In the course of history, many football clubs have competed in the league and/or cup structure of more than one country, whether due to annexation or occupation (including colonial rule), or because their country split or unified (or both). Some countries, in particular Poland, have had their borders moved by hundreds of kilometres in the twentieth century, with obvious consequences for the clubs in the areas involved. In addition, some clubs have opted to play across the border, in particular in the United Kingdom where the football associations do not actually correspond to independent states, but also elsewhere.
This file aims to highlight various aspects of such performances abroad, organised according to the aforementioned four types of moving across borders (or borders being moved):
1. Annexations and Occupations
2. Country Splits and Unifications
3. Moving Countries
4. Roving Clubs
Note that these four categories are not entirely disjoint; in particular the distinction between the first two may be contentious in some cases (e.g. the Baltic countries, which for practical reasons are discussed together with all other Soviet republics in the second category); likewise between the first and the third, and one may debate the voluntarity of Derry City's choice to play in the Republic of Ireland rather than the section of the island that did not separate from the United Kingdom. The last category also includes a short section on currently Greek clubs that were founded in current Turkey; in this case it was not the borders moving but the clubs (or rather the Greek community on which they were based).
At the end of this introduction, two alternative indexes are given, one by 'host' country and one by 'guest' country.
The focus is on teams doing well across
the border (winning leagues or cups, or reaching far in either)
but examples of less successful clubs are given as well where
it seemed justified (and the relevant information was available).
Therefore, treatment of e.g. constituent republics
of the former Soviet Union or Yugoslavia is not 'equal'; dominant
regions (Russia and the Ukraine for the Soviet Union, Serbia and Croatia
for Yugoslavia) obtain a less detailed presentation than the other regions.
An overview of
European clubs winning championships in two different
countries (according to customary definitions in world football)
is given at the end.
In the results overviews throughout the document (the parts in
pre-formatted text), 'foreign' winners of a competition
(whether championship or cup) are given in bold face,
runners-up in italics (with one exception from this convention,
in the section on overseas clubs in the French cup).
In addition, the text sections have a number of clubs shown in
bold face to stress their performances, according to the
discretion of the author. The text sections also have non-English
words shown in italics, as customary in English language texts.
Given the topic, some political background here and there is unavoidable; no offence is meant to any of the countries or ethnic groups involved though the subjective point of view of the author may shine through occasionally.
In all section and subsection headings, we refer to current and past names of countries (or regions which de facto (if not de iure) have or had independent football competitions, e.g. Northern Cyprus and Kosovo); this does of course not necessarily mean that the entire country or region was part of the football structure of another one but (apart from cases under the fourth category of 'roving clubs') at least some part nowadays within its borders. More precise information is given in the text. Also note the use of contemporary notions may be anachronistic in texts discussing historical situations.
Inclusion or non-inclusion of various cases may be debatable.
For instance, the one-season (1999/00) appearance of Gozo FC in
the Maltese top division is not included, nor the unique semifinal
appearance of SK Victoria Wanderers in the 2016/17 MFA Trophy
competition, although the island of Gozo has its own FA and an
independent league structure (in which Gozo FC never played but
Victoria Wanderers do, albeit with only a couple of second level
titles and one GFA cup win, in 2008/09, to show for it),
as the fact that Gozo is an integral part of Malta has not been
in doubt since 1800 (and football came to the islands much later),
and its FA has never entertained any thought of independent
membership of FIFA or UEFA (and would stand no chance of obtaining it).
Likewise, there is no separate mention of e.g. the performances of
the Canary Islands clubs Las Palmas and Tenerife in the Spanish
football structure, nor of the Ceuta and Melilla sides (as these
clubs have never played outside of Spain), but the single season
of Atlético Tetuán in the Primera División is mentioned as
the town is now in Morocco.
Additional information and factual corrections (whether on football, geography or history) are very much welcomed by the author; political comments will be ignored.
NB: 'guest' countries in alphabetical order between brackets.
Albania (Kosovo)
Armenia (Azerbaijan)
Australia (Malaysia | New Zealand)
Austria (Czech Republic | Hungary | Italy | Liechtenstein | Poland | Slovenia | Ukraine)
Brunei (Malaysia)
Bulgaria (Greece | Macedonia)
Cambodia (Japan)
Canada (Saint-Pierre et Miquelon | USA)
Chile (Palestine)
China (Hongkong |
Malaysia |
Philippines |
Thailand |
Tibet)
Comoros (Mayotte)
Congo-Kinshasa (Burundi)
Croatia (Bosnia and Herzegovina | Serbia)
(All) Cyprus (Northern Cyprus)
Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic (1918-1938) |
Czech Republic (1944-1993) |
Slovakia (1918-1938) |
Slovakia (1944-1993) |
Ukraine)
Egypt (Palestine)
England (Channel Islands/Isle of Man |
Northern Ireland |
Scotland |
Wales)
Ethiopia (Eritrea)
Finland (Russia (type 3) | Russia (type 4))
France (Algeria |
French Guyana |
Guadeloupe |
Martinique |
Mayotte |
Monaco |
Morocco |
New Caledonia |
Reunion |
Saar |
Saint-Pierre et Miquelon |
Spain |
Tahiti (French Polynesia) |
Tunisia |
Vanuatu)
Georgia (Abkhazia | South Ossetia)
Germany (Austria (type 1) | Austria (type 4) |
Belgium | China |
Czech Republic (type 1) | Czech Republic (type 4) |
Denmark |
East Germany |
France (type 1) | France (type 3) |
Liechtenstein | Lithuania |
Luxembourg |
Poland (type 1) | Poland (type 3) |
Russia |
Saar |
Slovakia |
Slovenia |
Ukraine)
Greece (Cyprus)
Guyana (Antigua |
Barbados |
Saint Lucia |
Trinidad and Tobago |
USA)
Hongkong (China)
Hungary (Austria |
Croatia (type 1) |
Croatia (type 3) |
Romania (type 1) |
Romania (type 3) |
Serbia (type 1) |
Serbia (type 3) |
Slovakia (type 1) |
Slovakia (type 3) |
Slovenia |
Ukraine (type 1)) |
Ukraine (type 3))
India (Goa | Sikkim)
Indonesia (East Timor | Western New Guinea)
(All) Ireland (England | (Republic of) Ireland | Scotland)
(Republic of) Ireland (Northern Ireland)
Israel (Palestine (type 1) |
Greece |
Jordan |
Palestine (type 2))
Italy (Croatia |
Greece |
San Marino |
Slovenia |
Switzerland |
Trieste)
Japan (Russia | South Korea)
Jordan (Palestine)
Korea (North Korea | South Korea)
Latvia (Estonia)
Lithuania (Russia)
Malaysia (Brunei |
Cambodia |
Malacca |
Myanmar |
Penang |
Singapore (type 2) |
Singapore (type 4))
Maldives (India |
Sri Lanka |
Thailand)
Mauritania (Sudan)
Mexico (Spain)
Morocco (Ifni | Western Sahara)
Namibia (South Africa)
Netherlands (Germany)
Netherlands Antilles (Aruba | Bonaire)
Pakistan (Bangladesh)
Philippines (Indonesia | Singapore)
Poland (Belarus |
Hungary |
Lithuania |
Ukraine)
Portugal (Angola |
Cape Verde | Guinea Bissau |
Mozambique | São Tomé e Príncipe)
Reunion (Mayotte)
Romania (Bulgaria |
Moldova | Ukraine)
Russia (Moldova | Poland | Ukraine)
Saint-Martin (Sint Maarten)
Scotland (England | Ireland |
Northern Ireland | Wales)
Senegal (Niger)
Serbia and Montenegro (Kosovo | Montenegro | Serbia)
Singapore (Australia |
Brunei |
Cambodia |
'foreign teams' ('Africa', China, France, Japan, South Korea) |
Hongkong |
Indonesia |
Laos |
Malaysia |
Myanmar |
Philippines |
Sweden |
Thailand)
Sint Maarten (Saint-Martin)
Slovenia (Croatia)
South Africa (Bophuthatswana | Ciskei |
Namibia | Transkei | Venda |
Zimbabwe)
Soviet Union (Armenia |
Azerbaijan |
Belarus |
Estonia |
Georgia |
Kazakhstan |
Kyrgyzstan |
Latvia |
Lithuania |
Moldova |
Russia |
Tajikistan |
Turkmenistan |
Ukraine |
Uzbekistan)
Spain (Andorra | Morocco)
Sudan (South Sudan)
Surinam (French Guyana)
Sweden (Denmark | Finland)
Switzerland (Germany | Italy | Liechtenstein)
Syria (Egypt)
Tajikistan (Kyrgyzstan)
Tanzania (Zanzibar)
Thailand (Laos)
Turkey (Greece)
USA (Antigua |
Bermuda |
Brazil |
Canada |
England |
Ireland |
Italy |
Mexico |
Netherlands |
Northern Ireland |
Puerto Rico |
Scotland |
Uruguay)
Vietnam (North Vietnam | South Vietnam)
Wales (England)
Yemen (North Yemen | South Yemen)
Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Croatia |
Italy (Trieste) |
Kosovo |
Macedonia |
Montenegro |
Serbia |
Slovenia)
NB: 'host' countries in alphabetical order between brackets.
