Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox football tournament The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, most commonly referred to as the Fairs Cup and sometimes as the European Fairs Cup or Fairs Cities' Cup,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. The Fairs Cup was the idea of FIFA vice-president and executive committee member Ernst Thommen, Italian Football Federation president and FIFA executive committee member Ottorino Barassi and English Football Association general secretary, Stanley Rous. As the name suggests, the competition was set up to promote international trade fairs. Friendly games were regularly held between teams from cities holding trade fairs and it was from these games that the competition evolved. Initially, the competition was only open to cities that hosted trade fairs, and where the cities' clubs finished in their national league had no relevance. Early competitions also featured a "one city, one team" rule, with some teams selected from multiple clubs. Due to the one city one club rule, in several seasons London entered a team that consisted of mixed players from various London clubs, the team was called London XI.

After 1964, teams qualified based on league position. The winning team received the Noel Beard Trophy (Trophée Noel Beard), named for the cutler who designed it.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The competition was organised by the Fairs Cup Committee which was led by some FIFA executives until 1971, when it was superseded by the UEFA-organised UEFA Cup.<ref name="Vieli 2014 44">Template:Harvtxt</ref><ref name=UEFADIRECT/> According to UEFA general secretary Hans Bangerter, "The competition was very successful but the time came when the UEFA Executive Committee thought that such a major competition should be governed and organised by UEFA itself, which could ensure that standard rules were followed and could deal with refereeing and disciplinary matters."

History

Spanish era

The first competition was to be held over two seasons to avoid clashes with national leagues fixtures. Because it was also intended to coincide with trade fairs, it ran over into a third year. It commenced in 1955 and finished in 1958. Cities that entered teams included Barcelona, Basel, Birmingham, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Vienna, Cologne, Lausanne, Leipzig, London, Milan, and Zagreb. The first competition included a group stage and also featured some city representative teams instead of clubs. The eventual finalists were the city of Barcelona, dubbed Barcelona XI, and a London XI. While the latter side consisted of players from 11 clubs, the former was effectively FC Barcelona. After a 2–2 draw at Stamford Bridge, Barcelona emerged triumphant after winning the return 6–0. A second tournament took place between 1958 and 1960. This time, the group stage format was abandoned in favour of a knockout tournament. Barcelona retained the cup, beating Birmingham City 4–1 in the final.

The third tournament was held over the course of the 1960–61 season and all subsequent tournaments were completed over one season. The season also saw the holders, Barcelona, compete in both the Fairs Cup and European Cup. During the early days of European competition, these tournaments were effectively rivals and there was little or no co-ordination between the administrators running them. The European Cup quickly established itself as the premier club competition, largely because it had the advantage of featuring national league champions and was completed in a single season from the very start. The efforts of Barcelona ended in failure in both competitions. In the Fairs Cup quarter-finals, they lost 7–6 on aggregate to Hibernian, while in the European Cup, they were beaten in the final by Benfica. Roma took three games to beat Hibernian in the semi-finals before they progressed to the final. Birmingham City reached their second final in two years but once again they were defeated. After a 2–2 draw at home, they lost 2–0 to Roma in the return.

The 1961–62 season saw the rules amended to allow three teams from each country to enter. The "one city, one team" rule was abandoned and two teams represented each of Edinburgh, Milan, and Barcelona (respectively Hibernian and Heart of Midlothian, Internazionale and A.C. Milan, and FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol). This increase in teams resulted in Spanish teams continuing to dominate the competition. FC Barcelona were now regularly joined by Valencia CF and Zaragoza. These three clubs won the competition six times between them from 1958 to 1966. The Fairs Cup saw three all-Spanish finals in 1962, 1964, and 1966. The 1962 final saw Valencia CF beat FC Barcelona 7–3 on aggregate and in 1963 they retained the title after beating Dinamo Zagreb with a 4–1 aggregate score. They reached their third final in 1964 but lost 2–1 to Zaragoza in a single game at the Camp Nou.

The 1965 tournament saw a record entry of 48 teams, testimony to the growing status of the Fairs Cup. It also produced only the second final not to feature a Spanish team. Ferencvárosi TC of Hungary beat Juventus in another single-game final. The 1966 competition attracted attention for all the wrong reasons. Chelsea were pelted with rubbish at Roma and Leeds United fought a bruising encounter with Valencia CF which ended with three dismissals. Leeds also had Johnny Giles sent off in the semi-final against Zaragoza. The final saw FC Barcelona beat Zaragoza 4–3 on aggregate.

