TEXACO CUP

TEXACO CUP 1970 to 1975

The Texaco Cup was a competition involving football clubs from England, Northern Ireland, Ireland and Scotland that had not qualified for the three major UEFA European competitions – The European Cup, the European Cup Winners’ Cup and the UEFA Cup. Irish clubs withdrew from the competition after 1971-72 due to political pressure and in 1973-74 and 1974-75 competed in a separate Texaco (All-Ireland) Cup.
The American petroleum giant Texaco sponsored the tournament to the tune of £100,000 a season.
In the first two season sixteen clubs (six from England, six from Scotland and four from Ireland) entered, and following the withdrawal of the Irish teams this changed to nine English and seven Scottish sides.
For the final season of the competition, 16 English clubs (including a number of Second Division sides, and the Third and Fourth Division champions) played in groups before being joined in the knockout stages by four Scottish sides.