Abkhazia (Georgia)
'Africa' (Singapore)
Algeria (France)
Andorra (Spain)
Angola (Portugal)
Antigua (Guyana | USA)
Armenia (Soviet Union)
Aruba (Netherlands Antilles)
Australia (Singapore)
Austria (Germany (type 1) | Germany (type 4) | Hungary)
Azerbaijan (Armenia | Soviet Union)
Bangladesh (Pakistan)
Barbados (Guyana)
Belarus (Poland | Soviet Union)
Belgium (Germany)
Bermuda (USA)
Bonaire (Netherlands Antilles)
Bophuthatswana (South Africa)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (Croatia | Yugoslavia)
Brazil (USA)
Brunei (Malaysia | Singapore)
Bulgaria (Romania)
Burundi (Congo-Kinshasa)
Cambodia (Malaysia | Singapore)
Canada (USA)
Cape Verde (Portugal)
Channel Islands/Isle of Man (England)
China (Germany | Hongkong | Singapore)
Ciskei (South Africa)
Croatia (Hungary (type 1) | Hungary (type 3) | Italy | Slovenia | Yugoslavia)
Cyprus (Greece)
Czech Republic (Austria | Czechoslovakia (1918-1938) | Czechoslovakia (1944-1993) | Germany (type 1) | Germany (type 4))
Denmark (Germany | Sweden)
East Germany (Germany)
East Timor (Indonesia)
Egypt (Syria)
England ((All) Ireland | Scotland | USA |Wales)
Eritrea (Ethiopia)
Estonia (Latvia | Soviet Union)
Finland (Sweden)
France (Germany (type 1) | Germany (type 3) | Singapore)
French Guyana (France | Surinam)
Georgia (Soviet Union)
Germany (Netherlands | Switzerland)
Goa (India)
Greece (Bulgaria | Israel | Italy | Turkey)
Guadeloupe (France)
Guinea Bissau (Portugal)
Hongkong (China | Singapore)
Hungary (Austria | Poland)
Ifni (Morocco)
India (Maldives)
Indonesia (Philippines | Singapore)
(Republic of) Ireland ((All) Ireland | Scotland | USA)
Italy (Austria | Switzerland |
USA | Yugoslavia)
Japan (Cambodia | Singapore)
Jordan (Israel)
Kazakhstan (Soviet Union)
Kosovo (Albania | Serbia (and Montenegro) | Yugoslavia)
Kyrgyzstan (Soviet Union | Tajikistan)
Laos (Singapore | Thailand)
Latvia (Soviet Union)
Liechtenstein (Austria | Germany | Switzerland)
Lithuania (Germany | Poland | Soviet Union)
Luxembourg (Germany)
Macedonia (Bulgaria | Yugoslavia)
Malacca (Malaysia)
Malaysia (Australia | Brunei | China | Singapore)
Martinique (France)
Mayotte (Comoros | France | Reunion)
Mexico (USA)
Moldova (Romania | Russia | Soviet Union)
Monaco (France)
Montenegro (Serbia and Montenegro | Yugoslavia)
Morocco (France | Spain)
Mozambique (Portugal)
Myanmar (Malaysia | Singapore)
Namibia (South Africa)
Netherlands (USA)
New Caledonia (France)
New Zealand (Australia)
Niger (Senegal)
Northern Cyprus ((All) Cyprus)
Northern Ireland (England | (Republic of) Ireland | Scotland | USA)
North Korea (Korea)
North Vietnam (Vietnam)
North Yemen (Yemen)
Palestine (Chile | Egypt | Israel (type 1) | Israel (type 2) | Jordan)
Penang (Malaysia)
Philippines (China | Singapore)
Poland (Austria | Germany (type 1) | Germany (type 3) | Russia)
Puerto Rico (USA)
Reunion (France)
Romania (Hungary (type 1) | Hungary (type 3))
Russia (Finland (type 3) | Finland (type 4) | Germany | Japan | Lithuania | Soviet Union)
Saar (France | Germany)
Saint Lucia (Guyana)
Saint-Martin (Sint Maarten)
Saint-Pierre et Miquelon (Canada | France)
San Marino (Italy)
São Tomé e Príncipe (Portugal)
Scotland (England | (All) Ireland | USA)
Serbia (Croatia | Hungary (type 1) | Hungary (type 3) | Serbia and Montenegro | Yugoslavia)
Sikkim (India)
Singapore (Malaysia (type 2) | Malaysia (type 4) | Philippines)
Sint Maarten (Saint-Martin)
Slovakia (Czechoslovakia (1918-1938) | Czechoslovakia (1944-1993) | Germany | Hungary (type 1) | Hungary (type 3))
Slovenia (Austria | Germany | Hungary | Italy | Yugoslavia)
South Africa (Namibia)
South Korea (Japan | Korea | Singapore)
South Ossetia (Georgia)
South Sudan (Sudan)
South Vietnam (Vietnam)
South Yemen (Yemen)
Spain (France | Mexico)
Sri Lanka (Maldives)
Sudan (Mauritania)
Sweden (Singapore)
Switzerland (Italy)
Tahiti (French Polynesia) (France)
Tajikistan (Soviet Union)
Thailand (China | Maldives | Singapore)
Tibet (China)
Transkei (South Africa)
Trieste (Italy | Yugoslavia)
Trinidad and Tobago (Guyana)
Tunisia (France)
Turkmenistan (Soviet Union)
Ukraine (Austria | Czechoslovakia | Germany | Hungary (type 1) | Hungary (type 3) | Poland | Romania | Russia | Soviet Union)
Uruguay (USA)
USA (Canada | Guyana)
Uzbekistan (Soviet Union)
Vanuatu (France)
Venda (South Africa)
Wales (England | Scotland)
Western New Guinea (Indonesia)
Western Sahara (Morocco)
Zanzibar (Tanzania)
Zimbabwe (South Africa)
There also is a short discussion of some special cases in Africa (including brief mentions of Biafra, British Cameroon, Ruanda-Urundi and Somaliland), mostly dating back to colonial times:
French Northern Africa | French Western Africa | French Equatorial Africa | Italian East Africa | North and South Rhodesia, Nyasaland | Stanley Pool
Germany | Hungary | Italy | Bulgaria | Croatia | Albania | Japan | South Africa | Morocco | Ethiopia | China | India | Indonesia | Israel | Jordan | Egypt | France | Portugal | Spain | Russia
Just before and during World War II, several countries, in particular Germany and Hungary, increased their territory dramatically, forcing clubs from other countries to enter their competitions. Some of these enjoyed great success – in particular Rapid Wien and Nagyváradi AC (known in Romanian as CA Oradea) who won league titles in the invading country. Also, Korean clubs were successful in Japan just before the second World War. Apart from shortlived war-time occupations, this section also includes various cases of annexations lasting for decades and a few colonial curiosities. Note that the extension of the Soviet Union by the three Baltic republics as part of the Hitler-Stalin pact is discussed under the disintegration of the Soviet Union, and the special case of Karelia under border moves.
Austria | Belgium | Czech Republic | France | Luxembourg | Poland | Slovakia | Slovenia | Ukraine
Starting with the 1938 Anschluß of Austria, clubs started entering the German championship and cup competitions from countries that had organised their own before. The other countries involved were the Czech Republic (first the Sudetenland, later also 'German' clubs (and army or air force selections) from the Protektorat Böhmen and Mähren, which also had its own league for the 'Czech' clubs), France (the Alsace and Lorraine regions, which had been German prior to World War I), Luxembourg and parts of Poland (including the area around Lwów which is now in the Ukraine; note that the regions which were part of the German Reich during the interbellum are discussed under 'moving borders').
After the 1938 Anschluß, the Austrian league was incorporated as Gauliga 17 (Ostmark) in the German football structure, which culminated in an annual, national championship playoff between the champions from the Gauligen. Only once did the Austrian representatives fail to reach the semifinals of the German championship, and even then (1944) the Austrian team lost to the eventual winners by the odd goal in five in the quarterfinals. Rapid won both the German championship and cup once, Vienna won one cup and reached the championship final, which Admira also managed once (suffering a record final defeat in the process); see also the overview of Austrian participations in the German Cup during the war.
Note that the Austrian football structure itself remained largely
independent of the German one, with at least two exceptions.
First, the third tier Salzburger Kreisklasse comprised four
(formerly) Austrian and seven Bavarian clubs in the
1938/39 season;
among the Austrian clubs, 1.Salzburger SK 1919 finished runners-up
behind FC Traunstein while 1.Oberndorfer SK 1920 were eighth and
last; both SV Maxglan (from Salzburg) and
DTB Bischofshofen withdrew during the season.
Secondly, in the Vorarlberg/Bodensee region
clubs from both sides of the current border played in one regional
league (Bezirksklasse Bodensee-Vorarlberg, in which the German
clubs VfB Friedsrichshafen, SV Weingarten, FC Wangen, FC Lindenberg,
VfL Lindau, TSV Meckenbeuren, FV Ravensburg, FV Langenargen and
TSG Friedrichshafen played against the Austrian clubs FC Lustenau,
SV Feldkirch, TUS Dornbirn, FC Bregenz and FC Bludenz;
FC Lustenau won this league in both 1938/39 and 1939/40 before
finishing runners-up behind VfB Friedrichshafen in 1940/41).
However, this situation had only partially to do with the Anschluß:
already at the end of 1930, the Vorarlberger Fußballverband successfully
requested the Süddeutscher Fußballverband to include the top
clubs from the Ländle in the south German league structure, in order
to enable these clubs to play more matches, and in both 1931/32 and 1932/33 four
Vorarlberg clubs played in the second level Kreisliga Bodensee-Vorarlberg,
which FC Lustenau won in both seasons, thus qualifying for the post-season
Aufstiegsgruppe Süd-Bayern from which they failed to secure promotion
to the Bezirksliga Süd-Bayern, one of the two top level leagues
in Bavaria at the time, amid many others in Germany. Therefore, this is really a
case of roving clubs and discussed in more detail there.
In addition, some Czech, Slovak and Slovenian clubs played in Austrian regional leagues during the war; see the relevant notes in the sections on Czech clubs in the German football structure, Slovak clubs in the German football structure and Slovenian clubs in the German football structure.
Championship (Deutsche Meisterschaft) 1939: finalists: Admira Wien (0-9 vs Schalke 04) 1940: semifinal: Rapid Wien (1-2 aet vs Dresdner SC; Rapid won playoff for 3rd place vs Waldhof Mannheim (4-4 aet, 5-2)) 1941: winners: Rapid Wien (4-3 vs Schalke 04) 1942: finalists: Vienna (0-2 vs Schalke 04) 1943: semifinal: Vienna (1-2 vs FV Saarbrücken; Vienna lost playoff for 3rd place vs Holstein Kiel (1-4)) 1944: quarterf.: Vienna (2-3 vs Dresdner SC) Cup (von-Tschammer-Pokal) 1938: winners: Rapid Wien (3-1 vs FSV Frankfurt) semifinal: Wiener Sport-Club (2-3 vs FSV Frankfurt) quarterf.: Vienna (1-3 vs 1.FC Nürnberg) Grazer SC (1-6 vs Wiener Sport-Club) 1/8 final: Admira Wien (0-6 vs Vienna) Austro-Fiat Wien (1-5 vs Rapid Wien) Austria Wien (2-3 vs Grazer SC) Wacker Wien (0-1 vs Wiener Sport-Club) NB: the German and Austrian teams had played separately until the quarterfinals, for which 4 teams from both areas qualified. 1939: semifinal: Rapid Wien (0-1 vs 1.FC Nürnberg) Wacker Wien (1-1 aet, 2-2 aet, 0-0 aet, lost on draw vs Waldhof Mannheim) 1940: semifinal: Rapid Wien (0-3 vs Dresdner SC) quarterf.: Wiener Sport-Club (1-2 vs Fortuna Düsseldorf) 1/8 final: Wacker Wien (1-5 vs Wiener Sport-Club) 1941: semifinal: Admira Wien (2-4 vs Dresdner SC) quarterf.: Austria Wien (1-4 vs Schalke 04) 1/16 fin.: Rapid Wien (3-5 vs Admira Wien) 1942: 1/16 fin.: Vienna (0-4 vs NSTG Falkenau) 1943: winners: Vienna (3-2 vs LSV Groß Hamburg)
The eastern Belgian region around Eupen and Malmedy (where German is spoken) was annexed by Germany during the second World War. Nothing is known about participations by the existing local clubs (such as FC Eupen, founded 1920, and La Jeunesse d'Eupen, founded 1919 as Verein für Jugend und Volksspiele Eupen as a merger between two older clubs (FC Fortuna Eupen and Eupener Ballspielverein, both founded 1908) and renamed to the French version of their name in 1920) in the German league structure during the war.
Championship No data available. Cup No data available.
The Sudetenland was incorporated in the German Reich on Sep 29, 1938. From the 1940/41 season on, also clubs from the Protektorat Böhmen und Mähren, roughly corresponding to the remainder (apart from the Sudetenland) of the current Czech Republic, entered the German league structure. Note that nearly all clubs listed below were either army (Militär SV) or air force (LSV = Luftwaffen Sportverein) teams or artificial sports units (NSTG = Nationalsozialistische Turngemeinde) enforced by the nazis; only Warnsdorfer FK existed as a club prior to the German takeover (they were forcibly merged into NSTG Warnsdorf in 1939/40 and relegated from the top level of the Sportbereich 18 Sudetenland as reigning champions).
Most of the clubs listed below played in a separate regional league for the Sudetenland, but some clubs based in the current Czech Republic entered regional leagues of current Austria during World War II: NSTG Budweis won the highest league of Oberösterreich (then called Oberdonauer 1. Klasse) in 1941/42; Militär SV Brünn reached the semifinals of the regional league of Niederösterreich (then known as Niederdonau) in the same season; and in 1943/44 and 1944/45, RSG Lundenburg played in the regional league of Niederdonau, finishing third in their first season; in 1944/45, their local rivals TuS Lundenburg also played in that league, as did SC Engerau from a suburb of Bratislava, now the capital of Slovakia; already in 1939/40, DTSV Znaim had played in the regional league of Niederdonau and DSK Brünn in 1941/42.
Note that DFC Prag played in the German championship 1902/03.
City name correspondences: German Czech Brünn Brno Brüx Most Budweis České Budějovice Falkenau Sokolov Graslitz Kraslice Lundenburg Břeclav Olmütz Olomouc Prag Praha Warnsdorf Varnsdorf Witkowitz Vítkovice Znaim Znojmo Championship (Deutsche Meisterschaft) The following clubs from the current Czech Republic played in the Endrunde of the German championship. 1939: group st.: Warnsdorfer FK (4 0 0 4 5-16 0) 1940: group st.: NSTG Graslitz (4 0 1 3 7-22 1) 1941: group st.: NSTG Prag (4 0 1 3 3- 8 1) 1942: qual. rd.: LSV Olmütz (0-1 vs Vienna) 1943: prel. rd.: Militär SV Brünn (2-5 vs Vienna) 1944: qual. rd.: Militär SV Brünn (3-6 vs Vienna) qual. rd.: NSTG Brüx (0-8 vs 1.FC Nürnberg) Cup (von-Tschammer-Pokal) 1940: 1/16 fin.: NSTG Witkowitz (1-9 vs Wiener Sport-Club) 1942: 1/8 final: NSTG Falkenau (1-4 vs Blau-Weiß Berlin) 1943: 1/8 final: Militär SV Brünn (1-5 vs 1.FC Nürnberg) 1/16 fin.: NSTG Brüx (0-14 vs Vienna)
During the war, Germany occupied the French regions Elsaß (Alsace) and Lothringen (Lorraine), which were under dispute between the two countries (or rather cultural entities, as Germany as a state is a more recent invention) for centuries (clubs from the areas played in (southern) Germany prior to the first World War). Alsatian clubs obtained their own Gauliga, while those from Lorraine (FV Metz, TSG Saargemünd and TSG Merlenbach) were included in the Westmark with teams from the Saar and Rheinland-Pfalz. FV Metz were runners-up in the Westmark each of the three seasons they played (1941/42, 1942/43 and 1943/44) but never qualified for the Endrunde. All clubs involved played before in the French league structure, though of course under different names, e.g. FV Metz as FC Metz, FC Mülhausen 93 as FC Mulhouse and SG SS Straßburg as SC Red Star de Strasbourg (not to be confused with their better known town rivals RC Strasbourg, who were known as Rasen SC Straßburg during German occupation). Apart from the clubs from Mülhausen and Straßburg mentioned below, also FK Mars Bischheim, FC Bischweiler, FC Hagenau, FC Hüningen, FC Kolmar, SpVgg Kolmar, SpVgg Dornach (Mülhausen), ASV Mülhausen, FC Stern Mülhausen, FC Sankt Ludwig, SC Schiltigheim, SV Schlettstadt, TuS Schweighausen, Rasen SC Straßburg, SV Straßburg, FV Walk, SV Wittelsheim and SV Wittenheim played one or more seasons in the Gauliga Elsaß.