English era

The 1967 tournament saw the emergence of English clubs with Leeds United reaching the final. Although they lost to Dinamo Zagreb, they returned the following season and defeated Ferencvárosi TC to become the first English club to win the competition. The subsequent victories of Newcastle United and Arsenal and a second win for Leeds United saw English clubs winning the last four Fairs Cup tournaments. The last final saw Leeds United declared winners on away goals after drawing with Juventus 3–3 on aggregate.

UEFA Cup

In the 1971–72 season the competition was abolished and replaced by the UEFA Cup after UEFA revised the entry regulations and concluded that the "one city, one team" rule related with the Fairs Cup must be abolished,<ref name=Vieli>Template:Harvtxt</ref> which had had a particularly bad effect on English entrants for 1969–70, when Liverpool (2nd), Arsenal (4th), Southampton (7th), and Newcastle United (9th-also holders) got the places, at the expense of Everton (3rd), Chelsea (5th), Tottenham Hotspur (6th), and West Ham United (8th). The Football League upheld the geographic rule until 1975, when UEFA pressured the League to drop it or face sanctions. Everton that year, having come 4th, would have been excluded from the competition due to Liverpool's 2nd-place finish.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Finals

Ed.	Season	Champion	Runner-up	Template:Abbr	Venue	City	Attend.
1 {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1955–58	Template:Flagicon Barcelona XITemplate:Refn	Template:Flagicon London XI	check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Stamford Bridge	London	45,466
				check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Camp Nou	Barcelona	70,000
				8–2 {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}
2 {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1958–60	Template:Flagicon Barcelona	Template:Flagicon Birmingham City	check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	St Andrew's	Birmingham	40,524
				check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Camp Nou	Barcelona	70,000
				4–1 {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}
3 {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1960–61	Template:Flagicon Roma	Template:Flagicon Birmingham City	check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	St Andrew's	Birmingham	21,000
				check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Stadio Olimpico	Rome	60,000
				4–2 {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}
4 {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1961–62	Template:Fbaicon Valencia	Template:Fbaicon Barcelona	check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Mestalla Stadium	Valencia	65,000
				check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Camp Nou	Barcelona	60,000
				7–3 {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}
5 {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1962–63	Template:Fbaicon Valencia	Template:Fbaicon Dinamo Zagreb	check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Stadion Maksimir	Zagreb	40,000
				check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Mestalla Stadium	Valencia	55,000
				4–1 {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}
check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1963–64	Template:Fbaicon Zaragoza	Template:Fbaicon Valencia	2–1 {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Camp Nou	Barcelona	50,000
check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1964–65	Template:Fbaicon Ferencváros	Template:Fbaicon Juventus	1–0 {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Stadio Comunale	Turin	40,000
8 {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1965–66	Template:Fbaicon Barcelona	Template:Fbaicon Zaragoza	check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Camp Nou	Barcelona	50,000
				4–2 Template:Aet {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	La Romareda	Zaragoza	33,000
				4–3 {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}
9 {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1966–67	Template:Fbaicon Dinamo Zagreb	Template:Fbaicon Leeds United	check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Stadion Maksimir	Zagreb	32,000
				check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Elland Road	Leeds	35,604
				2–0 {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}
10 {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1967–68	Template:Fbaicon Leeds United	Template:Fbaicon Ferencváros	check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Elland Road	Leeds	25,268
				check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Népstadion	Budapest	76,000
				1–0 {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}
11 {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1968–69	Template:Fbaicon Newcastle United	Template:Fbaicon Újpest	check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	St James' Park	Newcastle	60,000
				check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Megyeri út	Budapest	37,000
				6–2 {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}
12 {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1969–70	Template:Fbaicon Arsenal	Template:Fbaicon Anderlecht	check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Constant Vanden Stock	Anderlecht	37,000
				check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Highbury	London	51,612
				4–3 {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}
13 {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	1970–71	Template:Fbaicon Leeds United	Template:Fbaicon Juventus	check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Stadio Comunale	Turin	58,555
				check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Elland Road	Leeds	42,483
				3–3 {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Template:Small

Notes

Trophy play-off match

Template:Main article After the 1970–71 tournament, the last of the Fairs Cup, the competition was abolished and replaced with the UEFA Cup.<ref name=UEFADIRECT>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

