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Football tournament From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Cypriot Cup, formally known as the Cypriot Coca-Cola Cup of First and Second Division (Greek: Κύπελλο Κύπρου Coca-Cola A' B' Κατηγορίας) for sponsorship purposes, is a Cypriot knockout football club competition, hosted annually by the Cyprus Football Association.[1][2]
Founded | 1934 |
---|---|
Region | Cyprus |
Number of teams | 28 |
Domestic cup(s) | Cypriot Super Cup |
Current champions | Pafos (1st title) |
Most successful club(s) | APOEL (21 titles) |
Television broadcasters | CytaVision PrimeTel |
Website | cfacup.com.cy |
2024–25 Cypriot Cup |
First held in 1934, it is the second most important competition in Cypriot football, after the Cypriot First Division. Since 2008, it is contested by teams from the first and second division, while teams from the third and fourth division compete in the Cypriot Cup for lower divisions.
The winners of the Cypriot Cup qualify for one of UEFA's European competitions, and a place in the Cypriot Super Cup. APOEL are the most successful team in the competition with 21 titles, while Pafos FC are the current champions, having defeated Omonoia in the 2024 final.
The Cypriot Cup was first held in the 1934–35 season, the same year the Cyprus Football Association was founded. The 1934–35 Cypriot Cup was the first competition ever held by CFA, since it took part before the 1934–35 Cypriot First Division.[3] The Cyprus Cup has been held every season since then, with the following exceptions:
Since 1962, the sponsor of the competition is Coca-Cola Cyprus (Lanitis Bros Ltd). In 1998, the competition was officially named the Cypriot Coca-Cola Cup.[1][4][9]
At first, only the teams of the Cypriot First Division could take part in the competition. The Cypriot Second Division was considered non-league at the time, since it majorly consisted of reserve teams of the First Division clubs.
From 1952–53 until 2007–08, the teams of the Cypriot Second Division also took part in the Cypriot Cup, with the exception of the 1963–64 season. In certain seasons in the 1960s and 1970s, only the top teams of the league would participate. From 1975–76 onwards, every team of the Second Division would take part in the Cypriot Cup. No Second Division team has ever reached the final, but they managed to qualify to the semi-finals four times (Nea Salamis Famagusta in 1953–54, Orfeas Nicosia in 1983–84, PAEEK in 1984–85 and AEP Paphos in 2005–06).
From 1971–72 until 2007–08, the teams of the Cypriot Third Division would take part in Cypriot Cup. Since 2008–09, the Third Division teams are no longer allowed to participate, but if they so wish, they can take part in the Cypriot Cup for lower divisions. No Third Division team ever reached the final or the semi-finals, but they managed to qualify to the quarter-finals once (Chalkanoras Idaliou in 1987–88).
The teams of the Cypriot Fourth Division would take part in the Cypriot Cup from 1986–87 until 2007–08. Since 2008–09, the Cypriot Fourth Division teams do not participate in the Cypriot Cup, but they are allowed to take part in the Cypriot Cup for lower divisions.
The structure of the cup has changed throughout the years:
Since 1962–63, the winner of the Cypriot Cup qualifies to one of the UEFA competitions. Initially, this would be the Cup Winners' Cup.[10][11] After the Cup Winners' Cup was abolished in 1999, the Cypriot Cup winner would qualify for the UEFA Cup (known as the Europa League since 2009).[12] Since the 2022–23 season, the Cup winner enters the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Europa League.
Previously, if the cup winner was also the winner of the Cypriot First Division (meaning they had already qualified for a European competition), their place would be given to the runners-up of the Cup. Since 2015, after UEFA's decision, if the cup winner is also the winner of the Cypriot First Division, then the place of the Cypriot Cup winner is given to the second team of the domestic championship, and the fourth team also qualifies to the same European competition.[13][14]
The Cypriot Cup final has taken place in six different stadiums. From 1934–35 until 1974–75, the final was held in Nicosia, at the old GSP Stadium, regardless of whether the stadium was the home ground of one of the two finalists. The only exception was the 1970–71 Cypriot Cup, where a replay final was needed after Omonia and Anorthosis had drawn at the GSP Stadium (Omonia's home ground). The replay was played at the GSE Stadium, Anorthosis' home ground in Famagusta. The GSP Stadium was chosen as the ground of the final as it was the stadium with the biggest capacity in Cyprus, at the time.[15]
In 1975, the Tsirion Stadium was built in Limassol, and it hosted the final of the 1975–76 Cypriot Cup. The next two finals were played at the GSP Stadium. The final of the 1977–78 Cypriot Cup was the last one to take place at the old GSP Stadium. The final of the 1978–79 Cypriot Cup was played at the newly built Makario Stadium at Nicosia.[15]
After 1981, the ground of the final was chosen with neutrality in mind: If the two teams were based in different cities, then the final would take place in a third city. In the event that this was not an option (there were only appropriate stadiums in Nicosia and Limassol until 1989), the ground of the final was determined by a draw.[15]
In 1999, the new GSP Stadium was built, and hosted the 1999–2000 Cypriot Cup final between Omonia and APOEL. Since then, due to its large capacity, the GSP stadium is always considered to be the first choice option for the cup final, although it is often not a neutral ground, as APOEL and Omonia frequently appear in the final.[15]
The following table shows the stadiums that held the Cypriot Cup finals from 1934–35 until 2022–23, the number of finals that each stadium held and the seasons where each stadium held the final. Although there are 81 editions of the Cypriot Cup, 85 finals have been played, as a replay was needed in five cases, while the 2019–20 Cypriot Cup was abandoned.
Stadium | N. | Seasons |
---|---|---|
Old GSP Stadium | 37 | 1934–35 (2 finals), 1935–36, 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1944–45, 1945–46, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1958–59, 1961–62, 1962–63 (2 finals), 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1977–78 |
Tsirion Stadium | 18 | 1975–76, 1980–81 (2 finals), 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2012–13, 2015–16 |
GSP Stadium | 17 | 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021-22, 2022-23 |
Makario Stadium | 7 | 1978–79, 1979–80, 1981–82 (replay), 1984–85, 1990–91, 1996–97, 1997–98 |
GSZ Stadium | 5 | 1992–93, 2005–06, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2014–15 |
GSE Stadium | 1 | 1970–71 (replay) |
The table below lists the teams that participated in the final of the cup each season.[16][17][18]
The following table shows the participations per club in the cup from its foundation up to the 2016–17 season, and the statistics of each team regarding the wins, the times were finalists, their appearances in the semi-finals and the quarter-finals, and the number of qualifications and eliminations that each team has achieved or suffered respectively.[19]
The teams are classified based on the number of entries in the competition. So far, a total of 158 teams participated in the Cypriot Cup. No team has participated in all the cup editions (74 in total, including the 2016–17 season). APOEL and AEL were absent only from a single cup season, the season they were participating in the Greek league.
Legend:
Notes:
1The team has 4 participations as PAEK, 3 participations as PAEK/AEK and 40 participations as PAEEK.
2The team has 8 participations as APEP Limassol and 25 participations as APEP Pitsilias.
3The team has some participations as Enosis-Keravnos.
4The team has 11 participations as Lefkoşa Türk Spor Kulübü and 6 participations as Çetinkaya Türk.
5The team has 3 participations as AEM Mesogis and 3 participations as AEM Mesogis/Giolou.
6The team has 2 participations as AOL Lakatamias and 4 participations as AOL – Omonia Lakatamias.
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