England top UEFA Fair Play table

England lead UEFA's Fair Play ranking with another eight national associations – Norway, Germany, Sweden, France, Denmark, Spain, Estonia and Finland – also in the race for the three places on offer in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup first qualifying round.

Up to 31 December
The latest ranking takes into account matches up to and including 31 December 2007. Overall, it is based on all UEFA competition matches played, at club and national-team levels, from 1 May 2007 to 30 April 2008.

Minimum 28 matches
For the current standings, only national associations that have played a minimum of 28 games are considered. This cut-off point is calculated by dividing the total number of UEFA matches by the number of national associations.

Average eight points or more
Once the UEFA Fair Play ranking is finalised at the end of the season, all national associations that have attained an average of eight points or more will enter a draw to determine which two countries will be entitled, along with the outright winner, to enter an additional team for the UEFA Cup.

England and eight rivals
At the moment, leaders England and eight other national associations are above this 'pass mark'. However, any association ranked under eight points today, could still join the draw for the two UEFA Cup places, should their Fair Play record improve and should they have played the required number of games.

Delegates' assessments
The Fair Play assessments are made by the official UEFA delegates following criteria such as positive play, respect for the opponent, respect for the referee, behaviour of the crowd and team officials, as well as cautions and dismissals.

Additional UEFA Cup trio
The three associations which are allocated an additional UEFA Cup place will be entitled to enter the club that have won the domestic top-flight fair play league. If this club have already qualified for a UEFA tournament, the second-placed team in the domestic competition may be entered – and if they have already qualified, the third-placed team, and so forth.

Relegated teams can qualify
It is even possible for a team who have been relegated to the second division to qualify for the UEFA Cup, as a result of their exemplary conduct during the domestic championship, provided they hold the mandatory UEFA club licence.

Click here for the full ranking at 31 December 2007.