The Fairs Cup trophy had not been won by any club permanently, so a play-off match was organised to decide who would gain permanent possession of the original competition trophy. Before the match, then FIFA President Sir Stanley Rous presented silver insignia to the members of the 1958 title-winning side, FC Barcelona.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The one-off match was played on 22 September 1971, between the first ever Fairs Cup winners, Barcelona, and the last winners, Leeds United. Barcelona won this play-off 2–1.<ref name=UEFADIRECT/>

Year	Champion	Score	Runner-up	Venue	City	Attend.
1971	Template:Fbicon Barcelona	check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Template:Fbicon Leeds United	Camp Nou	Barcelona	45,000

Performances

By club

Club	Winners	Runners-up	Winning years	Runner-up years
Template:Flagicon Barcelona	3	1	1958, 1960, 1966	1962
Template:Flagicon Valencia	2	1	1962, 1963	1964
Template:Flagicon Leeds United	2	1	1968, 1971	1967
Template:Flagicon Zaragoza	1	1	1964	1966
Template:Flagicon Ferencváros	1	1	1965	1968
Template:Flagicon Dinamo Zagreb	1	1	1967	1963
Template:Flagicon Roma	1	0	1961
Template:Flagicon Newcastle United	1	0	1969
Template:Flagicon Arsenal	1	0	1970
Template:Flagicon Birmingham City	0	2		1960, 1961
Template:Flagicon Juventus	0	2		1965, 1971
Template:Flagicon London XI	0	1		1958
Template:Flagicon Újpest	0	1		1969
Template:Flagicon Anderlecht	0	1		1970

By nation

Nation	Winners	Runners-up	Total
Template:Fba	6	3	9
Template:Fba	4	4	8
Template:Fba	1	2	3
Template:Fba	1	2	3
Template:Fba	1	1	2
Template:Fba	0	1	1

All-time top scorers

Rank	Player	Goals	Club(s)
1	Template:Flagicon Waldo	31	Template:Flagicon Valencia
2	Template:Flagicon Peter Lorimer	20	Template:Flagicon Leeds United
3	Template:Flagicon Flórián Albert	19	Template:Flagicon Ferencváros
	Template:Flagicon Ferenc Bene		Template:Flagicon Újpest
	Template:Flagicon José Antonio Zaldúa		Template:Flagicon Barcelona
6	Template:Flagicon Pedro Manfredini	18	Template:Flagicon Roma
7	Template:Flagicon Evaristo	17	Template:Flagicon Barcelona
8	Template:Flagicon Vicente Guillot	16	Template:Flagicon Valencia
9	Template:Flagicon Marcelino	15	Template:Flagicon Zaragoza
10	Template:Flagicon Héctor Núñez	14	Template:Flagicon Valencia

Top scorers by season

Season	Player(s)	Goals	Club(s)
1955–58	Template:Flagicon Evaristo	4	Template:Flagicon Barcelona
	Template:Flagicon Justo Tejada
	Template:Flagicon Peter Murphy		Template:Flagicon Birmingham City
	Template:Flagicon Cliff Holton		Template:Flagicon London XI
	Template:Flagicon Norbert Eschmann		Template:Flagicon Lausanne-Sport
1958–60	Template:Flagicon Bora Kostić	6	Template:Flagicon Belgrade XI
1960–61	Template:Flagicon Pedro Manfredini	12	Template:Flagicon Roma
1961–62	Template:Flagicon Waldo	9	Template:Flagicon Valencia
1962–63	Template:Flagicon Francisco Lojacono	6	Template:Flagicon Roma
	Template:Flagicon Pedro Manfredini
	Template:Flagicon Waldo		Template:Flagicon Valencia
1963–64	Template:Flagicon Waldo	6	Template:Flagicon Valencia
1964–65	Template:Flagicon Bobby Charlton	8	Template:Flagicon Manchester United
	Template:Flagicon Denis Law
1965–66	Template:Flagicon José Antonio Zaldúa	8	Template:Flagicon Barcelona
1966–67	Template:Flagicon Flórián Albert	8	Template:Flagicon Ferencváros
1967–68	Template:Flagicon Peter Lorimer	8	Template:Flagicon Leeds United
1968–69	Template:Flagicon Antal Dunai	10	Template:Flagicon Újpest
1969–70	Template:Flagicon Paul Van Himst	10	Template:Flagicon Anderlecht
1970–71	Template:Flagicon Pietro Anastasi	10	Template:Flagicon Juventus

Source: rsssf.com

Bibliography

• Template:Cite book

External links

• Inter-Cities Fairs Cup at the RSSSF