1 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

Lore & Background

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 the first running of the competition, London entered a team that consisted of mixed players from various London clubs.

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. The competition was organised by the Fairs Cup Committee which was led by some FIFA executives until 1971, when it was superseded by the UEFA-organised UEFA Cup. 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.'

Reader's Guide

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).

Did You Know?

• Leeds United became the first English club to win the Fairs Cup in 1968.
• The last Fairs Cup final was decided on away goals, with Leeds United beating Juventus 3–3 on aggregate.
• A play-off match was held on 22 September 1971 between the first winners, Barcelona, and the last winners, Leeds United, for permanent possession of the trophy; Barcelona won 2–1.