Cypriot Cup


The Cypriot Cup is the main cup competition in Cypriot football, run by the Cyprus Football Association. It began in 1934, the same season with the Cypriot Championship. It is the second most important competition for Cypriot club teams after Cypriot Championship. Only the Cypriot First Division and the second division teams are participating in the competition.
The sponsor of the competition since 1962 is Coca-Cola and thus officially known as Cyprus Coca-Cola Cup.

History

The Cypriot Cup started in the 1934–35 season, when the Cyprus Football Association was founded. The 1934–35 Cypriot Cup was the first competition held by CFA, since it took part before the 1934–35 Cypriot First Division. The Cyprus Cup is held every season since 1934 expect:
  1. The period 1941–1944 the championship was not held due to World War II. Many Cypriots were volunteer enlisted in the Greek and English army, and also formed a Cypriot constitution. Most teams have undertaken national project by collecting money and clothing to be sent to Greece in order to assist the Greek people and the army. Moreover, many Greek refugees fled to Cyprus. Due to the prevailed war conditions the CFA decided to suspend all the competitions.
  2. The periods 1955–58 and 1959–61 was not held due to the unstable situation in Cyprus during EOKA fight. Meanwhile, a special cup was held in 1958–59 season. That season the Cypriot Championship was not held for the same reasons. When the situation calmed down and Cyprus was going to gain its independence, CFA decided to activate the teams that were inactive for several months and decided to launch a special cup called the "Independence Cup". The competition was official and the winner team was listed to Cypriot Cup's winners.
The cup was held again in the 1961–62 Cypriot Cup. The sponsor of the competition since 1962 is Coca-Cola Cyprus. The period 1998–99 the Cypriot Cup rename officially to Cyprus Coca-Cola Cup.

Participating teams

At first, only the teams of Cypriot First Division were taking part in the Cypriot Cup. The Cypriot Second Division founded in 1934 like as the Cypriot First Division, but it was unofficial, since the league was consisted of teams that didn't participate in the Cypriot First Division and the reserve teams of the Cypriot First Division clubs.
Since 1952–53, the teams of the Cypriot Second Division are taking part in the Cypriot Cup, with the only exception being the period 1963–64. In some editions of the decades of 60 and 70, in the competition participated only the first teams of that league. From 1975–76, all the teams of Cypriot Second Division are taking part in the Cyprus Cup. No Second Division team ever reach the final but they managed to qualify to the semi-finals four times.
From 1971–72 until 2007–08, the teams of the Cypriot Third Division were taking part in Cypriot Cup. From 2008–09, the Cypriot Third Division teams are not allowed to take part to Cypriot Cup but they can take part to the Cypriot Cup for lower divisions. No Third Division team ever reached the final or the semifinals, but they managed to qualify to the quarter-finals once.
The teams of the Cypriot Fourth Division were taking part to the Cypriot Cup from 1986–87 until 2007–08. From 2008–09, the Cypriot Fourth Division teams were not allowed to take part to Cypriot Cup but they could take part to the Cypriot Cup for lower divisions.

Format

The structure of the cup was changed some times during the seasons.
  1. From 1934–35 until 1983–84, the competition was traditionally a pure knockout tournament. In all rounds each tie was played as a single leg and was held at the home ground of the one of the two teams, according to the draw results. Each tie winner was qualifying to the next round. If a match was drawn, extra time was following. If extra time was ended also in a draw, there was a replay at the ground of the team who were away for the first game. Exceptions were the 1958–59 Cypriot Cup and the 1973–74 Cypriot Cup, with all ties being two-legged, except the final which was a single match.
  2. From 1984–85 until 2001–02, the competition was traditionally a pure knockout tournament. The preliminary rounds were played as a single leg and was held at the home ground of the one of the two teams, according to the draw results. From the first round all ties were two-legged, except the final which was a single match.
  3. From 2002–03 until 2005–06, the competition was traditionally a pure knockout tournament. The preliminary rounds were played as a single leg and was held at the home ground of the one of the two teams, according to the draw results. From the first round all ties were two-legged, except the round of 16 where the teams were drawn into four groups of four. The teams of each group played against each other twice, once at their home and once away. The group winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the quarter-finals. The final was a single match.
  4. From 2006–07 until 2007–08, the competition was traditionally a pure knockout tournament. The preliminary rounds were played as a single leg and was held at the home ground of the one of the two teams, according to the draw results. From the first round all ties were two-legged, except the quarter-finals where the teams were drawn into two groups of four. The teams of each group played against each other twice, once at their home and once away. The group winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the semi-finals. The final was a single match.
  5. From 2008–09 until 2010–11, the competition was traditionally a pure knockout tournament. All ties were two-legged, except the final which was in a single match. Since 2011–12 Cypriot Cup the preliminary round was played as a single leg and was held at the home ground of the one of the two teams, according to the draw results. From the first round all ties were two-legged, except the final which was a single match.
  6. Since 2011–12, the competition is traditionally a pure knockout tournament. The preliminary round is played as a single leg and is held at the home ground of the one of the two teams, according to the draw results. From the first round all ties are two-legged, except the final which is played in a single match.

