, while Villareal progressed through the qualifying rounds.
Format
When the competition was taken over by UEFA in 1995, the format was both a group stage and a knock-out stage; 60 teams were split into 12 groups of five with the 16 best teams then contesting the knock-out stage with two-legged ties at each stage, the two winning finalists qualifying for the UEFA Cup. In 1996 and 1997, just the 12 group winners entered the knock-out round, with now three finalists advancing. Nations were allocated places according to their UEFA coefficients, much as with other UEFA tournaments.
The group stage was scrapped for the 1998 tournament, which became a straight knock-out tournament, with clubs from more successful nations entering at a later stage. This arrangement lasted until 2005.
From the 2006 tournament, the format for the Cup changed. There were three rounds instead of the previous five, and the 11 winning teams from the third round went through to the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup. The clubs which were furthest in the UEFA Cup would each be awarded with a trophy. The first club that received that trophy (a plaque) was Newcastle United.
Only one team from each national association was allowed to enter. However, if one or more nations did not take up their place, the possibility was left open for nations to have a second entrant. Seedings and entry were determined by each association.