Man City awarded UEFA Cup spot

Manchester City will play in next season's UEFA Cup after England were awarded an extra spot in the competition for topping UEFA's Fair Play table.

The Premier League confirmed on Friday that City, who finished the season in ninth place, would be the recipients of the extra spot after it published its own final fair play standings.

Though City came only sixth in the fair play table, the five clubs in front of them had already qualified for European competition.

UEFA announced that England had been awarded another place last Friday but fair play statistics from the final two rounds of Premier League fixtures had not been added.

City defender Richard Dunne was sent off in the final game of the season at Middlesbrough, meaning an anxious wait for the club before knowing whether they were in the UEFA Cup.

Though they slipped one place in the Premier League's fair play standings, they remained just above Fulham.

"It's like the dream came true. Our dream to play in Europe has been strong all season," City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson told the club's Web site (www.mcfc.co.uk).

"At one point we thought we were almost sure to get there, at other points we've been almost out of it, but now this news is absolutely fantastic for the club."

City will join Everton, who finished fifth in the Premier League and League Cup winners Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Cup. The fourth place will go to either Portsmouth or Cardiff City who contest the FA Cup final on Saturday.