    European participations

Since 1962–63, the winner of the Cypriot Cup was qualifying to one of the UEFA competitions. First, it was competing to the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. If the cup winner was also the winner of the Cypriot First Division, at the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was participating the finalist team. At 1999 the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was abolished. The Cypriot Cup winner was taking part to the UEFA Cup and since 2009 to the UEFA Europa League.
In all seasons, the Cypriot Cup winner was qualifying to the best place that Cyprus had at the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League. Previously, if the cup winner was also the winner of the Cypriot First Division, at the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was participating the finalist team. Since 2015, after UEFA's disicion, if the cup winner was also the winner of the Cypriot First Division, then the place of the Cypriot Cup winner at the UEFA Europa League is given to the second team of the domestic championship, and the fourth team also qualifies to the same European competition.

Host stadiums (finals)

The Cypriot Cup Final took place in six different stadiums. From 1934–35 until 1974–75, the final was held in Nicosia, at the old GSP Stadium, regardless if that stadium was the home ground of the one of the two finalist. The only exception was the 1970–71 Cypriot Cup, were a replay final was needed when the first final between Omonia and Anorthosis, that took part at the GSP Stadium, was drawn. The replay played at the GSE Stadium, the Anorthosis' home ground at Famagusta. GSP Stadium was chosen as the ground of the final because of its big capacity, compared to the other stadiums in Cyprus.
At 1937–38, AEL Limassol was the first team outside Nicosia to take part in the final. The opponent was Enosis Neon Trust and the ground of the final was the GSP Stadium, which was Trust's home ground. Cup winner was Trust. The next season, the finalists were AEL Limassol and APOEL. Although that the final was set to take place at the GSP Stadium, AEL reacted and asked for the final to be played at the GSO Stadium, their home ground in Limassol. A draw was made between the two stadiums, with the GSP to be drawn as the stadium of the final.
In 1975, the Tsirion Stadium at Limassol was built and the final of the 1975–76 Cypriot Cup took part at that stadium. The next two finals played at the GSP Stadium. The final of the 1977–78 Cypriot Cup was the last one that took part at the old GSP Stadium. The final of the 1978–79 Cypriot Cup played at the new build Makario Stadium at Nicosia.
Since 1981, when Cyprus had most appropriate stadiums for holding such matches, the neutrality of the ground of the final was always the goal, that if teams were coming from different cities, then the final would take place in a third city. At first, there were stadiums from Nicosia and Limassol. Until 1989, when the GSZ Stadium in Larnaca was built, when the opponents in the final were teams from Nicosia and Limassol, the ground of the final were determined by a draw. That was need in three occasions with always the Tsirion Stadium to be the winner.
According to the cup's proclamation, if the final ended in a draw, a replay was played at the home stadium of the other team. This was happened in the 1981–82, when the first final which was held at the Tsirion ended in a draw and the replay was held at the Makario. In 1989, the new GSZ Stadium was available and hosted for the first time the 1992-93 final.
In 1999, the new GSP Stadium was built, and hosted the final of the 1999-2000 Cypriot Cup between Omonia and APOEL. The new GSP Stadium was and is the common home ground of these two teams. Due to the large capacity and the modern facilities, the GSP is the first choice for the cup final, although is not a neutral stadium as the presence of APOEL and Omonia in the final is often. If the opponent team brought objections, a draw is made between the home stadiums of the two teams. This happened for the first time in the 2005-06 Cypriot Cup, with the new GSZ Stadium to win the draw. In the 2015–16 Cypriot Cup, a draw was made between the Tsirion Stadium and the GSP, with the first to win the draw.
In some cases, the opponent team agreed the final to be played at the GSP Stadium, even though it was their opponent's home ground. This was done in five finals. The first time was the 2004-05 Cypriot Cup when Digenis Akritas Morphou accepted the final against Omonia to take place at the GSP, their opponent's home ground. The 2006-07, Anorthosis accepted to play the final against Omonia at the GSP, and the same did in the 2007-08 Cypriot Cup final against APOEL. The 2011-12, AEL accepted to play the final against Omonia at the GSP, as Ermis Aradippou did in the 2013-14 Cypriot Cup against APOEL.
For the 2016-17 season, the final is scheduled from Cyprus Football Association to be held at the GSP Stadium, no matter which are the two participating teams.
The following table shows the stadiums that held the Cypriot Cup finals from the 1934–35 season until 2015–16 season, the number of finals that each stadium held and the seasons of the every was played in each stadium. Although there are 77 editions of the Cypriot Cup, the finals that are played are 82, as in five cases the final ended in a draw and rematch was played. The replay could be played either at the same stadium or at the home stadium of the other team, where the first final was held at the home ground of one of the two opponents.
StadiumN.Seasons
Old GSP Stadium371934–35, 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, 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 Stadium181975–76, 1980–81, 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 Stadium141999–00, 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
Makario Stadium71978–79, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1984–85, 1990–91, 1996–97, 1997–98
GSZ Stadium51992–93, 2005–06, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2014–15
GSE Stadium11970-71