City name correspondences: German French Bischweiler Bischwiller Hagenau Haguenau Hüningen Huningue Kolmar Colmar Merlenbach Merlebach Metz Metz Mülhausen Mulhouse Saargemünd Sarreguemines Sankt Ludwig Saint-Louis Schlettstadt Sélestat Schweighausen Schweighouse Straßburg Strasbourg Walk La Walck Championship (Deutsche Meisterschaft) The following clubs from current France played in the Endrunde of the German championship. 1941: group st.: FC Mülhausen 93 (6 0 1 5 9-28 1) 1942: quarterf.: SG SS Straßburg (0-6 vs Schalke 04) 1943: prel. rd.: FC Mülhausen 93 (1-5 vs FV Saarbrücken) 1944: 1/8 final: FC Mülhausen 93 (3-5 vs KSV FV/Altenkessel Saarbrücken) NB: FV Saarbrücken was the contemporary name of current 1.FC Saarbrücken; they entered into a 'war-time union' with Altenkessel in 1943/44. Cup (von-Tschammer-Pokal) 1941: 1/8 final: FV Metz (0-3 vs 1.SV Jena) 1/16 fin.: FC Mülhausen 93 (0-4 vs Stuttgarter Kickers) 1942: 1/8 final: SG SS Straßburg (1-15 vs 1860 München) 1/16 fin.: FC Mülhausen 93 (0-2 vs VfB Stuttgart) 1943: 1/16 fin.: FC Mülhausen 93 (1-4 vs VfR Mannheim)
Football clubs from Luxembourg were incorporated in the Bezirksklasse
Gruppe West within the Sportbereich Moselland. In the first
season teams from the Grand Duchy entered, 1941/42, FV Stadt Düdelingen
won this league and then triumphed in a playoff against the winners of
the Bezirksklasse Gruppe Ost (Eintracht Kreuznach), earning
entry to the qualifying round of the German
championship. One year later, in 1942/43, FK Niederkorn won the same
group but lost the final of the Moselland championship 4-5 on aggregate
against TuS Neuendorf (after winning the first leg 3-0). In 1943/44,
Schwarz-Weiß Esch were the winners of the western group and played the
Moselland final, but after winning 4-1 at home they were destroyed 0-8
by TuS Neuendorf in the second leg in Koblenz.
So FV Stadt Düdelingen are the only club from current
Luxembourg to have played in the Endrunde of the German
championship; they also reached the cup quarterfinals once during
the war.
All clubs involved played before in the Luxembourg league structure, though of course under different names, e.g. FV Stadt Düdelingen as Stade Dudelange, Schwarz-Weiß Esch as Jeunesse d'Esch and FK Niederkorn as Progrès Niedercorn. Other renamed Luxembourg clubs to play at the highest German league level during this time were Moselland Luxemburg (Spora Luxembourg), SV Düdelingen (US Dudelange) and Schwarz-Weiß Wasserbillig (Jeunesse Wasserbillig, who did not reach the highest level in their home country until 1958 but played in the 1943/44 Bezirksklasse Gruppe West of the Sportbereich Moselland).
City name correspondences: German French Luxembourgish Düdelingen Dudelange Diddeléng Esch Esch Esch Luxemburg Luxembourg Lëtzebuerg Niederkorn Niedercorn Nidderkuer Wasserbillig Wasserbillig Waasserbëlleg Championship (Deutsche Meisterschaft) 1942: qual. rd.: FV Stadt Düdelingen (0-2 vs Schalke 04) Cup (von-Tschammer-Pokal) 1942: quarterf.: FV Stadt Düdelingen (0-7 vs 1860 München) 1943: 1/16 fin.: FK Niederkorn (0-3 vs Spfr. Katernberg)
This section only refers to the areas of (current) Poland which were not
part of the German Reich prior to World War II; a great part of
current Poland, in particularly on the northern coast (Pommern)
and the southwestern mining area (Schlesien)
was part of Germany long before World War II
(and Poland stretched far further east – see the section on
Moving Countries).
Likewise, clubs from Westpreußen (e.g. from Elbing/Elbląg), the
Freistaat Danzig (an autonomous entity consisting of the harbour
city Danzig/Gdańsk with its suburbs such as Neufahrwasser/Nowy Port)
and Ostpreußen (with as major city Königsberg/Kaliningrad, nowadays
part of Russia) entered the German football championship as a matter of
course since the beginning of the twentieth century.
The relevant areas were incorporated as Warthegau (with as main
cities Posen (which had belonged to Germany before the first World War
but had fallen to Poland afterwards) and Litzmannstadt)
and Generalgouvernement (with as main cities Krakau,
Lemberg (currently Lviv in the Ukraine), Lublin, Radom
and Warschau; all five served as the central city of a district league).
Other cities known to have had teams playing in the district leagues
forming the Gauliga Generalgouvernement include Biala-Podlaska,
Cholm, Demblin, Luchow, Reichshof, Tschenstochau and Zamosch.
The air force side based in Demblin reached the 1/8 finals of
the 1942 cup.
Two clubs from currently Polish cities, Sian Peremyshl (San Przemyśl in Polish) and Lemko Sianik (Łemko Sanok) took part in a Galician league tournament together with several Ukrainian teams.
Note that like in the Czech case, most clubs listed below were either army or air force units or German police teams (OrPo = Ordnungspolizei); DWM denoted Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken.
City name correspondences: German Polish Biala-Podlaska Biała Podlaska Cholm Chełm Demblin Dęblin Krakau Kraków Litzmannstadt Łódź Luchow Luchów Górny Posen Poznań Reichshof Rzeszów Tschenstochau Częstochowa Warschau Warszawa Zamosch Zamość Championship (Deutsche Meisterschaft) 1941: qual. rd.: LSV Posen (2-2 vs Preußen Danzig, lost on draw) 1942: prel. rd.: OrPo Litzmannstadt (1-8 vs VfB Königsberg) qual. rd.: LSV Boelcke Krakau (2-5 vs Planitzer SC) 1943: 1/8 final: OrPo Warschau (1-5 vs VfB Königsberg) prel. rd.: BSG DWM Posen (1-3 vs OrPo Warschau) 1944: qual. rd.: LSV Mölders Krakau (1-4 vs VfB Königsberg) qual. rd.: BSG DWM Posen (0-7 vs STC Hirschberg) Cup (von-Tschammer-Pokal) 1942: 1/8 final: LSV Adler Demblin (1-4 vs TuS Lipine) 1943: 1/16 fin.: Praga Warschau (3-5 vs Militär SV Brünn) 1/16 fin.: BSG DWM Posen (0-4 vs VfB Königsberg)
In 1944/45, SC Engerau played in the Gauklasse Süd of the regional league of Niederdonau, finishing fifth and last. In the northern section of the same regional league, two clubs from Lundenburg (now Břeclav in the Czech Republic) participated. Before the war, Engerau had been known as Ligeti SC, an ethnic Hungarian club founded in 1899 in the Bratislava suburb of Petržalka; as such they had twice entered the Czechoslovak amateur championship, in 1925 and 1931, as champions of the ethnic Hungarian federation in Slovakia, the Slovenska MLSz; the club was dissolved in 1945.
City name correspondences: German Slovak Hungarian Engerau Petržalka Ligetfalu (later Pozsonyligetfalu)
In the three seasons from 1941/42 to 1943/44, various clubs
from current Slovenia played in the Gauliga Steiermark together with
a number of clubs from current Austria.
In the 1941/42 season, BSG Reichsbahn Marburg (probably identical
to NK Železničar Maribor, founded 1927) finished second,
while DSG Marburg were fifth and DSG Cilli sixth.
In the 1942/43 season, when the league was split into a northern and a southern
section, SV Rapid Marburg finished second in the southern section,
just ahead of BSG Reichsbahn Marburg (third) and DSG Cilli (fourth).
In the 1943/44 season, Trifail (most probably the
same as NK Rudar Trbovlje, founded 1921) finished equal on points
with winners BSG Rosental, who progressed to the Styrian final
against northern group winners Reichsbahn SG Graz thanks to
a better goal average. The two clubs from Maribor, SV Rapid and
BSG Reichsbahn finished third and fourth in the southern group.
In addition, clubs from Aßling (Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft
Aßling), Krainburg (SK Krainburg), Veldes and Cilli entered
the Carinthian league structure during one or more war seasons.
City name correspondences: German Slovenian Aßling Jesenice Cilli Celje Krainburg Kranj Marburg Maribor Trifail Trbovlje Veldes Bled
During World War II, the region around Lviv (Lemberg, Lwów), which
had been Polish during the interbellum
but became part of the Soviet Union
after the war, was incorporated in the
Generalgouvernement. Little is known about the
regional championship of Galizien played between German
army teams: in the 1942/43 season, Ostbahn SG Lemberg were leading
the league around Christmas with 7 points from 4 matches,
ahead of DTSG Lemberg and W.H.-Nachrichten (both 4 points from
3 matches), while in the 1943/44 season Ostbahn SG Lemberg won
that league ahead of DTSG Lemberg and LSV Adler Lemberg, qualifying
for the final round of the Gauliga Generalgouvernement,
in which they finished fifth and last.
Independently of that, a West Ukrainian championship
was apparently played on 3 occasions, with as champions
Ukraina (Lviv) in 1942, Skala (Stryj) in 1943 and
Vatra (Drohobych) in 1944. It is also reported that two clubs from
currently Polish cities, Sian Peremyshl (San Przemyśl in Polish)
and Lemko Sianik (Łemko Sanok) took part in an abandoned Galician
league tournament in 1944, together with several Ukrainian teams;
of these two, Sian Peremyshl had also entered the inaugural 1943 edition, and
reached the final of a regional cup tournament in 1942, drawing 2-2 with
Ukraina (Lviv) before losing the replay 2-4; possibly this refers to
the West Ukrainian championship mentioned above.
Croatia | Romania | Serbia | Slovakia | Slovenia | Ukraine
During the second World War, Hungary annexed a number of regions which had belonged to Hungary (as part of the Habsburg Empire) prior to the first World War.
The first team from outside the current borders of Hungary to enter the Hungarian first division was Kassai AC (from Košice/Kassa in Slovakia). Afterwards, various clubs from areas now in Romania or Serbia entered; these areas had large Hungarian minorities and most of the clubs involved presumably had a sizable quantity of ethnically Hungarian players. Most successful were the clubs from Transylvania: Nagyváradi AC (from Oradea/Nagyvárad, close to the Hungarian border) won the Hungarian championship 1943/44 (as the first team from outside Budapest to do so), 13 points clear of Ferencváros and Kolozsvári AC (from Cluj/Kolozsvár), who reached the cup final in the same season. Below all 'foreign' clubs to play in the first Hungarian league division are listed.
In the 1941/42 season, Csáktornyai SC from the currently Croatian
city of Čakovec played in the southern Trans-Danubian group
(Dél-Dunántúl) of the third Hungarian league level (NB III),
finishing 5th. No further records of their participation (or
that of any other club from towns in current Croatia) in the
Hungarian league structure during the second World War are
available.
