1970 Anglo-Italian Cup

The 1970 Anglo-Italian Cup was the inaugural Anglo-Italian Cup competition. The European football competition was played between clubs from England and Italy and was founded by Gigi Peronace in 1970, following the success of the Anglo-Italian League Cup. The competition culminated in a final between Napoli and Swindon Town. Swindon won the competition after leading in the final which was abandoned before full-time due to violence.

The Football League Cup was changed in 1967 so that the winner would additionally receive a place in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. However, when Queens Park Rangers won the final that year, they were in the Third Division and, at that time, UEFA did not allow third-tier teams to compete in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. When another Third Division club, Swindon Town, won the 1969 Football League Cup, the Anglo-Italian League Cup was organised as a way of compensating Swindon for the ruling that prevented them competing in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, and Swindon won a two-legged match against that year's Coppa Italia champions A.S. Roma. Following the popularity of that event, and as a way to generate income to pay players' wages during the extended close season caused by the 1970 FIFA World Cup, the first Anglo-Italian Cup was inaugurated the following season.

For the competition there were six English teams: Swindon Town, Sheffield Wednesday, Middlesbrough, West Bromwich Albion, Sunderland and Wolverhampton Wanderers, and six Italian teams: Napoli, Juventus, Roma, Fiorentina, Lazio and Vicenza. These teams were split into three groups consisting of two English and two Italian teams each. Each team played against the two teams in their group from the opposing nation. Matches were played home and away with the first legs played in England and the second legs played in Italy. Two points were awarded for a win, one point for a draw, and a point for each goal scored. The team with the highest number points from each nation then contested the final.

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