European Cup

The European Cup, also known as the Europa Cup, was a European ice hockey club competition for champions of national leagues which was contested between 1965 and 1997, governed by the International Ice Hockey Federation (International Ice Hockey Federation).

History
Inspired by the success of football's European Cup (now UEFA Champions League), the International Ice Hockey Federation decided to start the competition in 1965 during a meeting in Tampere, Finland. The idea was brought up by a German, Dr. Sabetzki, and approved by a majority of the delegates.

However, the tournament was often plagued with problems. Teams from different countries were generally of wildly differing standards due to different levels of development in ice hockey across Europe, resulting in many uncompetitive, one-sided games. Significant organisational difficulties were also posed by the refusal of some Soviet Union teams to play away games in certain places. This resulted in no final being held some years, and more than one final being held in others. The competition was discontinued after 1997. In its place, the European Hockey League and the Continental Cup, and later the International Ice Hockey Federation European Champions Cup, were started.

Format
Teams were seeded and drawn into groups of four teams, with the winners of each group progressing to the next round, where they were drawn into groups again. Each round was played over a long weekend (Friday to Sunday) in a single venue, until one final group was left, the winner of which would be considered champions. After the European Cup was discontinued, the Continental Cup would adopt this format.