 Their FA Cup triumph would also have qualified them for the 1999 FA Charity Shield and the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup, but their position as league winners meant that they had already qualified for the Charity Shield and the higher-tier Champions League; therefore, the other place in the Charity Shield went to league runners-up Arsenal, while the UEFA Cup place usually reserved for the cup winners went to Newcastle as cup runners-up.Manchester United decided not to defend their FA Cup title the following season, having instead been invited to compete in the inaugural FIFA Club World Championship in Brazil.The Football Association (FA) encouraged the club to take part in the new tournament as they believed it would help their bid to host the 2006 FIFA World Cup.