The Southern Derby Commemorative Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the winner of the Southern Derby. The trophy consists of a wooden base attached to a silver-plated, two-handled cup. The inscription on the base of the trophy reads The Southern Derby: Founded A-League Season 2000 in Atlanta, Charleston, & Raleigh by those who love the Game. The cup was purchased through funds raised by the supporters club of the inaugural three clubs involved in the competition. The Fans own Southern Derby Commemorative Cup which is loaned each year to the holders of the Southern Derby.
Current Clubs
Charleston Battery
Charlotte Independence
North Carolina FC
History
The first edition of the Southern Derby was contested in 2000 between the Charleston Battery, the Atlanta Silverbacks, and the Raleigh Capital Express with Raleigh winning the inaugural competition. The Raleigh Capital Express folded before the 2001 season and the Charlotte Eagles were invited to replace Raleigh in the cup competition. Charlotte won the trophy in their first year in the contest. The Eagles would continue to compete in the contest in 2002 and 2003 with Atlanta and Charleston winning the competition those years, respectively. At the end of the 2003 season, Charlotte moved to the USL Second Division leaving the Southern Derby to be played between only Charleston and Atlanta. The Silverbacks won the title outright in 2004 and 2006 and split the title with Charleston in 2005. In 2007, the Carolina RailHawks joined the USL First Division and was invited to take up Raleigh's original spot in the competition. Carolina went undefeated in their 2007 Southern Derby campaign capturing the cup in their inaugural season. The RailHawks successfully defended their title in 2008 and through two seasons had beaten Charleston a remarkable 6 times in 6 games. With the Silverbacks taking a hiatus in 2009, the 2009 edition of the Southern Derby Cup was a home-and-away competition between the Charleston Battery and the Carolina RailHawks contested on May 9 and July 11. Both Charleston and Carolina shared honors in the 2009 Southern Derby Cup. In 2010 with the Carolina RailHawks joining the NASL and Charleston dropping to USL2, the Carolina fans decided to allow the Charleston Battery to continue with the tradition of the Southern Derby Cup with the Charlotte Eagles as opposed to it sitting idle. Charleston won the Southern Derby Cup in 2010. The 2011 Southern Derby featured both Charlotte and Charleston once again and added the Wilmington Hammerheads to the competition. The winner was decided on the last match of the Southern Derby Dates, which happened to be the Charleston vs. Charlotte match on Fox Soccer Channel. Charleston won the 2011 Southern Derby match. With their return to the United Soccer League in 2018, North Carolina FC rejoined the competition alongside former rivals the Charleston Battery and newly minted cross-state opponents the Charlotte Independence.
The Rules
The system of play shall be the league system, with each team playing two matches against each of the teams.
The Matches composing the Southern Derby will normally be the last home and away matches of each team during the regular season unless otherwise negotiated by the members of the respective supporters club prior to the start of the season.
Points will be awarded on the 3-1-0 systems. 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss. Overtime wins are treated like regulation wins an awarded 3 points.
The winner of the Southern Derby shall be the team having the greater number of points obtained in all the designated Derby matches.
If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above criteria, the tie-breaker shall be determined as follows:
*Goal difference in all the Derby matches.
*Greater number of goals scored in all Derby matches.
*Greater number of points obtained in all Derby matches between the teams concerned.
*Goal difference resulting from all Derby matches between the teams concerned.
*Greater number of goals scored in all the Derby matches between the teams concerned.