Cypriot Cup Finals

The table below lists the teams that participated in the final of the cup each season.

Performances

Performance by club

Participated clubs per division

The following table shows the number of participating teams in the cup per season. Furthermore, it shows the number of participating teams per division.


Division not existed.


1APOEL participated in the 1974–75 Cypriot Cup, although were unofficially competing in the 1974–75 Cypriot First Division.
2The 1974–75 season, due to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus which forced many teams that had their headquarters to the north Cyprus to be closed temporarily or permanently, CFA decided to have a Special mixed championship of Second & Third Division. In this championship could participate all the teams of the Second Division and Third Division. Participation was optional. The championship had two geographical groups. The winners of each group were playing against each other in the final phase and the winners were the champions of the league. The winner was considered as the 1974–75 Cypriot Second Division champions.

Participations and performance per club

The following table shows the participations per club in the cup since its foundation up to the 2016-17 season, and the statistics of each team regarding the wins, the times were finalists, their presence in the semifinals and the quarterfinals, and the number of qualifications and eliminations of each team achieved or suffered.
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. APOEL and AEL were absent only from a single cup season, the season they were participating in the Greek league.
RankClubParticipationsWinnersRunners-upSemifinalsQuarterfinalsQualificationsExclusions
1APOEL FC752111535815554
2AEL Limassol75611274911069
3Olympiakos Nicosia721318377671
4Anorthosis Famagusta FC69106315112759
5Aris Limassol FC65017236665
6Nea Salamis Famagusta FC601212328659
7AC Omonia59147365014145
8Apollon Limassol5898283811449
9Alki Larnaca FC53058216953
10Enosis Neon Paralimni FC51047287551
11PAEEK FC14900143849
12EPA Larnaca FC475314265642
13Ethnikos Achna FC46015154946
14Othellos Athienou FC4600012246
15Pezoporikos Larnaca FC451717296644
16Ermis Aradippou FC4501174345
17Doxa Katokopias FC4500232645
18Omonia Aradippou4500052945
19Digenis Akritas Morphou FC4301133643
20ASIL Lysi4200032942
21Anagennisi Deryneia FC4200023942
22Chalkanoras Idaliou4100032741
23Ethnikos Assia FC4000032840
24Akritas Chlorakas3900011839
25APOP Paphos FC3800483138
26Orfeas Nicosia3800142538
27Evagoras Paphos3400083734
28Enosis Neon THOI Lakatamia3400002034
29APEP FC23300022933
30Adonis Idaliou3300002033
31Iraklis Gerolakkou3200001332
32Onisilos Sotira3000012630
33Ayia Napa FC2700022627
34AEZ Zakakiou2700002327
35AEK Kythreas2700001327
36AEK Larnaca FC242211185022
37Keravnos Strovolou FC32300021323
38Apollon Lympion2200001922
39Achyronas Liopetriou2100001621
40MEAP Nisou2100001821
41AEM Morphou190000619
42Elpida Xylofagou1900001219
43Ethnikos Latsion FC180000218
44Elia Lythrodonta180000418
45Neos Aionas Trikomou1800001118
46Çetinkaya Türk S.K.4172212141715
47Digenis Akritas Ipsona1700001717
48Rotsidis Mammari170000917
49Anagennisi Germasogeias FC1500001115
50AEP Paphos FC1400121714
51APEP Pelendriou1400001014
52ENAD Ayiou Dometiou FC140000314
53Enosis Kokkinotrimithia140000914
54Digenis Oroklinis130000713
55Kentro Neotitas Maroniton130000713
56Olympos Xylofagou1300001013
