Belgian Cup
Club Brugge (11 titles) | |
Television broadcasters | Sporza, VTM 2 (Flanders) Club RTL (Wallonia) |
---|---|
Website | rbfa.be/cup |
2023–24 Belgian Cup |
The Belgian Cup (French: Coupe de Belgique;
The most successful cup club is Club Bruges with 11 Belgian cups in their possession. The current champions are Royal Antwerp FC, having beaten KV Mechelen 2–0 in the 2023 final. The winners are awarded a challenge cup and qualify for the UEFA Europa League and the Belgian Supercup.
History
First national cup competitions
The first cup competition ever in Belgium was held in 1907–08 but the teams were not actual teams but were provincial selections. The winner would be awarded a silver trophy by
In 1912, the Belgian Cup made a first return. This time only actual clubs from the two highest levels were allowed to partake. 16 clubs would fight for the Kings' Cup in a
During the
In 1953, the Belgian Cup made another comeback. This edition of the cup would be won by Standard Liège, the first Walloon team to do so. Three years later, a poll was organized after which the Belgian cup was stopped once again.
Gateway to Europe
The foundation of the European Cup Winners' Cup is the main reason an annual cup tournament was brought back to life in 1963-1964. The first four editions of this European Cup had no Belgian participants due to the absence of a national cup.
Since 1964, the Belgian Cup winner would be qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup, until its discontinuation in 1999. From then on, the cupholders would get a place in the
Venues
The cupfinal is traditionally played in and around the capital. The editions before WWII were played in
Venue[3] | City | Finals |
---|---|---|
Heysel Stadium / King Baudouin Stadium | Brussels | 1954–1956, 1964–1984, 1988–1991, 1996-today |
Constant Vanden Stock Stadium | Anderlecht | 1985, 1987, 1993, 1995 |
Maurice Dufrasne Stadium | Liège | 1994 |
Olympia Stadium / Jan Breydel Stadium | Bruges | 1986, 1992 |
Duden Park / Joseph Mariën Stadium | Forest | 1927, 1935 |
Goose Pond Stadium | Uccle | 1914 |
Joseph Bensstraat 124 (terrain Union SG) | Uccle | 1913 |
Jetsesteenweg 501 (terrain Daring CB )
|
Jette | 1912 |
Trophy
The first design was used for the three editions in the 1950s. Since 1964, a second design has been given to the cup winner. The ceremony takes place solely on the pitch and not on the grandstand. The winning team are entitled to keep the trophy for 11 months, until it's returned to the
The current trophy features a silver loving-cup design. Ribbons in the victors' colors are tied along the ears. There's no real front or rear side, but a Dutch and French side. The Dutch side reads "Beker van België wisseltrofee aangeboden door dagblad Les Sports", the French side "Coupe de Belgique challenge offert par le journal Les Sports". Both statements have the same meaning and translate to "Belgian Cup challenge offered by newspaper Les Sports". Every victor since 1964 and the corresponding year are engraved on the cup as well.
-
Design used since 1964.
Naming
The first two editions of the Belgian Cup were played with provincial sides. During this time, the competition was called Belgian Provinces Cup (Beker der Belgische Provincies in Dutch, Coupe des Provinces Belges in French). The editions before World War 1 were known as the Kings' Cup (Beker van de Koning in Dutch, Coupe du Roi in French). Every edition of the cup after 1918 was called the Belgian Cup (Beker van België in Dutch, Coupe de Belgique in French).
In the 1995–96 season, a sponsored name was first introduced. Coca-Cola had bought the naming rights for five seasons, and named the competition the Coca-Cola Cup.[6] There was no sponsored name between 2001 and 2007. In January 2008, the Belgian FA announced Cofidis had bought the naming rights for 300,000 euros.[7] Eight editions of the Cofidis Cup would be played. After Club Bruges won their 11th cup in 2015, Croky became the new main sponsor of the tournament.[8] The Belgian cup is called the Croky Cup to date.
