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Premiership Football News: The decline of the UEFA Cup

Andy Greeves

Earlier in the year, The Times journalist Kaveh Solhekol wrote a superb article called 'The 50 Worst Things About Modern Football'.

Solhekol picked apart such modern-day personalities, innovations and trends such as technical areas, Craig Bellamy, electrical advertising hoarding and of course, TV, for ruining a game which, 'used to be perfect'. This list brought about widespread nods of agreement up and down the land, as football fans rejoiced at a piece of writing which summed up why they struggle to feel the same passion for the game as they once did.

Surprisingly though, this list had no place for European football's governing body, UEFA who have brought about the shameful demise of their club competitions, bar the Champions League, over the last decade.

Prior to the expansion of the Champions League in 1997, which allowed teams who weren't champions of their national league to enter the competition, the UEFA Cup and Cup Winners Cup were held in high regard. Prize money for winning these tournaments was comparable with the European Cup and clubs competing for both the UEFA Cup and Cup Winners Cup were major forces. Teams that had just missed out on winning the league or that had won domestic silverware the previous campaign.

Since 1999 however, three places in the UEFA Cup each season have gone to winners of various countries 'Fair Play Leagues'. While plaudits, maybe even financial reward, should be given to any club that maintains good discipline, is a place in Europe not somewhat excessive. This system means that average clubs are being entered into UEFA Cup, significantly not the Champions League. Previous Fair Play qualifiers include FC MIKA of Armenia, FC Illychivets of Ukraine and KSV Roeselare of Belgium. Manchester City have twice benefitted from the Fair Play League, qualifying for the UEFA Cup on the back of the 2002-2003 and 2007-2008, when the finished ninth in both campaigns.

Further expansion of the Champions League occurred in 1999, when it was made possible for up to four teams from any domestic league to play in Europe's elite competition. This brought positive effects to clubs such as Liverpool, who despite having not won the league since 1990, have made two Champions League finals in the past four years. But ultimately their gain would be to the UEFA Cup's loss, with the competition now taking on the role of Champions League poor relation.

1999 also saw the death of the Cup Winners Cup, a tournament previously won by the likes of Arsenal, Barcelona, Manchester United, Ajax, Juventus and AC Milan. UEFA scrapped the tournament following Lazio's victory over Mallorca at Villa Park, sensing the competition would hold as much clout, being as though a large number of cup winners, would now qualify for the Champions League.

In 2004, UEFA restructured the UEFA Cup, handing the competition yet another slap in the face. Teams finishing third in Champions League group stages would be given entry to UEFA Cup, highlighting the disparity between the tournaments. The message was clear, if you aren't good enough for the Champions League, go and have a second chance in the UEFA Cup.

The UEFA Cup had incorporated a group stage, which was a far cry from the Champions League groups, in terms of the quality of sides. In also meant more games, which again, weren't always of the best standard. To the vast criticism of managers, it now means it will take a total of 15 matches to get from the first round of the competition to winning the cup.

Just as Europe gets use to this format, yet more change. The UEFA Cup will be renamed the 'UEFA Europa League' next season, with the groups now structured in the same way as the Champion League (groups of four, with teams playing home and away as in Champions League). Hardly a move that will impress the purists.

The most obvious disparity of all between the UEFA Cup and the Champions League is with regards to the finance and status gap between the competitions. For example, teams which got to the last 16 of the UEFA Cup this year were awarded just over £500k, while teams that achieved the same feat in the Champions League got £8.65m. The average team that makes the quarter finals of the Champions League can expect a total of 38.45m euros in revenue and UEFA Cup team, just 10m euros.

Soccerphile will be in Istanbul for the last final of the UEFA Cup next month, hoping that the continued restructure of the competition won't lead to its eventual death. The signs aren't particularly promising at present.

Andy Greeves

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