Have you heard the story of Bizkaia Gernika getting into the Amlin Challenge Cup?
They actually finished mid table in the Spanish league (5th in a 10 team league), but the top 4 teams said they couldn't afford the money to play in the tournament.
Hopefully they will be removed soon, baffles me how World Cup nations like Georgia and Russia's domestic teams aren't involved yet Spain get a team in the tournament. Romania probably have the strongest domestic system of the Tier 2 European nations but then aren't allowed to enter a proper club.