Year | Name |
---|---|
1908–1909 | Belgian Provinces Cup |
1912–1914 | King's Cup |
1927– now | Belgian Cup |
Sponsored names | |
1996–2001 | Coca-Cola Cup |
2008–2015 | Cofidis Cup |
2016– now | Croky Cup |
Competition format
Overview
Beginning in July or August, the competition proceeds as a
A system of
In the first three rounds, fixtures ending in a tie are decided by penalty kicks immediately, extra time is only played from round four onwards and possibly followed by penalty kicks if necessary. The semi-final round is the only round played over two legs; as such, extra time and penalty kicks can only occur in the return match. The away-goal-rule is not applied in the semi-finals.[10]
Schedule
Qualified entrants from the provincial leagues (levels 6 through 9) begin the competition in the first round together with teams from the
Round | New entrants in this round | Month |
---|---|---|
Preliminary round | Level 6 through 9 clubs[11] | July |
Main tournament | ||
First round | Level 5 through 9 clubs | August |
Second round | Level 4 clubs | |
Third round | Level 3 clubs | |
Fourth round | none | |
Fifth Round | Level 2 clubs | September |
Round of 32 | Level 1 clubs | October |
Round of 16 | Teams active in a European competition | November |
Quarter-finals | none | December |
Semi-finals | February/ March
(single leg) | |
Final | April |
Belgian Cup winners and finalists
Performance by club
Club | Wins | Last final won | Runners-up | Last final lost |
---|---|---|---|---|
Club Brugge | 11 | 2015
|
8 | 2020
|
Anderlecht | 9 | 2008
|
5 | 2022
|
Standard Liège | 8 | 2018
|
10 | 2021
|
Genk | 5 | 2021
|
1 | 2018
|
Gent | 4 | 2022
|
2 | 2019
|
Antwerp | 4 | 2023
|
1 | 1975 |
Cercle Brugge | 2 | 1985 | 5 | 2013
|
Mechelen | 2 | 2019
|
5 | 2023
|
Beveren | 2 | 1983 | 3 | 2004 |
Zulte Waregem | 2 | 2017
|
1 | 2014
|
KSC Lokeren | 2 | 2014
|
1 | 1981 |
Lierse | 2 | 1999 | 1 | 1976 |
SV Thor Waterschei | 2 | 1982 | 1 | 1955 |
K Beerschot VAC | 2 | 1979 | 1 | 1968 |
Union SG
|
2 | 1914 | 0 | |
Germinal Ekeren
|
1 | 1997
|
2 | 1995 |
KVC Westerlo | 1 | 2001 | 1 | 2011
|
Liégeois
|
1 | 1990 | 1 | 1987 |
KSV Waregem | 1 | 1974 | 1 | 1982 |
Daring Bruxelles
|
1 | 1935 | 1 | 1970 |
Germinal Beerschot
|
1 | 2005
|
0 | |
La Louvière | 1 | 2003 | 0 | |
Racing Tournai | 1 | 1956 | 0 | |
Racing Bruxelles
|
1 | 1912 | 0 | |
Excelsior Mouscron | 0 | 2 | 2006
| |
Sint-Truiden VV
|
0 | 2 | 2003 | |
R Charleroi SC
|
0 | 2 | 1993 | |
KV Oostende | 0 | 1 | 2017
| |
KV Kortrijk | 0 | 1 | 2012
| |
Lommel SK | 0 | 1 | 2001 | |
KSK Tongeren | 0 | 1 | 1974 | |
Racing White
|
0 | 1 | 1969 | |
KFC Diest
|
0 | 1 | 1964 | |
RCS Verviers | 0 | 1 | 1956 | |
KRC Mechelen | 0 | 1 | 1954 | |
K Lyra | 0 | 1 | 1935 | |
K Tubantia Borgerhout | 0 | 1 | 1927 | |
Racing Gand
|
0 | 1 | 1912 |
- italic clubs dissolved or merged
Media coverage
Domestic coverage
The broadcasting rights for the Croky Cup are held by
Teams whose games haven't been chosen for broadcasting are allowed to broadcast these games themselves. Regional broadcasters often try to buy the broadcasting rights to games between sides from that region, if DPG Media or RTL didn't select those games.[14]
International coverage
Eleven Sports holds the rights for the
References
- ^ "Goed nieuws voor de nummer 5: dit is de impact van bekerwinst Antwerp op Europese tickets". sporza.be (in Dutch). 30 April 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
- ^ "KV Mechelen legt zich neer bij uitsluiting Europees voetbal: "Gaan niet in beroep in belang van Belgisch voetbal"". Het Nieuwsblad (in Flemish). 18 July 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ If a venue didn't have an official name, the streetadress will be given with the tenants at the time between brackets.
- ^ "De Beker van België is een échte wisselbeker: vol blutsen en krassen na enkele wilde feestjes". Het Nieuwsblad (in Flemish). 30 April 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "Had u het gezien? Van Bommel verklaart waarom hij medaille meteen uit deed en de mooie geste van Alderweireld". sporza.be (in Dutch). 30 April 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
- ^ "Belgian Cup Finals". mariomichiels-voetbaltickets.be. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "Beker van België heet voortaan Cofidis Cup". De Standaard (in Flemish). 14 January 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "Beker van België wordt Croky Cup". Het Nieuwsblad (in Flemish). 24 June 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "Kogel is door de kerk: nieuw competitieformat met zestien clubs en play-offs mét halvering van de punten". Het Nieuwsblad (in Flemish). 17 June 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
- ^ Bondsreglement, Boek B, Titel 7 – Competities (PDF) (in Flemish). Royal Belgian Football Association, Pro League, Voetbal Vlaanderen, ACFF. 2020. pp. 12–13, 27–28. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 October 2021.
- ^ Whether or not preliminary rounds are played depends on the ratio between provincial, regional and national teams. This is done to have enough teams for each round when new clubs are introduced.
- ^ "Eleven en DPG Media bereiken akkoord over uitzendrechten van bekercompetitie". Het Nieuwsblad (in Flemish). 7 August 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
- ^ "Eleven Sports bereikt akkoord met RTL Belgium: Croky Cup ook bij Club RTL". TVvisie (in Flemish). Retrieved 19 January 2022.
- ^ "Het licht absurde oorlogje achter de uitzending van Cercle Brugge-KV Oostende: "Ze willen vermijden dat elders wat van de beker te horen of te zien is"". www.nieuwsblad.be (in Flemish). 9 February 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2022.