During the interbellum the same club (known as Čakovečki ŠK) had
entered the Slovenian regional league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia,
winning it in 1937/38 but missing out on promotion to the Yugoslav top level.
See also the note on a club from the region in the
Hungarian football structure during the
Habsburg Empire.
City name correspondence: Hungarian Croatian Csáktornya Čakovec
Nagyváradi AC (from Oradea/Nagyvárad, close to the
Hungarian border) won the Hungarian championship 1943/44 (as the
first team from outside Budapest to do so), 13 points clear of
Ferencváros and Kolozsvári AC (from Cluj/Kolozsvár), who
reached the cup final in the same season. Both clubs had been
promoted in 1940/41, Kolozsvári AC as winners of the
Erdély (Transylvania) group of the Hungarian second division,
and Nagyváradi AC as its champions – NAC had not entered the second
division but was recognised as the strongest club from
Erdély.
In addition, we mention that Nagybányai SE played at the second
Hungarian league level in all seasons from 1940/41 to 1943/44,
with their best season being the last one when they were
runners-up in the eastern group of the second division,
missing out on promotion against Szentlőrinci AC; they had
also been runners-up
in the Mátyás group in 1942/43. A number of other
Transylvanian clubs played one or more seasons at the second
level of the Hungarian league structure during this period,
including other clubs from Nagyvárad (Nagyváradi Törekvés, at
the second level from 1940/41 to 1942/43) and Kolozsvár
(Kolozsvári Bástya SE, at the second level between 1940/41
and 1943/44; Kolozsvári MÁV, at the second level from 1941/42
to 1943/44, finishing third in the Mátyás group in the
first two of these seasons; and Kolozsvári EAC, playing at
the second level in 1941/42 and 1943/44) as well as clubs from
Szatmárnémeti (Szatmárnémeti SE, also known as Szatmári SE, at
the second level in 1940/41 and 1941/42) and Marosvásárhely
(Marosvásárhelyi SE from 1941/42 to 1943/44, finishing fourth
in the Mátyás group in 1942/43; Székelyföldi MÁV, playing
at the second level in 1942/43 and 1943/44, twice finishing
fifth in their group; Marosvásárhelyi NMKTE, playing at the
second level in 1942/43 and 1943/44; and Marosvásárhelyi Attila,
who only played at the second level in 1943/44).
City name correspondences: Hungarian Romanian Kolozsvár Cluj (Cluj-Napoca) Marosvásárhely Târgu Mureș Nagybánya Baia Mare Nagyvárad Oradea Szatmárnémeti Satu Mare Championship (1st division) 1941/42 5.Nagyváradi AC 30 14 8 8 81-52 36 13.Kolozsvári AC 30 8 6 16 51-78 22 1942/43 2.Nagyváradi AC 30 19 4 7 85-49 42 10.Kolozsvári AC 30 11 4 15 60-70 26 1943/44 1.Nagyváradi AC 30 24 1 5 78-36 49 3.Kolozsvári AC 30 15 6 9 54-45 36 1944/45 2.Nagyváradi AC 3 2 1 0 6- 3 5 6.Kolozsvári AC 3 1 2 0 5- 3 4 NB: the 1944/45 season was abandoned after a few rounds and replaced by an (unofficial) Budapest competition in the fall of 1944. Cup 1944: finalists: Kolozsvári AC (2-2, 1-3 vs Ferencváros)Nagyváradi AC (Nagyváradi Atlétikai Club) were founded in 1910. After Transylvania came to Romania (from the Hungarian part of the Habsburg Empire) after the first World War, they were renamed as CA Oradea (Clubul Atletic Oradea). Prior to World War II, the club played at the Romanian top level for six seasons (1932/33 to 1937/38), finishing runners-up in 1934/35. During the last two seasons before World War II, they were at the second level. After the war, the club was renamed Libertatea and joined the top flight in the 1946/47 season (the first official championship in Romania after the war); in 1948 the club was renamed IC Oradea, and as such won the Romanian championship 1948/49, making them one of the few clubs to have won league titles in two currently existing countries.
Kolozsvári AC (Kolozsvári Atlétikai Club) played as CA Cluj (Clubul Atletic Cluj) in the Romanian second division 1934/35 and 1935/36. They lost their second level status following the reduction of the division from six to two regional groups, and played at regional level until World War II. After their success within the Hungarian league structure during the war, they were included in the Romanian top flight 1946/47 under the name Ferar Cluj. As such, they finished 6th in 1946/47 and 9th in 1947/48 before merging into CFR Cluj (the local railway team), who had withdrawn from their second level group halfway through the 1947/48 season. The merger club was named CFR Cluj and took Ferar's place in the top flight but the identity of the railway club. This club won eight Romanian league championships as CFR Cluj-Napoca as well as four Romanian cups (all since the 2007/08 season).
Note that another club from Cluj, Universitatea Cluj, moved to
Sibiu in 1940, following the Vienna Dictate that transferred
a sizable portion of Transylvania including Cluj and Oradea
to Hungary. Having finished second in one of the four second
level groups (behind Crișana Oradea) in 1939/40, the club
entered the Romanian first level as Universitatea Sibiu in
1940/41. Under that name they reached the 1941/42 Romanian
cup final (which they lost 1-7 to Rapid București; they
had earlier lost the 1933/34 final to Ripensia Timișoara
as Universitatea Cluj and later, after moving back to Cluj in
1945, played three more finals under different names again,
losing the 1948/49 final as CSU Cluj to CSCA București
(later Steaua) and finally winning the trophy in 1964/65 as
Știința Cluj, beating Dinamo Pitești (later
Argeș) in the final); half a century later, they lost
the 2014/15 cup final (as Universitatea Cluj) to Steaua.
See also the notes on clubs from the region in the
Hungarian football structure during the
Habsburg Empire, such as Temesvári Kinizsi, who won regional
championships in Hungary during the first World War and then
claimed six consecutive national championships
(as Chinezul Timișoara) in Romania from
1921/22 to 1926/27 after the region became Romanian.
City name correspondences: Hungarian Serbian Apatin Apatin Bezdán Bezdan Kúla Kula Óbecse Bečej Szabadka Subotica Topolya Bačka Topola Újvidek Novi Sad Verbász Vrbas Zenta Senta Zombor Sombor Championship (1st division) 1941/42 13.Újvideki AC 30 10 5 15 47-86 25 1942/43 11.Újvideki AC 30 10 6 14 52-63 26 1943/44 6.Újvideki AC 30 12 7 11 68-58 31 1944/45 12.Újvideki AC 2 1 0 1 3- 9 2 NB: the 1944/45 season was abandoned after a few rounds and replaced by an (unofficial) Budapest competition in the fall of 1944.Novi Sad lies in the Vojvodina, an autonomous province in Serbia with a considerable Hungarian population (but also other ethnic minorities). Újvideki AC were founded in 1910; its home town Novi Sad/Újvidek came to Yugoslavia (from the Habsburg Empire) in 1918, and the club were renamed Novisadski AK; as such they reached the semifinals of the 1935/36 championship (played in knock-out format), which they lost 0-1 to Slavija Sarajevo. The club was dissolved in 1944. Apart from Újvideki AC, many clubs from smaller towns currently in Serbia played at the second or third Hungarian league level. These included Szabadkai VAK (at the second level from 1941/42 to 1943/44, finishing fourth in the Zrínyi group in 1942/43 and again in the southern group in 1943/44), Óbecsei Bocskai (at the second level in 1942/43 and 1943/44, finishing sixth in the Zrínyi group in 1942/43), Topolyai SE (at the second level in 1942/43 and 1943/44, finishing seventh in the Zrínyi group in 1942/43), Újverbászi CSE (from Verbász; at the second level from 1941/42 to 1943/44, their best finish ninth in the Zrínyi group in 1942/43), Zentai AK (at the second level from 1941/41 to 1943/44, their best finish ninth in the southern group in 1943/44), as well as Bezdáni SE and Szabadkai SC, both relegated after one season at the second level in 1941/42; in addition the following clubs played at the third level in the 1941/42 season: Apatini SE, Kúlai AFC, Bácska Szabadkai AC, Újvidéki Vasutas AK and Zombori SE.
City name correspondences: Hungarian Slovak German Érsekújvár Nové Zámky Neuhäusl Kassa Košice Kaschau Losonc Lučenec Lizenz Losoncapátfalva Opatová (now part of Lučenec) Pozsóny Bratislava Preßburg Championship (1st division) 1939/40 13.Kassai AC 26 5 3 18 29-79 13Kassai AC (Kassai Atlétikai Club) were founded in 1903; in the 1920s they played in the MLSz (Hungarian) championship in Slovakia (there were three separate federations in Slovakia alone, and more in Bohemia and Moravia), reaching the MLSz Slovak championship final in 1927 (lost 2-4 vs Rapid Bratislava) and 1928/29 (lost 1-2 to Ligeti SC, also from Bratislava).
The region of Prekmurje (Muravidék), with as main towns Lendava
and Murska Sobota,
was occupied by Hungary from 1941 to 1944 (and by Germany
during the last year of the war).
Nafta Lendava, a club founded 1903 as Lendvai Football Egyesület
and the first football club founded in current Slovenia,
played in a regional Hungarian league also involving clubs from
Szombathely, finishing second in their group in 1942; this club
played several years at the Slovenian top level, finishing last
in the 2011/12 season after which they were dissolved (and a new
club called Nafta 1903 Lendava was founded instead).
It is not known whether any club from Murska Sobota, whether related
to later Slovenian top flight club and 1994/95 cup winners Mura
(founded 1924, renamed Mura 05 in 2005, as which they won the
Slovenian cup in 2019/20) or not, entered the
Hungarian football structure. After World War II, the region
became part of Yugoslavia.
City name correspondences: Hungarian Slovenian Lendva Lendava Muraszombat Murska Sobota
During the second World War, Hungary also annexed Carpathian
Ruthenia (Transcarpathia, Kárpátalja), which during
the interbellum had belonged to the Slovak part
of Czechoslovakia, and went to the Soviet Union (more precisely,
the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic)
afterwards. From this region, two clubs from the main city
Ungvár, namely Ungvári AC and SK Rusj Ungvár (also listed
as Ungvári Rusznyi and in either form the Hungarian version
of Rusj Užhorod)
played at the second level of the Hungarian league structure.
Ungvári AC won promotion to the top level in 1943/44, as
winners of the northern group of the second division ahead of
Salgótarjáni SE, but their debut season was abandoned after a
few rounds in the fall of 1944, with UAC in last position after
suffering three losses. The national championship was then
replaced by an (unofficial) Budapest league.
Other clubs from the town have played at the
top level of the Czechoslovak (Rusj
Užhorod) and Ukrainian (Zakarpattya
Uzhhorod) league structures.
Two other towns from the region were represented at the
second level in Hungary as well: Beregszászi FTC finished 15th
from 16 clubs in the NB II Felvidéki csoport (a regional
second division group) in 1939/40 and disappeared to the third
Hungarian level for the seasons 1940/41 to 1942/43, while
Munkácsi LSE finished twelfth in the northern group in their
only second level season 1943/44. Both Beregszász and Munkács
had clubs playing at the second level in Czechoslovakia before the
second World War. In the first northern group of the third
level NB III 1940/41 we also find clubs from other towns in the
region: Aknaszlatinai BTE, Nagyszőllősi Beszkid
and Várpalánkai Turul SE.
See also the notes on clubs from the region in the
Hungarian football structure during the
Habsburg Empire.
City name correspondences: Hungarian Ukrainian Slovak Russian Romanian Aknaszlatina Solotvyno Slatinské Doly Solotvina Ocna Slatina Beregszász Berehowe Berehovo Beregowo Bereg Munkács Mukacheve Mukačevo Mukachyovo Muncaci Nagyszőlős Vynohradiv Veľká Sevľuš Vinogradov Seleușu Mare Ungvár Uzhhorod Užhorod Uzhgorod Ujhorod Várpalánka Palanok (now part of Mukacheve) Championship (1st division) 1944/45 16.Ungvári AC 3 0 0 3 3-13 0 NB: the 1944/45 season was abandoned after a few rounds and replaced by an (unofficial) Budapest competition in the fall of 1944.
Italy occupied a number of islands in the Aegean Sea during the Italo-Turkish
War of 1912 (in which it also took possession of regions now in Libya).
Usually summarised as the Dodecanese ("Dodekánisa") in spite of consisting
of more than twelve larger islands, these remained under Italian rule
during the interbellum before being ceded to Greece in 1947.
