Sixty-one teams to take part in Intertoto Cup

Forty-two teams will launch their European campaign as early as June 18 and 19 when the first legs of the first round matches from the Intertoto Cup will be played.

The draw for the first three rounds of the 2005 Intertoto Cup, held in Nyon on Monday, yielded a tough opening tie for the Maltese club as they will face the first team from Serbia and Montenegro to qualify for this competition.

In all, 61 teams will take part in the Intertoto Cup. The prize is three berths in next season's UEFA Cup.

Malta's representative will be known at the end of the domestic football season next month.

The team finishing third in the Premier League earns the right to participate in the Intertoto Cup but in the event that the third-placed side secures qualification to the UEFA Cup via the FA Trophy, their slot in the summer competition will be inherited by the fourth-placed team.

The first leg match will be played in Malta on June 18 or 19 with the return leg scheduled for Serbia a week later. Spain's second team in the Intertoto Cup awaits the winner of the match involving the Maltese side.

Although the Intertoto Cup lags the Champions League and the UEFA Cup in popularity, its appeal has increased the past two seasons.

For two years in a row, Spanish club Villarreal have shown that the Intertoto Cup can be exploited as a launching pad for greater things.

In 2003, they reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup after advancing from the Intertoto Cup, something they hope to replicate this term after taking the same route.

For the past two years Malta's flag in this competition has been flown by Hibernians.

In 2003, they lost to Finnish side AC Allianssi 2-1 on aggregate and last year, they bowed out to Slaven Belupo of Croatia, 4-2 on aggregate.