Balkans Cup
The Balkans Cup was an international football competition for clubs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. It was introduced in 1961 and was very popular in the 1960s, being the second most important international club competition for clubs from the region. The competition has been [|dominated] by Bulgaria-based teams. The Bulgarian teams have won together a total number of 9 titles.
It later declined after Balkan clubs obtained more representation in the two minor UEFA competitions, in contrast to the Balkan Cup for national teams.
Editions
- Competition's formats:
Performances
By club
When sorted by year of winning or losing final, the table is sorted by the year of each club's first final.- All 24 Clubs that appeared in the Balkans Cup for 3 times or more, eventually Reached the Final with the exception of: Galatasaray and Beşiktaş of Turkey, Vllaznia Shkodër of Albania and Universitatea Craiova of Romania.
- Beroe Stara Zagora of Bulgaria is competition's Record Holder concerning participation, finals reached and wins, while in their single lost final against Partizani for 1970 edition, they opted not showing up in Tirana for the return leg of a 1–1 draw at home.
- Next to Beroe's 4, their compatriots Slavia Sofia reached 3 Finals, while Romanian Argeş Piteşti had 2, plus one runner-up spot in group.
- 6 clubs won Balkans Cup in their Single Entry: Dinamo Zagreb in 1976, Panathinaikos Athens in 1977, Velež Mostar in 1980–81, Inter Sibiu in 1990–91, Sarıyer İstanbul in 1991–92 and Edessaikos Edessa in 1992–93 edition.
By country
Top performer by country:
| Country | Club | Winners | Finalists | Finals | Entries | Notes |
 BUL | Beroe Stara Zagora | 4 | 1 | 4 | 7 | Balkans Cup record holder in wins, finals reached and entries. |
 ROU | Rapid București | 2 | – | 2 | 2 | |
 YUG | NK Rijeka | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | Radnički Niš same performance in 3 entries. |
 GRE | Panionios Smyrna | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
 TUR | Sarıyer İstanbul | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | Samsunspor and Fenerbahçe 1 win in 2 and 4 entries respectively. |
 ALB | Partizani Tirana | 1 | – | 1 | 5 |
Participation
By club
In the 33 years of its existence, a total of 89 clubs from 6 countries appeared in the 28 Balkans Cup editions. Two of them, both Turkish, withdrawn their participation before playing a single match: Zonguldakspor in 1980–81 and Trabzonspor in 1986.Sides with 4 entries or more:
| Club | Country | Entries | Winners | Finalists | Finals | First Edition | Last Edition | Notes |
| Beroe Stara Zagora | BUL | 7 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1967–68 | 1992–93 | - |
| Slavia Sofia | BUL | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1977 | 1987–88 | - |
| Partizani | ALB | 5 | 1 | – | 1 | 1961 | 1979–80 | - |
| Dinamo Tirana | ALB | 5 | – | 1 | 1 | 1961–63 | 1987–88 | - |
| Galatasaray | TUR | 5 | – | – | – | 1961–63 | 1990–91 | Also Withdrew in 1977–78 and 1979–80. |
| Steagul Roşu Braşov | ROU | 4 | 1 | – | - | 1961 | 1972 | - |
| Fenerbahçe | TUR | 4 | 1 | – | 1 | 1961 | 1967–68 | Also Withdrew in 1963–64. |
| Lokomotiv Sofia | BUL | 4 | 1 | – | 1 | 1966–67 | 1988–89 | - |
| Vardar Skopje | YUG | 4 | – | 2 | 2 | 1964–66 | 1974 | - |
| Farul Constanţa |  ROU | 4 | – | 1 | 1 | 1964–66 | 1975 | - |
| AEK Athens | GRE | 4 | – | 1 | 1 | 1961 | 1980–81 | - |
| 17 Nëntori Tirana | ALB | 4 | – | 1 | 1 | 1964–66 | 1990–91 | - |
By country
n and Turkish sides were present at each one of the 28 Balkans Cup editions, while Yugoslavian were absent 9 times in total, entering just twice during its last decade of existence. Generally, South Slavs were never keen supporters of the competition, as they had neither been enthusiastic about the national teams' Balkan Cup, too.Despite the fact that in each edition there was at least one Turkish side initially entering, in no less than 5 occasions it withdrew before playing a single match and in 5 more quit during group stage, after unsuccessful results. Greeks followed with 1 withdrawal and 4 quits, while clubs from all countries had sporadically terminated their participation in some early stage of the competition, except for Albanian. Multiple winner and several other records holder Beroe Stara Zagora, became the only Bulgarian side ever to withdraw or quit a Balkans Cup match and the single one to do so in a final, by not showing up for 1970 edition's return leg against Partizani Tirana of Albania, following a 1–1 draw at home.