The Intertoto Cup was the brainchild of Ernst Thommen and Karl Rappan, the latter harbouring dreams of creating a European league, the former, being involved in the "football pools" in Switzerland, being interested in a competition to help keep the betting business ticking over during the summer. It could be said that Thommen got what he wanted whilst Rappan had to settle for a knockout tournament involving, for the most part, Europe’s "lesser lights" rather than his European league.
The idea was a first frowned upon by UEFA but despite this initial reluctance, Thommen was granted permission to launch the tournament - outside the governing body's jurisdiction - and the Intertoto Cup kicked off in 1961 as a summer tournament. As the tournament grew in popularity UEFA "warmed" to the idea of the competition and in 1995 they officially sanctioned the event for the first time that year.
The format of the competition went through varying changes during its lifetime with probably the most beneficial change being that the two winners (yes, there were multiple winners!) would both qualify for the UEFA Cup.
The competition itself "ended" in 2009 when changes were made to the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Europa League was born.
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