57AEK Katholiki1200001212
58AEK Ammochostos110000011
59ASO Ormideia110000511
60Ethnikos Defteras1100001111
61Ellinismos Akakiou110000111
62Olimpiada Neapolis FC110000311
63Orfeas Athienou110000711
64SEK Agiou Athanasiou110000511
65Armenian Young Men's Association100006010
66Anagennisi Lythrodonta100000310
67ATE PEK Ergaton100000510
68APOP Kinyras FC91012138
69AEK Kakopetrias9000089
70Kinyras Empas9000079
71Tsaggaris Peledriou9000059
72AEK/Achilleas Ayiou Theraponta8000048
73Atromitos Yeroskipou8000068
74Doxa Paliometochou8000038
75Ethnikos Asteras Limassol8000018
76OXEN Peristeronas8000048
77Poseidonas Giolou8000048
78Sourouklis Troullon8000038
79Faros Acropoleos8000018
80Fotiakos Frenarou8000078
81ENAD Polis Chrysochous FC7000057
82Th.O.I. Avgorou FC7000037
83Parthenon Zodeia7000017
84Frenaros FC 20007000037
85AEM Mesogis56000056
86AOL – Omonia Lakatamias66000046
87APEY Ypsona6000056
88Pafos FC5001235
89Karmiotissa FC5000135
90Achilleas Kaimakli FC5000005
91Doxa Devtera5000035
92Enosis Neon Parekklisia FC5000015
93Kimonas Xylotympou5000005
94Livadiakos Livadion5000065
95Olympias Frenarou FC5000005
96Triptolemus Evrychou5000025
97Enosis Neon Trust4314371
98AEK Kouklia FC4000014
99AMEK Kapsalou4000024
100AMEP Parekklisia4000024
101Anagennisi Prosfigon Ayiou Antoniou Lemesou4000004
102ATE PEK Parekklisias4000004
103Achilleas Ayiou Theraponta4000034
104Libanos Kormakiti4000004
105Nikos & Sokratis Erimis4000014
106Panellinios Limassol4000004
107PEFO Olympiakos4000014
108Spartakos Kitiou4000044
109Gençler Birliği SK3000113
110FC Episkopi3000013
111Amathus Limassol3000003
112APEAN Ayia Napa3000043
113Doxa Polemidion3000033
114Elpida Prosfigon Paphou3000013
115Enosis Panelliniou-Antaeus Limassol3000023
116Panikos Pourgouridis Lemesou3000023
117Poseidon Larnacas3000003
118Mağusa Türk Gücü S.K.3000023
119Doğan Türk Birliği2000132
120Adonis Geroskipou2000002
121AEK Karava FC2000012
122Alki Oroklini2000002
123Anagennisi Larnacas2000012
124Anagennisi Trachoni2000002
125Antaeus Limassol2000002
126APEA Akrotiriou2000002
127Arion Lemesou2000002
128ASOB Vatili2000002
129Digenis Agiou Nikolaou2000022
130Dynamo Pervolion2000012
131Elpida Liopetriou2000002
132Enosis Neon Ayia Napa2000022
133Gaydzak Nicosia2000002
134Gençlik Gücü T.S.K.2000002
135Kormakitis FC2000012
136Olympias Lympion2000002
137Olympos Acheritou2000002
138Panikos & Sokratis Zakakiou2000002
139AMEAN Agiou Nikolaou1000021
140Anagennisi Mouttalou1000001
141Anorthosis Kato Polemidia1000011
142Apollon Athienou1000001
143APOP Palechoriou1000001
144ASPIS Pylas1000001
145Empa, Cyprus1000001
146ENAZ Agia Zoni Limassol1000021
147ENAP Paphos1000001
148Enosis Agion Omologiton1000001
149Evagoras Pallikarides Agion Trimithias1000001
150Zenonas Larnaca1000011
151Kedros Kormakiti1000001
152Kissos FC Kissonergas1000001
153Kissos Kissonerga1000011
154Kourio Episkopi1000011
155LALL Lysi1000001
156Othellos Famagusta1000001
157Podosfairikos Omilos Xylotymbou 20061000001
158SEAAS1000001
159Turkish Club of Larnaca1000001


Legend:
  • The presence in the quarterfinals and semifinals is credited regardless of the result. That is, if a team reached the final is credited a participation in the quarterfinals and an entry in the semifinals.
  • Finalists of the cup are credited an elimination for any final they lost.
  • The Cup Winners are not credited a qualification for each Cup they won.
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.