March date for Nyon draw

Live on uefa.com
Sixteen teams, which are likely to include some illustrious European footballing names, will go into the hat for the fourth-round draw. Teams will be split into two groups of eight, with half the teams seeded and the other half unseeded. UEFA has also ruled that no clubs will be seeded in the quarter-finals and semi-finals. The draw ceremony will be transmitted live on uefa.com.

New format
This season is the last time that the UEFA Cup will be played under its current format. From 2004/05, the competition will feature a first-round knockout phase of 80 teams, followed by a group phase involving 40 teams in eight groups of five. The 24 teams who negotiate this stage (the top three from each group) will then be joined by eight teams from the UEFA Champions League for the final knockout phase, which will consist of 32 teams.

Barcelona talks
The UEFA Cup was also discussed at the European Club Forum meeting in Barcelona on Monday. The forum has been an important platform for changes to the competition. The talks in Spain, said UEFA, were "based on unanimous agreement that the time has come to rebrand the competition. Marketing questions need to be examined in detail in order to make concrete proposals to UEFA's Executive Committee".

Media accreditation
Media representatives wishing to attend the draw are asked to apply for accreditation via uefa.com. Click here for more details.