UEFA Regions' Cup

UEFA Regions' Cup
Founded 1996
Region Europe (UEFA)
Number of teams Up to 53 (Qualifiers)
8 (Finals)
Current champions Croatia Zagreb
Website UEFA Regions' Cup
2019 UEFA Regions' Cup

The UEFA Regions' Cup is a football competition for amateur teams in Europe, run by UEFA. It was held for the first time in 1999 and has been played biennially since. The current champions are the Zagreb team from Croatia, who became first time winners in the 2017 Regions' Cup, defeating a combined Munster/Connacht side from Ireland 1–0 in the final in Istanbul.

The competition was created in 1996 as there was no European level competition for amateur teams. The UEFA Amateur Cup, a previous attempt to organise a continental competition for amateurs, had run from 1966 to 1978, but ceased due to lack of interest from both the public and amateur teams themselves. In contrast to today's Regions' Cup, in which amateur clubs are represented, the previous competition was for representative amateur national teams.

Each UEFA member nation may enter one representative amateur team into the competition, with clubs having to win a domestic amateur competition (such as the FA Inter-League Cup) in order to qualify.

The first two finals were won by teams from the host nation and, thus far, Italy has been the most successful nation in the competition, with Italian sides winning three of the seven editions.

Format

All of the 53 UEFA-affiliated associations are eligible to submit a team to compete in the Regions' Cup, provided they hold a domestic qualifying competition to decide which team will represent that nation. Smaller member nations, however, are permitted to enter a representative national side.

Teams were entered by 32 nations for the inaugural tournament in 1999 and competed in one qualifying round. As interest in the tournament grew over the years, the qualifying stage was enlarged and an extra group round added in 2005, scrapping the playoffs added in 2001.

The preliminary round consists of a small number of teams split into groups, with the best from each group being included in the draw for the intermediary round. In the intermediary round, the teams are placed into eight groups of four teams. The teams in each group play each other once and the team finishing top of the group qualifies for the Regions' Cup finals. The eight group winners are placed into two groups of four for the final tournament and the winners of these two final groups, after each team has played one another once, play in the final, with the winners being crowned champions. Third place is shared between the two teams which finish second in their respective groups.

One aspect of the Regions' Cup that is different from most other international club tournaments is the hosting of games. As teams play each other once in the preliminary and intermediary rounds, in contrast to the more common two-legged fixtures, each group has all its matches held in one particular region. For example, in the 2009 tournament, all the preliminary Group 1 matches were played in San Marino. Another unusual feature of the Regions' Cup is the choice of host for the final tournament. In most football tournaments, the host nation or city is decided by the governing body before qualification begins. In the Regions' Cup, however, the host is chosen only after most of the eight finalist teams have qualified, with one of the qualified regions selected as host.

Results

Year Host Final Bronze medals
Winners Score Runners-up Third place
1999
details
Italy
Italy

Veneto
3 2 (a.e.t.)
Madrid

Prague

Kyiv Oblast
2001
details
Czech Republic
Czech Republic

Moravia
2 2 (a.e.t.)
4 2 (p)

Braga

Madrid

Plovdiv
2003
details
Germany
Germany

Piedmont
2 1
Maine

Szabolcs

Württemberg
2005
details
Poland
Poland

Basque Country
1 0
South-West Sofia

Kzeso

Central Slovakia
2007
details
Bulgaria
Bulgaria

Lower Silesia
2 1 (a.e.t.)
South-East Region

Aveiro

Tuzla Canton
2009
details
Croatia
Croatia

Castile and León
2 1
Oltenia

Privolzhie

Kempen
2011
details
Portugal
Portugal

Braga
2 1
Leinster & Munster

Zlín

Belgrade
2013
details
Italy
Italy

Veneto
0 0 (a.e.t.)
5 4 (p)

Catalonia

Keleti

Isloch
2015
details
Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland

Eastern Region
1 0
Zagreb

Ankara

Württemberg
2017
details
Turkey
Turkey

Zagreb
1 0
Munster/Connacht

Istanbul

Rostov Oblast

Finals

Veneto Italy3 2
(aet)
Spain Madrid
Borriero  <45'
Giaretti  >45'
De Toni  120'
(Report) Moreno  9'
Sanz Pascual  71'
Stadio Comunale delle Terme, Abano Terme
Attendance: ~700
Referee: Guido Wildhaber (Switzerland)

Braga Portugal2 2
(aet)
(2 4 p)
Czech Republic Moravia
Ferreira  55'
Freitas  84'
(Report) David  12'
Svach  90+4' (pen.)
Attendance: ~2,800
Referee: Tony Chapron (France)

Maine France1 2Italy Piedmont
Kharraz  83' (Report) Borgna  24'  29'
Attendance: ~800
Referee: Kris Hermans (Belgium)

South-West Sofia Bulgaria0 1Spain Basque Country
(Report) Arroyo  33'
KS Proszowianka Stadium, Proszowice
Attendance: ~1,300
Referee: Novo Panić (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

South-East Region Bulgaria1 2
(aet)
Poland Lower Silesia
Stoyanov  66' (Report) Sudoł  78'
Jaskułowski  114'
Attendance: ~3,500
Referee: Paolo Tagliavento (Italy)

Oltenia Romania1 2Spain Castile and León
Sîrbu  25' (Report) Ramírez  20'
Robles  81'

Braga Portugal2 1Republic of Ireland Leinster & Munster
Nobre  62'
Fortunato  84'
Report O'Sullivan  68'
Referee: Ken Henry Johnson (Norway)

Veneto Italy0 0
(aet)
(5 4 p)
Spain Catalonia
(Report)
Comunale Delle Terme, Abano Terme

Eastern Region Republic of Ireland1 0Croatia Zagreb
David Lacey  10' Report

Zagreb Croatia1 0Republic of Ireland Munster/Connacht
Adžić  26' Report
TFF Riva Stadium, Istanbul

Titles by nation

Nation Titles Runners-up Winning teams Second-placed teams
 Italy 3 0 Veneto (1999*, 2013*) None
Piedmont (2003)
 Spain 2 2 Basque Country (2005) Madrid (1999)
Castile and León (2009) Catalonia (2013)
 Ireland 1 2 Eastern Region (2015*) Leinster & Munster (2011)
Munster/Connacht (2017)
 Portugal 1 1 Braga (2011*) Braga (2001)
 Croatia 1 1 Zagreb (2017) Zagreb (2015)
 Czech Republic 1 0 Moravia (2001*) None
 Poland 1 0 Lower Silesia (2007) None
 Bulgaria 0 2 None South-West Sofia (2005)
South-East Region (2007*)
 France 0 1 None Maine (2003)
 Romania 0 1 None Oltenia (2009)
* = Hosts

See also

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