Eggheads Got One Basic Football Question Wrong Despite Being Elite Quizmasters

The Eggheads once got a basic football question wrong despite being some of the best quizzers in the country.

For people who are not familiar, 'Eggheads' was a British quiz show that aired on the BBC from 2003 to 2023.

The popular show was hosted by Jeremy Vine from 2008 to 2023.

Back in May 2024, it was revealed that the show had been shelved.

The concept was simple: a team of five quiz and game show champions (the Eggheads) is challenged by a team of five contestants for prize money.

Despite being some of the best quizzers in the country, the Eggheads were once stumped by one simple football-related question.

The question was: "The Intertoto Cup was introduced as a summer competition in which sport?"

The options available were: "Rugby, Football and Basketball."

Football was the correct answer; the Intertoto Cup was originally called the International Football Cup.

It was governed by UEFA, and it was created as a summer football competition between European clubs.

Originally founded in 1961, the Intertoto Cup was taken over by UEFA in 1995.

Once UEFA took over, the tournament had a group stage and a knockout stage.

The Intertoto Cup was abolished in 2008. Image: Getty

In total, 60 teams entered the cup and were split into 12 groups of five, with the 16 best teams through to the next stage.

In 2008, the last Intertoto Cup took place, with Portuguese side Braga winning the title.

Throughout the existence of the competition, Hamburger SV, Schalke 04, VfB Stuttgart and Villarreal have won the most titles, winning two each.

After 2008, the Intertoto Cup was abolished as UEFA decided to streamline their competitions.

Winning the competition in 1999, ex-West Ham United man Steve Lomas said: "We finished fifth in the Premier League in 1998/99, but we didn’t qualify for Europe automatically, so we had to go the long way around through the Intertoto Cup.

"Obviously the lads were a bit gutted because it meant cutting the break short, but once we got into it we went to some great places. If you ask the fans who went, I think they’d say going there and winning was one of their most enjoyable occasions. We had a run in the UEFA Cup after that, which they also enjoyed."