TheIIHF European Cup, also known as theEuropa Cup, was a Europeanice hockey club competition for champions of national leagues which was contested between 1965 and 1997, governed by theInternational Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).
The tournament encountered problems. Countries had different levels of development in ice hockey, so some teams were weaker than others, resulting in a number of uncompetitive, one-sided games. Organisational difficulties were also posed by the refusal of someSoviet 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, theEuropean Hockey League and theContinental Cup, and later theIIHF European Champions Cup, were started.
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 the champion. After the European Cup was discontinued, theContinental Cup would adopt this format.
CSKA Moscow (20 titles)
ZKL Brno
EV Füssen
EC KAC
Vålerenga
Ilves
SC Dynamo Berlin
Leksands IF
SG Cortina
Tilburg Trappers
HC Lada Togliatti