The largest and by far most populated of these islands is Rhodes (Ródos), where
a first football club, Diagóras, had been founded in 1905, when the islands
were still part of the Ottoman Empire. Diagóras was dissolved by the
fascist authorities in 1929 (and not reconstituted until after the end of
World War II) but a local league was formally part of the fourth level
of the Italian league structure for at least two seasons: in 1935/36, when
the league was won by SG Speranza based in Cremasco di Rodi (now known
as Kremasti), and in 1936/37, when FERT (Fortitudo Eius Rodum Tenuit)
from the town of Ródos itself won the league; another participant
was Polisportiva Marechiaro. Later winners were GS Metropoli Rodi (1938/39)
and Acadia Rodi (1939/40).
On the island of Kos, the second most important of the group, a football
club called Meropís was established in 1924 by a local priest and an
Italian military commander. It was renamed Antagóras in 1952.
There is no information on football activities on any of the other islands
during this period. Note that the original name of the group referred to
twelve islands enjoying a priviliged fiscal status within the Ottoman Empire:
Astypálaia, Chálki, Ikaría, Kálymnos, Kárpathos, Kásos, Kastellórizo, Léros,
Nísyros, Pátmos, Sými and Tílos; Kos and Rhodes, the two main islands in
the region, were not included. During the Italian intermezzo, Ikaría
was part of Greece while Kastellórizo (also known as Megísti) was controlled
by France until 1921 (when the French handed it to Italy). Therefore, Kos
and Rhodes were "added" to the group to complete the dozen.
Later, the Italians renamed the territory they occupied Rodi e Dodecaneso,
separating Rhodes from the other islands and adding Leipsoí in twelfth place.
To confuse the issue further, nowadays Ikaría (which never was Italian) is
usually not considered part of the group, but Agathonísi is.
After entering World War II at the side of the axis, Bulgaria occupied parts of northern Greece and southern Yugoslavia. No league championship was organised in Bulgaria during the war, but several clubs from the occupied areas reached the latter stages of the knock-out style national championship or of the Tzar's Cup.
Championship (knock-out style) 1943: 2nd round: Belomorets Kavala (2-1, 0-1, 1-2 vs Botev Plovdiv) NB: is is unknown whether this club (whose name translates to 'White Sea', referring to the Aegean) is related to the Kavala clubs (in particular AÉ Kaválas and Fílippoi Kaválas, which together with Iraklís Kavála merged into AÓ Kaválas in 1965) playing in the northern section of the Greek championship prior to 1940.
All clubs below are from towns in the current state of (North) Macedonia, an area on which Bulgaria historically laid claims. Note that Macedonia also is the name for a large part of Northern Greece. Makedonija Skopje once reached the championship final and also the semifinal of the Tzar's Cup; they are one of the ancestors of current Vardar Skopje.
Championship (knock-out style) 1941: 1/6 final: Makedonija Skopje (2-1, 0-3 awarded vs Sportklub Plovdiv) 1942: finalists: Makedonija Skopje (0-2, 0-1 vs Levski Sofia) 1/6 final: Makedonija Bitola (0-1 vs Slavia Sofia) 1/6 final: ŽSK Skopje (0-3 vs ŽSK Sofia) 1/12 fin.: Vardar Skopje (1-4 vs Makedonija Bitola) 1/12 fin.: Goce Delcev Prilep (0-8 vs ŽSK Skopje) 1943: 2nd round: ŽSK Skopje (1-3, 1-2 vs Levski Plovdiv) 1st round: Makedonija Bitola (0-1, 0-2 vs ŽSK Skopje) Tzar's Cup 1941: semifinal: Makedonija Skopje (0-1 vs Napreduk Ruse) 1942: quarterf.: Makedonija Bitola (0-3 vs SK Plovdiv) 1st round: ŽSK Skopje (1-2 vs Makedonija Bitola) NB: Goce Delcev were founded 1941 and renamed Pobeda Prilep in 1950; as such they won the 2003/04 and 2006/07 Macedonian championships and the 2001/02 Macedonian cup, also losing the cup finals of 1999/00 and 2006/07; Makedonija Bitola are apparently not related to current Pelister; Makedonija Skopje merged 1947 with Pobeda Skopje into Vardar Skopje (see the section on Macedonian clubs in Yugoslavia); therefore, neither the Makedonija Skopje nor the Vardar Skopje teams above are related to the current clubs of those names, but the war-time Makedonija Skopje is part of the genealogical tree of current Vardar; it is unknown whether the railway club ŽSK (Željezničarski SK) Skopje is related to any current club.
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Serbia
During the second World War, Germany, Hungary and Italy dismembered Yugoslavia, and created the 'independent' vassal state of Croatia, which also comprised current Bosnia-Herzegovina and some parts of current Serbia. During the war, football competitions were organised in this state, leading to the participation of many clubs based in Bosnia-Herzegovina and some from Zemun and Subotica. These are summarised below. See also the section on Yugoslavia.
The seasons 1940/41 and 1941 were played in a league format; the 1941 season was abandoned at the half-way stage. All later seasons had regional or city leagues from which clubs emerged to a knock-out tournament for the title (the 1943 season had a 4-team league as final stage). The most successful club from current Bosnia and Herzegovina was SAŠK Sarajevo, who reached the Croatian championship final in 1942.
Among the clubs listed here, SAŠK Sarajevo had previously played in the Yugoslav championship; they seem to have been dissolved after the war. Zrinjski Mostar won seven championships (and one cup) in Bosnia-Herzegovina since 2004/05, but it is unknown if and how this club are related to that of 1941. None of the mentioned clubs from Banja Luka appear to be related to either Borac Banja Luka or Krajišnik (dissolved 1945) who played in the Yugoslav championship. Likewise, Đerdelez Sarajevo appear unrelated to any later Sarajevo club that featured in Yugoslavia or independent Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Tomislav Zenica are not identical to Čelik Zenica.
SAŠK Sarajevo 1940/41 7.SAŠK Sarajevo 18 5 3 10 17-44 13 1941 9.SAŠK Sarajevo 8 0 0 8 0-30 0 NB: season abandoned 1942: semifinal: SAŠK Sarajevo (1-2, 1-9 vs Concordia Zagreb) 1943: quarterf.: SAŠK Sarajevo (0-0, 0-3awd vs Concordia Zagreb) 1944: finalists: SAŠK Sarajevo (final vs HAŠK Zagreb not played) Zrinjski Mostar 1941 4.Zrinjski Mostar 8 4 1 3 16-19 9 NB: season abandoned Incomplete lists of Bosnian and Herzegovinan participants at group stage who did not reach the knock-out stage (unlike SAŠK Sarajevo): 1942: Zrinjski Mostar, Hrvoje Banja Luka, HBSK Banja Luka, Đerdelez Sarajevo 1943: Hrvoje Banja Luka, HBSK Banja Luka, Đerdelez Sarajevo, Tomislav Zenica 1944: HBSK Banja Luka, Zvonimir Banja Luka, Hrvoje Banja Luka, Hajduk Sarajevo, Đerdelez Sarajevo, Tomislav Zenica
Bačka Subotica (founded 1901 under the Hungarian name of Bacska Szabadkai Athletikai Club) were dissolved in 1945, after playing at the third league level in Hungary since 1941. In 1950, a new club called Bačka Subotica was formed out of a merger between a number of local clubs. Neither version of the club has won any honours in Serbia (or Yugoslavia). Nothing is known about the fate of the Zemun clubs after World War II (they did not play a significant role in Yugoslavia before the war, though a club called Sparta Zemun played in the 1938/39 league); presumably they were all dissolved. Naša krila Zemun (dissolved 1950) and Galenika/FK Zemun are not related.
Bačka Subotica 1940/41 10.Bačka Subotica 18 2 3 13 19-58 7 Victoria Zemun 1941 8.Victoria Zemun 8 2 1 5 12-33 5 1943: quarterf.: HSK Zemun (0-4, 2-1 vs HAŠK Zagreb) 1944: 2nd round: Građanski Zemun (0-2, 0-3awd vs Borovo) Incomplete lists of Serbian participants at group stage who did not reach the knock-out stage: 1942: Građanski Zemun, Victoria Zemun 1944: Dunav Zemun, Građanski Zemun, Liet Zemun, Hajduk Zemun
During World War II, Italian troups occupied Albania and parts of Yugoslavia, including Kosovo. (The occupation started slightly before the war, in April 1939.) The Albanian FA organised three unofficial championships during this time (in 1939, 1940 and 1942); in the last of the three, three clubs from Kosovo entered.
The 1942 unofficial championship was organised in three regional zones; the three Kosovar participants (Peja, Prishtina and Prizreni, from the towns of Pejë, Prishtinë and Prizren respectively) played in the Zona e Veriut (northern zone) along with Shkodra from Shkodër. Prizreni won the zone (played as a single round robin) and qualified for the national semifinals along with runners-up Shkodra. They held favourites Tirana to a draw (after extra time) in their semifinal on June 26, 1942, but lost the replay the next day. Shkodra, the 1940 champions who had sensationally lost 1-3 away to Prizreni in the zonal stage, had meanwhile beaten Berati (from Berat, the winners of the southern zone) and played the final against Tirana on June 29; they drew 1-1 but refused to play extra time, and therefore Tirana were declared champions. Note that the teams were all denoted in the press by their town names, though they were commonly understood to be the leading club team (SK Tirana, Vllaznia Shkodër, Tomori Berat etcetera) from each town.
(unofficial war-time) Championship Prizreni 1942 1.Prizreni 3 3 0 0 10- 2 6 [northern zone] 1942: semifinal: Prizreni (2-2 aet, 1-2 vs Tirana) Peja 1942 3.Peja 3 0 1 2 3- 5 1 [northern zone] Prishtina 1942 4.Prishtina 3 0 1 2 2- 9 1 [northern zone]
Japan occupied the southern part of the Sakhalin island (known as Karafuto in Japanese) between 1905 and 1945; between 1918 and 1925 Japan also occupied the more northern region around Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky (Akō in Japanese), and it held all Kuril Islands (Chishima Islands) from Kunashir (main city Yuzhno-Kurilsk, Furukamappu in Japanese) to Paramushir (main city Severo-Kurilsk, Kashiwabara in Japanese) from 1875 to 1945 (Japan still claims the four southernmost Kuril islands, including Kunashir, but all are currently under Russian control). However, only on southern Sakhalin some minimal information on football activities during Japanese occupation is available. In 1921, first regional competitions in the southern part of Sakhalin were organised, in which teams from the cities of Toyohara (now Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Ōtomari (now Korsakov), Ochiai (now Dolinsk) and Maoka (now Kholmsk) participated, initiated by a publishing company. Starting from 1924 also youth competitions were organised. No data on winners are available.
Currently, Sakhalin has a regional championship at the fifth level of the Russian league pyramid, in which clubs from the above four cities as well as from southern Sakhalin cities such as Aniva (Rūtaka in Japanese), Makarov (Shirutoru in Japanese), Nevelsk (Honto in Japanese), Poronaysk (Shikuka in Japanese), Shakhtersk (Tōro in Japanese), Tomari (Tomarioru in Japanese) and Uglegorsk (Esutoru in Japanese) may enter.
In the 1992 and 1993 seasons, the region had a club playing at the second Russian level in Sakhalin Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, who played in the eastern zone (one of three regional divisions), and finished 13rd (out of 16) in 1992 and 10th (out of 16) in 1993 (a season in which they had relocated to Kholmsk). As a nationwide second division (Pervaya Liga) was established for the 1994 season, only the top-5 remained at the second level and Sakhalin missed out. After nearly two decades, Sakhalin Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk returned to the second level for the 2014/15 season only to suffer immediate relegation again.
Japan occupied large parts on the Asian continent (in particular
Manchuria and Korea) and many Pacific islands prior to and during
World War II. Two Korean clubs reached the final of the main
Japanese football competition, the Emperor's Cup, during
Japanese occupation (1910-1945), one (Seoul Shukyu-dan –
known as Kyungsung FC in Korea) winning it. Note that
in this period Seoul was known as Keijō, Japanese being the
official language, and the corresponding characters were
pronounced Kyungsung (modern transcription Gyeongseong) in
Korean. The 1935 Emperor's Cup winners from Seoul are not to
be confused with the team from the Tokyo-based Keiō
University which dominated Japanese football in the 1930s,
winning 5 Emperor's Cups that decade, including the 1936 final
against Poseung College, also from Seoul. Seoul Shukyu-dan
also won two editions of the football tournament of the
All Joseon Cup in Korea (in 1936, as Kyungsung FC, and in 1937
as Soeul FC); likewise Poseung College won that tournament
once, in 1929.
