ETTU Cup
The ETTU Cup is a European table tennis competition for club teams. It is conducted by the European Table Tennis Association ETTU annually for women's and men's teams. It is roughly comparable to the UEFA Europa League in football.
Name
The competition was first held in season 1964/65 for men and one year later for women. At that time this was called Tournament of the European Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. This tournament series was initiated by VfB Pirmasens. In 1984 it was renamed ETTU Nancy Evans Cup after the wife of the ITTF President Roy Evans. Since 2005, it says ETTU Cup.
The trophy went from winner to winner. Had a club won the competition three times, then he retained the trophy. One of the trophies donated by Hans Frieder Baisch and Klaus Henges. Henges was until 1998 head of game in this competition.
Participant
Each member of the ETTU may report up to six teams. They must play in the current season in the top domestic league. Automatically eligible is the winner of the previous season. Even non- trade fair cities can compete. Only the national champion and state runner-up are not allowed to.
The German Table Tennis Association DTTB nominated even those clubs who have reached the semi-finals of the DTTB Cup.
Trends
Be first in the men's 1964/65 the DJK Sports Federation Stuttgart wore a the list of winners. In subsequent years, mostly Eastern European teams dominated the competition in the men until the late 1970s, with the ladies until the end of the 1980s. This led Kenner back to the targeted promotion of table tennis in the east, the players were optimum training opportunities and good trainers. Later increasingly gained Western European teams, very often German, the Cup. The reason the increasing professionalization is called: Sponsors were obtained, requiring foreign top players.
1986 ETTU congress decided that only may attend those teams that are in the top domestic league championship in the last season in the top six or enter the Cup championship in the top four, if they do not participate in the European Cup of Champions. In addition, an alien may be employed only at most. Thus, each association could report 10 teams to ETTU Cup. This was reduced in 1996 to 6 teams. At the same time the final was switched to the mode best of three: There is a return game instead; with each team winning once a decision game is played. Later, each association could report the first seven teams from the highest national league. Remained free places, then climbers were admitted into the highest league in practice.