beachesl Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 European soccer changes format of UEFA Cup July 10, 2003 NYON, Switzerland (AP) -- European soccer's governing body Thursday changed the format of the UEFA Cup in an attempt to make the tournament more attractive. The 2004-05 club competition will be based on a first-round knockout phase involving 80 teams, followed by a group phase in which 40 teams compete in eight groups of five. The 24 teams that qualify will then be joined by eight teams from the Champions League for the final knockout rounds. The new format will mean the winner plays 15 games, more if it goes through the qualification phase. ``We have acted to refresh and develop the competition for the future,'' UEFA president Lennart Johansson said. UEFA also presented the proposal it will submit to soccer's governing body for European qualifying for the 2006 World Cup. Fifty-one countries will vie for 13 berths. Plans call for three groups of seven teams and five groups of six. The eight group winners and two best runners-up would qualify, with a playoff among the six other runners-up deciding the last three spots. Also, UEFA fined the Italian club Juventus $110,000 for security and crowd problems during its Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid. A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject. -- Winston Churchill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachesl Posted July 10, 2003 Author Share Posted July 10, 2003 see also, UEFA news release: http://www.uefa.com/uefa/news/Kind=128/newsId=80544.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachesl Posted July 10, 2003 Author Share Posted July 10, 2003 see also, UEFA news release: http://www.uefa.com/uefa/news/Kind=128/newsId=80544.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziv2002 Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 Im not sure thats "good news" for the Israeli teams, well,we well do are best,thanks for the info! Israel are on their way to... Euro 2004!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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