In addition, Kyungsung FC or Seoul Shukyu-dan won the football
tournament of the Meiji Shrine Games (an Japanese omnisports event
held 14 times between 1924 and 1943) in 1935 by beating
Keiō University BRB 2-1 in the final; in both 1939 and 1940
the Korean province selection of Ham Keung (now spelled Hamgy(e)ong)
won the same tournament.
Emperor's Cup 1935: winners: Seoul Shukyu-dan (2-0 vs Tokyo Bunri Daigaku) 1936: finalists: Poseung College (2-3 vs Keiō Gijuku Daigaku BRB) NB: Poseung College (also spelled Posung College or Bosung College) currently called Korea University and based in Seoul
See the section on splits and unifications for a discussion of the four bantustans who were nominally independent from South Africa during the last decade and a half of the apartheid regime.
After World War I, the former German colony of Südwestafrika became a League of Nations mandate area entrusted to South Africa. After World War II, South Africa annexed the country, without international recognition. After a struggle of decades, the area gained independence as Namibia in 1990, a few years before the end of the apartheid regime in South Africa. During South African rule, various clubs from the region reached the national second division (in the all-white NFL), though never the top flight. In 1966, the first season in which the South West African league structure was integrated into the NFL, South West African champions SK Windhoek entered both the Castle Cup (in which they were eliminated 1-2 by Corinthians) and the promotion playoffs to the top level, but lost 0-9 to, again, Corinthians (who were promoted). After the 1974 season, Windhoek City merged with SK Windhoek into Sportklub Windhoek City; the merger club continued playing in the second division until the NFL was dissolved in 1977. Only a few second division league finishes of Windhoek clubs are known, see below. After 1966, Namibian clubs also entered the NFL Castle Cup, the main cup tournament at the time, usually to be eliminated in the first round (1/16 finals). Much earlier, Ramblers of Windhoek once won the Union Cup, played in the 1920s and organised by the South African Union of Sport (Unie Sport).
On at least two occasions, in 1977 and 1983, Namibia entered the South
African Currie Cup
for provincial selections; in 1977, they defeated
Eastern Free State and drew with Western Transvaal.
South West Africa also entered the amateur championship (Impala Cup)
of South Africa, which was run on an inter-provincial basis, and
won it in 1985, beating Northern Cape 2-0 in the final replay in
Windhoek.
The city of Walvis Bay (founded as Walvisbaai between 1720 and 1725, and known as Walfischbucht in German) was part of the South African Cape Province between 1910 and 1911 and again between 1971 and 1977, when the area came under direct rule by the South African government. It was returned to independent Namibia in 1994, after the end of apartheid. A local club, Sparta United, entered the early rounds of the Castle Cup on various occasions.
NFL - National Division II 1969 9.Windhoek Ramblers 18 5 1 12 19-70 11 1974 8.Windhoek City 24 9 5 10 44-46 23 NFL - Castle Cup 1966: 1/16 fin.: SK Windhoek (1-2 vs Corinthians) 1967: 1/16 fin.: Windhoek Ramblers (1-6 vs Berea Park) 1971: 1/16 fin.: Windhoek City (0-6 vs Durban City) 1972: 1/16 fin.: Windhoek City (0-3 vs Parthenon) 1973: 1/16 fin.: Windhoek City (1-1, 1-3 vs Germiston Callies) 1974: 1/16 fin.: Windhoek City (0-2 vs Germiston Callies) 1975: 1/16 fin.: SK Windhoek City (1-3 vs Berea Park) 1976: 1/16 fin.: SK Windhoek City (0-1 vs Hillbrow) 1977: 1/16 fin.: Sparta United (0-9 vs Troyeville) 1/16 fin.: Windhoek Ramblers (0-12 vs Lusitano)
Like Ceuta and Melilla, which are still Spanish territories, Ifni (now in southwestern Morocco) was a coastal Spanish exclave during colonial times, and, unlike Tetuán, remained Spanish when Morocco gained independence. Between 1946 and 1958 it was ruled together with Western Sahara before becoming an overseas Spanish province on its own after a Moroccan invasion attempt. In 1969, following international pressure, Spain relinquished the area to Morocco.
Morocco occupied Western Sahara shortly after Spain released the area into independence. Two clubs from the main city Laâyoune (El Ayoun) have played in the top division, though without much tangible success; however, JS de la Massira reached the semifinals of the national cup competition, the Coupe du Trône, on 4 separate occasions.
When Ifni was relinquished to Morocco in 1969, 4 local football clubs existed: Balompédica CF, CD Africa, Atlético Español de Fútbol and CD Ifni. All were based in the capital town Sidi Ifni. It is unknown how these clubs performed within the Spanish football structure or whether regional championships were organised.
Tihad Sidi Ifni played at the third level in Morocco for several seasons (certainly between 2005 and 2008) and may have played at the second level previously, but never at the first. As Tihad is short for Ittihad, meaning Union, they may have been created as a merger of the old 'Spanish' clubs.
CSE Laâyoune were the first club from the area to be promoted to the Moroccan top level league, in 1984, but they only lasted three seasons there (and the third only because of an extension of the top flight to 24 clubs, distributed over 2 groups).
Championship 1984/85 ?.CSE Laâyoune 1985/86 19.CSE Laâyoune 38 6 11 21 20-48 61 1986/87 11.CSE Laâyoune 22 2 6 14 28-49 32 [group A]In 1995, the Auxiliary Forces team, based in Ben Slimane, who had finished ninth in the 1994/95 league championship, were moved to Laâyoune and renamed Jeunesse Sportive de la Massira; Massira is the name for the "Green March", staged on November 6, 1975 by about 300,000 (unarmed) Moroccans occupying areas of the former Spanish colony of Western Sahara rich in natural resources. The club occasionally managed a finish in the top half of the table but were relegated in 2012. They have enjoyed more (relative) success in the Coupe du Trône, having reached (and being eliminated at) the semifinal stage on 4 occasions.
Championship 1995/96 10.JS de la Massira 30 9 13 8 31-30 40 1996/97 4.JS de la Massira 30 14 9 7 43-30 51 1997/98 12.JS de la Massira 30 9 8 13 26-36 35 1998/99 9.JS de la Massira 30 10 6 14 26-43 36 1999/00 13.JS de la Massira 30 4 15 11 19-34 27 2000/01 14.JS de la Massira 30 6 12 12 27-33 30 2001/02 9.JS de la Massira 30 8 11 11 32-45 35 2002/03 8.JS de la Massira 30 7 13 10 25-32 34 2003/04 11.JS de la Massira 30 7 14 9 20-25 35 2004/05 5.JS de la Massira 30 9 12 9 26-25 39 2005/06 13.JS de la Massira 30 5 17 8 23-26 32 2006/07 8.JS de la Massira 30 8 13 9 21-21 37 2007/08 9.JS de la Massira 30 8 14 8 27-28 38 2008/09 12.JS de la Massira 30 8 10 12 31-41 34 2009/10 13.JS de la Massira 30 8 10 12 26-33 34 2010/11 11.JS de la Massira 30 8 10 12 24-35 34 2011/12 15.JS de la Massira 30 7 7 16 24-42 28 Cup 1997: semifinal: JS de la Massira (2-3 vs WAC Casablanca) 2000: 1/8 final: JS de la Massira (1-1 aet, 2-4 pen vs KAC Kénitra) 2001: semifinal: JS de la Massira (1-4 vs MAS Fès) 2002: 1/8 final: JS de la Massira (0-1 vs KAC Marrakech) 2003: quarterf.: JS de la Massira (2-3 aet vs Raja Casablanca) 2004: semifinal: JS de la Massira (0-1 vs FAR Rabat) 2005: semifinal: JS de la Massira (0-1 vs OC Khouribga) 2009: 1/8 final: JS de la Massira (0-0 aet, 4-5 pen vs OC Khouribga) 2011: 1/8 final: JS de la Massira (1-4 vs WAC Casablanca) 2016: 1/8 final: JS de la Massira (1-1, 0-0 vs RS Berkane)
Eritrea became an autonomous state within Ethiopia in 1952, and remained so until 1962 when Addis Abeba revoked the autonomy and factually annexed the country, its only access to the Red Sea. After a lenghty war, Eritrea were granted independence in 1993.
The first season in which Eritrean clubs entered the Ethiopian football structure was 1953; it is not known for how long they continued to participate actively, but until the mid seventies they did so with considerably success, in particular in the late fifties and early seventies in the league, and in the eighties in the cup.
We only list Eritrean clubs winning the national
championship or cup, as only limited data are available. Among the
clubs listed, Red Sea (also known as Key Baher) won the
championship of independent Eritrea 6 times since 1995. None of
the others appear to have 'survived' independence; in any case none
are mentioned in the (sparse) available data on football in independent
Eritrea. Akale Guzay (1958 Ethiopian champions) was the former name
of Embassoyra (1974 champions), and GS Asmara (1972 and 1973 champions of
Ethiopia) were known as Hamassien (champions 1955 and 1957) before.
As far as is known, all clubs mentioned are or were based in the
Eritrean capital Asmara.
Note that Hamassien/Asmara, Akale Guzay/Embassoyra and Tele SC all
played in the 1946/47 Eritrean championship under Italian rule.
Hamassien won the 1949 Coppa Torino in the colonial era. A club
called Mar Rosso also existed at the time, and played for one
season (apparently 1947/48) in the Eritrean championship under
Italian rule, but finished last and were relegated; they reportedly
were dissolved later and are therefore not directly related to the
aforementioned Red Sea, Ethiopian cup winners of 1981 and 1983.
When Ethiopia won the African Nations Cup at home in 1962, their team was dominated by players from Eritrea, including the brothers Luciano and Italo Vassalo, of mixed Italian-Eritrean parentage; to this day, Luciano remains the second highest goal scorer at African Nations Cup final tournaments for Ethiopia, with six goals between 1962 and 1968. As in the case of the 1976 European Championship of Czechoslovakia, won by a predominantly Slovak side, it is in fact unfair to credit this title to the nominal successor federation (it is the only African Nations Cup title Ethiopia ever won).
Championship 1948 1.Red Sea 1955 1.Hamassien 1957 1.Hamassien 1958 1.Akale Guzay 1959 1.Tele SC 1969 1.Tele SC 1970 1.Tele SC 1972 1.GS Asmara 1973 1.GS Asmara 1974 1.Embassoyra NB: in 1953, Hamassien lost the championship final 3-4 to Army (from Addis Abeba). Cup 1970: winners: GS Asmara 1981: winners: Red Sea 1983: winners: Red Sea 1984: winners: Eritrea Shoes 1985: winners: Eritrea Shoes 1987: winners: Eritrea Shoes
Note that China only organises an national football championship since 1951, so after Taiwan became de facto independent. Prior to this, there were National Games (7 editions between 1910 and 1948, held on 10 occasions since) and Inter-Sectional Football Championships (7 editions between 1926 and 1933) but the island of Taiwan was never involved in any of those. Hongkong did participate in various National Games, as did selections of Chinese from Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand; see the section on border moves.
Tibet, which had been de facto independent from 1913 to 1950,
was annexed by China in 1951. Nothing is known about football in
the region prior to the annexation. In recent years, two
'Tibet' club teams played at the third level of the Chinese
league structure. In 2003, Beijing-based Tibet Xuequan did so;
in 2004 Tibet Huitong Luhua, based in Baoding (Hebei province)
entered. This club moved to Beijing for 2005, and reached the
promotion playoffs. After their quarterfinal exit, the club
bought the franchise of second level Dalian Changbo, relocated
to Taiyuan (after first intending to play in Heilongjiang
province – the completely opposite side of China seen from Tibet)
and renamed it Shanxi Luhu. Before the 2007 season, the club was
renamed Hohhot and relocated to the city of that name, the capital
of Inner Mongolia. None of the cities mentioned is remotely
close to Tibet – Taiyuan is about 2000 kilometres from Lhasa,
as the bird flies, and the others are (much) further away. So
the relationship of these two clubs with Tibet is probably comparable
to that of Montevideo-based clubs Bristol, Dublin and Liverpool (all
once top level clubs in Uruguay) with the corresponding cities
in Britain and Ireland.
