 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.