One of the major European tournaments of the fifties and sixties was the now defunct Inter Cities Fairs Cup.

This was eventually replaced by the UEFA Cup and was originally set up to help promote trade since the matches - played over two seasons - were timed to fit in with trade fairs in participating cities.

The original concept was ‘one city one team’ which caused some problems in the UK. English clubs didn’t really come into it much until this rule was dropped and Leeds were the last winners in 1971.

The European Cub began to overshadow it in the sixties since it pitted the national champions in each country against each other. The Fairs Cup was originally for any clubs so long as they held a trade fair in their city. Eventually it morphed into a sort of runners up cup for those who didn’t get to the European Cup.