Much earlier, in 1965, a Tibet 'representative' team
finished 5th (from 15) in one of the four Division Two
groups, missing out on the second level championship playoffs.
In the seventies, the Chinese football championship involved
up to 45 teams, mostly provincial selections, army units or
youth sides. Tibet participated on various occasions. These
tournaments were played in four first stage groups,
with the best teams playing off for the title and the others
for the lower placings. In 1974, Tibet withdrew
from the playoffs for 25th to 45th place which they were to
enter; in 1976, the second stage was not played because of the
upheavals following the death of Mao. In 1978, a 16-team top
flight was installed, and Tibet entered Division 2, finishing 20th
from 22. In 1979, they dropped 2 places and finished bottom
of Division 2. Since then, no Tibet representation or club team
has played above the third level, with the exception of the 1986
season when the second division had 33 teams and Tibet finished 5th
in their 9-team first round group.
Championship Tibet (4 top level seasons) 1973 32.Tibet 17 1 0 16 9-53 2 [aggregate record] 1974 -.Tibet 9 0 0 9 5-29 0 [first stage] 1976 -.Tibet 9 1 4 4 9-17 6 [first stage] 1977 38.Tibet 15 1 5 9 18-33 7 [aggregate record] NB: no championship organised in 1975.
Since obtaining independence from Britian, India's borders underwent several changes. The most spectacular was the separation from Pakistan (later split into Pakistan and Bangladesh; with Pakistan there is a long standing conflict on the Jammu and Kashmir region – teams from the part currently controlled by India occasionally enter Indian tournaments, but it is not known whether there ever were football competitions covering the entire region). There were also several additions: India annexed 'French India' (Karikal, Yanaon and Mahé) in 1956 and the Portuguese colonies of Goa, Diu and Damão in 1962, as well as Sikkim through a referendum in 1975.
Football was reportedly introduced to Goa in 1883, but before Goa came to India in 1962, an official league had been going on for just a decade. The ten league championships played out between 1951/52 and 1960/61 were shared by CD Vasco da Gama (3 titles), AD Velha Goa (2 titles), CD Chinchinim, Independente de Margao, GD Polícia, CD Salgaocar and Sporting Clube de Goa (all 1 title); among those 7 clubs, Salgaocar (renamed Salgaocar SC) won 17 Goan leagues between 1962/63 and 2008, Vasco da Gama (renamed Vasco SC) 3 and Sporting Clube de Goa 1 (in 2006 – their first championship since 1952/53).
Moreover, Goan clubs have played a dominant role since the introduction of a national football league in India in the 1996/97 season, seriously challenging Calcutta's long-time undisputed standing as the strongest football region in the country. Goan clubs claimed 9 (Salgaocar in 1998/99 and 2010/11, Dempo in 2004/05, 2006/07, 2007/08, 2009/10 and 2011/12 and Churchill Brothers in 2008/09 and 2012/13) of the 24 championships disputed up to and including the 2019/20 season, one more than Calcutta (nowadays officially called Kolkata – 5 for Mohun Bagan and 3 for their eternal rivals East Bengal), and showed much greater strength in depth: among the league runners-up, 8 were from Goa, which also accounted for 10 of the teams finishing third.
Goa's strength in depth was particularly clear in the first few years after the turn of the millennium: in 2002/03 the tiny state, accounting for little more than 0.1 percent of the country's surface and population, provided 4 of the 12 league clubs (Calcutta 3) and all finished in the top-6; in 2003/04 Goa fielded 5 of the 12 top flight outfits (Calcutta 4) and all finished in the top-8; and in 2004/05 the former Portuguese colony accounted for half (6 out of 12) of the top division participants (Calcutta just 3), claiming the top two positions as well. Although all 6 Goan clubs finished in the top-10, a reduction of the league (from 12 to 10 participants) meant 2 Goan clubs were relegated, and as another 2 went down in 2005/06 (while Churchill Brothers went the opposite direction), 2006/07 had 'just' 3 Goan participants among the 10 top flight teams – equal to Calcutta's share. In fact, in each and every league season up to and including 2015/16 (when Goan participation had dropped to 2 clubs out of 9), Goa had the highest number of teams participating (sometimes equalled, but never bested, by Calcutta and/or Mumbai). In 2016/17, three Goan clubs (SC Goa, Salgaocar and promoted side Dempo) had qualified for the league, but they all withdrew out of displeasure with the roadmap for Indian football for the 2017/18 season; instead, Churchill Brothers were invited by the AIFF to enter the league, as the only Goan participants in the 2016/17 season.
Note that the seasons 1996/97 and 1998/99 were played over two stages, with a 2-group first stage from which 8 clubs qualified for the championship playoff.
Goa has also been represented in every season of the Indian Super League set up in 2014, with FC Goa reaching two finals and five semifinals in the ten seasons contested so far.
Championship Churchill Brothers SC (23 top level seasons) 1996/97 2.Churchill Brothers SC 19 10 6 3 27-16 36 [aggregate record] 1997/98 9.Churchill Brothers SC 18 4 7 7 20-26 19 1998/99 3.Churchill Brothers SC 20 7 8 5 27-21 29 [aggregate record] 1999/00 2.Churchill Brothers SC 22 12 5 5 36-17 41 2000/01 3.Churchill Brothers SC 22 10 6 6 32-25 36 2001/02 2.Churchill Brothers SC 22 12 6 4 44-19 42 2002/03 5.Churchill Brothers SC 22 10 7 5 33-22 37 2003/04 4.Churchill Brothers SC 22 10 6 6 29-24 36 2004/05 9.Churchill Brothers SC 22 5 8 9 23-33 23 2006/07 4.Churchill Brothers SC 18 7 8 3 30-23 29 2007/08 2.Churchill Brothers SC 18 11 3 4 40-22 36 2008/09 1.Churchill Brothers SC 22 13 7 2 53-23 46 2009/10 2.Churchill Brothers SC 26 11 10 5 51-35 43 2010/11 4.Churchill Brothers SC 26 14 8 4 57-31 50 2011/12 3.Churchill Brothers SC 26 14 6 6 47-28 48 2012/13 1.Churchill Brothers SC 26 16 7 3 56-22 55 2013/14 11.Churchill Brothers SC 24 6 7 11 25-37 25 2017 6.Churchill Brothers SC 18 5 5 8 24-26 20 2017/18 9.Churchill Brothers SC 18 5 2 11 17-28 17 2018/19 4.Churchill Brothers SC 20 9 7 4 35-23 34 2019/20 8.Churchill Brothers SC 15 6 2 7 23-21 20 2020/21 2.Churchill Brothers SC 15 8 5 2 22-17 29 2021/22 4.Churchill Brothers SC 18 9 3 6 24-22 30 Salgaocar SC (18 top level seasons) 1996/97 7.Salgaocar SC 19 5 7 7 10-13 22 [aggregate record] 1997/98 3.Salgaocar SC 18 8 6 4 19-13 30 1998/99 1.Salgaocar SC 20 11 6 3 34-14 39 [aggregate record] 1999/00 3.Salgaocar SC 22 11 6 5 26-15 39 2000/01 6.Salgaocar SC 22 8 2 12 23-26 26 2001/02 4.Salgaocar SC 22 10 9 3 32-17 39 2002/03 2.Salgaocar SC 22 13 5 4 43-17 44 2003/04 7.Salgaocar SC 22 7 6 9 24-23 27 2004/05 6.Salgaocar SC 22 7 7 8 26-24 28 2005/06 9.Salgaocar SC 17 2 6 9 15-29 12 2007/08 10.Salgaocar SC 18 1 8 9 20-37 11 2009/10 6.Salgaocar SC 26 8 9 9 34-38 33 2010/11 1.Salgaocar SC 26 18 2 6 58-27 56 2011/12 6.Salgaocar SC 26 12 8 6 32-19 44 2012/13 7.Salgaocar SC 26 9 6 11 34-29 33 2013/14 3.Salgaocar SC 24 11 6 7 36-25 39 2015 6.Salgaocar SC 20 7 3 10 25-27 24 2016 7.Salgaocar SC 16 4 4 8 19-27 16 2017 withdrew from the league Dempo SC (17 top level seasons) 1996/97 4.Dempo SC 19 8 6 5 26-18 30 [aggregate record] 1997/98 6.Dempo SC 18 5 7 6 20-22 22 1998/99 5.Dempo SC 10 2 3 5 6-11 9 [group A] 1999/00 12.Dempo SC 22 1 8 13 9-34 11 2002/03 6.Dempo SC 22 10 5 7 34-29 35 2003/04 2.Dempo SC 22 12 9 1 28-12 45 2004/05 1.Dempo SC 22 14 5 3 28-17 47 2005/06 5.Dempo SC 17 6 7 4 29-22 25 2006/07 1.Dempo SC 18 11 3 4 37-21 36 2007/08 1.Dempo SC 18 10 6 2 35-13 36 2008/09 4.Dempo SC 22 8 7 7 35-26 31 2009/10 1.Dempo SC 26 16 6 4 54-31 54 2010/11 3.Dempo SC 26 15 5 6 63-34 50 2011/12 1.Dempo SC 26 18 3 5 59-21 57 2012/13 5.Dempo SC 26 11 7 8 45-33 40 2013/14 4.Dempo SC 24 9 8 7 31-25 35 2015 10.Dempo SC 20 3 10 7 15-26 19 2017 withdrew from the league Sporting Clube de Goa (12 top level seasons) 2003/04 8.Sporting Clube de Goa 22 7 6 9 34-35 27 2004/05 2.Sporting Clube de Goa 22 14 3 5 46-23 45 2005/06 4.Sporting Clube de Goa 17 6 7 4 24-16 25 2006/07 6.Sporting Clube de Goa 18 6 7 5 23-19 25 2007/08 7.Sporting Clube de Goa 18 4 7 7 14-24 19 2008/09 3.Sporting Clube de Goa 22 13 4 5 28-20 43 2009/10 13.Sporting Clube de Goa 26 6 9 11 30-40 27 2011/12 8.Sporting Clube de Goa 26 11 7 8 53-43 40 2012/13 6.Sporting Clube de Goa 26 9 8 9 36-41 35 2013/14 5.Sporting Clube de Goa 24 9 7 8 34-34 34 2015 9.Sporting Clube de Goa 20 5 8 7 22-27 23 2016 4.Sporting Clube de Goa 16 5 7 4 24-20 22 2017 withdrew from the league Vasco SC (6 top level seasons) 2000/01 5.Vasco SC 22 5 12 5 13-17 27 2001/02 3.Vasco SC 22 12 4 6 28-20 40 2002/03 3.Vasco SC 22 12 7 3 40-21 43 2003/04 6.Vasco SC 22 6 10 6 22-19 28 2004/05 10.Vasco SC 22 5 5 12 25-37 20 2008/09 12.Vasco SC 22 2 4 16 14-49 19 Fransa FC (2 top level seasons, 1 abandoned) 2004/05 5.Fransa FC 22 8 6 8 24-26 30 2005/06 10.Fransa-Pax FC 9 0 4 5 2-13 4 Federation Cup 1987: finalists: Salgaocar SC (0-2 vs Mohun Bagan) 1988: winners: Salgaocar SC (1-0 vs Border Security Force) 1989: winners: Salgaocar SC (2-0 aet vs Mohammedan Sporting) 1990: finalists: Salgaocar SC (1-2 vs Kerala Police) 1994: finalists: Salgaocar SC (0-0 aet, 3-4 pen vs Mohun Bagan) 1996: finalists: Dempo SC (1-2 asdet vs East Bengal) 1997: winners: Salgaocar SC (2-1 asdet vs East Bengal) 2001: finalists: Dempo SC (0-2 vs Mohun Bagan) 2004: winners: Dempo SC (2-0 vs Mohun Bagan) 2005: finalists: Sporting Clube de Goa (1-2 aet vs Mahindra United) 2006: finalists: Sporting Clube de Goa (1-1 aet, 2-3 pen vs Mohun Bagan) 2008: finalists: Dempo SC (0-1 vs Mohun Bagan) 2011: winners: Salgaocar SC (3-1 vs East Bengal) 2012: finalists: Dempo SC (2-3 aet vs East Bengal) 2014: winners: Churchill Brothers (3-1 vs Sporting Clube de Goa) 2014: finalists: Sporting Clube de Goa (1-3 vs Churchill Brothers) 2015: finalists: Dempo SC (1-2 vs Bengaluru FC) Indian Super League FC Goa (10 top level seasons) 2014 2.FC Goa 14 6 4 4 21-12 22 semifinal: FC Goa (0-0, 0-0 aet, 2-4 pen vs Atlético de Kolkata) 2015 1.FC Goa 14 7 4 3 29-20 25 finalists: FC Goa (2-3 vs Chennaiyin FC) 2016 8.FC Goa 14 4 2 8 15-25 14 2017/18 3.FC Goa 18 9 3 6 42-28 30 semifinal: FC Goa (1-1, 0-3 vs Chennaiyin FC) 2018/19 2.FC Goa 18 10 4 4 36-20 34 finalists: FC Goa (0-1 aet vs Bengaluru FC) 2019/20 1.FC Goa 18 12 3 3 46-23 39 semifinal: FC Goa (1-4, 4-2 vs Chennaiyin FC) 2020/21 4.FC Goa 20 7 10 3 31-23 31 semifinal: FC Goa (2-2, 0-0 aet, 5-6 pen vs Mumbai City FC) 2021/22 9.FC Goa 20 4 7 9 29-35 19 2022/23 7.FC Goa 20 8 3 9 36-35 27 2023/24 3.FC Goa 22 13 6 3 39-21 45 semifinal: FC Goa (2-3, 0-2 vs Mumbai City FC)
The until then independent Himalaya kingdom of Sikkim, bordering to
its west on Nepal, to its north on China (more precisely, Tibet) and
to its east on Bhutan, entered India as its 22nd state following a
referendum in 1975 (after an earlier rejection by popular vote
in 1947; after that, Sikkim had obtained a special 'protectorate'
status). China did not recognise this move until 2003; in return
India then recognised China's possession of Tibet.
The capital of the state is Gangtok, also its largest town.
Currently the most important football tournament in the region
is the invitational Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup, which draws
participants from India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal; the 2006
edition even included a team from Nigeria. Its inaugural edition
in 1979 was won by local side GMC from Gangtok; since then, no
local team has reached the final.
Prior to 1975, the dominant teams in Sikkim had been Sikkim Guards
and Kumar Sporting Club (which already won an unspecified tournament
outside of Sikkim in 1948); in the early seventies, they were joined by
1/3rd Gorkha Rifles, an army team which had been moved to Sikkim.
No information is available on domestic competitions in Sikkim
in this era. Sikkim representative teams played in tournaments
outside the area (e.g. in Darjeeling) as well, but also here
details are lacking. The current Sikkim FA was formed in 1976;
its predecessor was the Gangtok Football and Sporting Association.
Since the inclusion of the state in India, Sikkim are irregular and
unsuccessful entrants in the Santosh Trophy, a competition for
state selections. This is (usually) played over two group stages
followed by semifinals and final. In their best ever performance,
in 2004, Sikkim reached the
quarterfinal group stage (involving 12 teams divided in 4 groups of 3)
after beating both Orissa and Pondicherry 4-3; they then lost both
second stage matches heavily (1-5 to Manipur and 1-6 to Karnataka).
In the league pyramid, Sikkim club teams occasionally entered the
second level (played in various regional groups followed by a final
national stage in which promotion can be earned). United Sikkim FC
were the first team from the region to reach the final stage, in
2010/11, and earned promotion to the top level I-League in 2011/12
only to be relegated again next season, finishing last.
However, Sikkim's main claim to fame in football terms remains
the fact that Baichung Bhutia, the best Indian player in the beginning
of the 21st century, was born there; he is co-owner of United Sikkim
and played for 20 minutes as a substitute in the match in which the club
clinched promotion.
Championship United Sikkim FC (Gangtok) (1 top level season) 2012/13 14.United Sikkim 26 2 9 15 23-63 15 Championship (Division 2) Boys Athletic Club (Gangtok) 2001/02 5.Boys Athletic Club 3 0 0 3 1- 7 0 [group II] NB: result of last group match (presumably lost) unknown Denzong Boyz FC (Gangtok) 2009/10 7.Denzong Boyz 6 0 1 5 2-14 1 [group C] 2010/11 7.Denzong Boyz 6 0 2 4 8-21 2 [group B] United Sikkim FC (Gangtok) 2010/11 1.United Sikkim 6 4 1 1 15- 7 13 [group A] 5.United Sikkim 7 2 4 1 9- 9 10 [final stage] 2011/12 1.United Sikkim 6 4 1 1 18- 7 13 [group C] 1.United Sikkim 12 6 4 2 22-17 22 [final stage] 2013/14 4.United Sikkim 8 2 1 5 9-12 7 [final stage] Cup (Santosh Trophy) Sikkim (best ever performance only) 2004 -.Sikkim 4 2 0 2 10-14 6 [aggregate record]
East Timor | Western New Guinea
Indonesian invaded the former Portuguese colony East Timor in 1975, when Portugal had granted the area independence, and occupied it until 1999, the western world being rather more lenient with Soeharto than with Saddam Hussein when he invaded Kuwait under comparable pretexts a decade and a half later. On at least one occasion, a club from the capital Dili, Persedil, played at the second level (Divisi Satu) of the amateur championship, Perserikatan, in 1983, missing out on qualification for the quarterfinal stage (8 Besar) in their last group match in which they lost 1-3 to Persisam (Samarinda), when a draw would have been sufficient for qualification. They had earlier lost 1-4 to Persib (Bandung), who would eventually win promotion to the top level (Divisi Utama) together with three other clubs, and beaten PSSA (Asahan) 4-3. Another Dili club, called Summa FC, representing Bank Summa, then a major private bank in Indonesia, played two matches in Sleman (near Yogyakarta, central Java) against local side PSK Kalasan (to whom they lost 1-2) and Surabaya amateur team Suryanaga (who beat them 4-1) as part of the national stage of another amateur tournament in 1991/92, but the status of that competition is not clear.
Perserikatan - Divisi Satu - Grup B 1983 3.Persedil (Dili) 3 1 0 2 6-10 2
When the Dutch East Indies became independent as Indonesia in 1949, the Netherlands kept the western part of New Guinea, which remained a Dutch colony until 1962. It was to obtain full independence by 1971, but following Indonesian mobilisation and pressure from the US administration under Kennedy, the Netherlands handed over the territory to UN administration in October 1962, which in turn handed the area to Indonesia in May 1963. A plebiscite was organised in 1969, which resulted in a 100% vote for continued Indonesian rule over the area (called Irian Jaya between 1973 and 2002, when it was renamed Papua), while the eastern half of the island (ruled by Australia at the time) is now independent as Papua New Guinea.
During Dutch rule, football was only played at local
level, in particular in and around the capital Hollandia,
founded in 1910 and currently (since the centenary celebrations
in 2010) officially called Port Numbay after temporary name
changes to Sukarnopura (1963-1968) and Jayapura (1968-2010; this
name is still widely used).
Hollandia was home to two football associations, both organising their
own competitions, namely the V.H.O. (Voetbalbond Hollandia en
Omstreken, founded in 1950), which initially was restricted to
Europeans and their descendants, and the V.B.H. (Voetbal Bond
Hollandia, founded in 1949), in which the local population had
a place (in later years, Papua's also gained access to the V.H.O.).
Occasionally matches between selections from Hollandia and Biak were
organised. The V.H.O. league was won by W.I.K. in five consecutive
seasons from 1956 to 1960 (no data are available on earlier seasons)
and by E.D.O, founded in April 1950 and reportedly the oldest club in
Hollandia, in 1961, while the V.B.H. champions were Ajapo in 1959
and S.V.C. in 1960.
At the end of the 1959 season, a playoff between the top-3 of both leagues
was organised for the first time, with P.O.M.S. winning in 1959/60 and
Spoetnik and H.V.C. sharing first place in 1961/62 (the 1960/61 edition
was abandoned after one match due to internal problems in the V.B.H.).
In 1962, the two federations merged to organise a unified league, the
E.D.H. (Ere Divisie Hollandia), but no data on that are available
after September 1962.
In July 1959, the Voetbalbond Merauke started a qualifying competition between 14 clubs to decide 7 entrants in the inaugural eerste klasse. No further data are available. In addition, a federation existed in Fakfak (Voetbalbond Fakfak); as early as January 19th, 1935, a local club named Fakfak had played a team from Flores, a visiting ship, winning 4-1. However, no further details are known. In May 1936, the Doreh-voetbalclub was founded in Manokwari, then the centre of football activities on Dutch New Guinea, where 6 clubs played in the 1937/38 league organised by the local football federation, won by Leeuwenhart.
It is unknown whether any of the above clubs survived since the
area became Indonesian; the current top club from the island,
Persipura from Jayapura (colours: white-black), which claims
foundation in 1950, are the product of the 1962 merger between
the V.H.O. and the V.B.H.
Persipura won the 2005 Indonesian championship, beating
hosts Persija 3-2 after extra time in the final in Jakarta.
Persipura also lost three consecutive Indonesian cup finals (for the Copa
Dji Sam Soe): in 2006 to Arema from Malang, and in both 2007
and 2008/09 to Sriwijaya FC from Palembang. They claimed their
second national title in Indonesia in 2008/09, their third in
2010/11 and their fourth in 2013 and their fifth (a record) in
the newly established Torabika Soccer Championship in 2016;
in 2014 they finished runners-up to Persib from Bandung.
They also were runners-up in the amateur championship of 1980, losing
the final 1-3 to Persiraja from Banda Aceh (capital of Aceh in
Northern Sumatra) and won the last ever second level
(Divisi Satu) championship of the Perserikatan in
1993 (the amateur and semiprofessional league structures merged
in 1994), a championship they had won before in 1979.
Other clubs from the area playing a role at the higher levels of the Indonesian league structure are Persiwa from Wamena (supposedly founded in 1925, which presumably refers to the foundation of a local federation under Dutch rule; they played at top level between 2006 and 2013, during which period they once finished runners-up (in 2008/09, behind Persipura) and once finished third (in 2012, behind Sriwijaya FC and Persipura)), Perseman from Manokwari (founded in 1950 and runners-up of the Perserikatan in 1986, losing the final 0-1 to Persib from Bandung; they last played at the top level in 2007), Persidafon from Dafonsoro (at the second level 2010), Persiram from Raja Ampat (who play at the top level since 2011/12), Persiss from Sorong (competitors at the second level from 1989 to 2002), Perseru from Serui (promoted to the second level in 2010 and to the top level for the 2014 season after finishing the second level as runners-up to Persebaya in 2013) and PSBS from Biak Numfor (at the second level since 2011/12).
Note that Indonesia also assumed control over the Southern
Moluccas (Maluku Selatan) against the declared
will of the majority of the population (which migrated in
great numbers to the Netherlands) shortly after gaining
independence. However, little is known about a separate
football structure for this group of islands prior to their
annexation by Indonesia; a regional league was organised on
Ambon during the colonial era, won by H.V.C. in 1933.
PS Ambon reached the interzonal stage of the Indonesian
championship 1957-59 (corresponding to being among the top 15
clubs of the tournament), the championship playoff of 1964
(in which they finished 7th among 9 clubs) and the interzonal
stage in 1964/65 (corresponding to being among the top 10
clubs of the tournament). In 1954 they had lost the decisive
final qualifying match to reach the 6-team championship playoff
0-2 to PSM from Makassar, who thus represented eastern Indonesia
instead.
The P.O.M.S. club in Hollandia listed above presumably was founded
by members from the Ambonese diaspora (already in the
colonial era, Ambonese clubs existed throughout the Indonesian
archipelago, such as V.O.P. in Medan, S.V.J.A. in Batavia and
Mena Moeria in Soerabaja; when Batavia became Djakarta (now
Jakarta), the local S.V.J.A. (Sport Vereniging Jong Ambon) were
renamed P.O.M.S., a more or less straightforward translation of
their name into Indonesian).
Israel occupied the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 1967, following the Six-Day war. For the definition of Israel, Palestine and British Palestine in the context of this document, see the section on British Palestine.
Various Arab clubs were set up in Israel in the 1950s and
1960s, in cities such as Akko, Furaydis, Jaljulia, Kafr-Kana,
Kafr-Kasem, Kafr-Yassif, Lod, Majd El-Kurum, Meilya, Nazareth,
Taibe, Tarshiha and Tira. The first of these to reach the Israeli
top flight were Hapoel Taibe in 1996/97, but they lasted only one
season. In 2003, two Arab clubs won promotion from the second
level, the Liga Leumit; champions Maccabi Ahi Nazareth were
immediately relegated in 2003/04 (they later returned to the top
flight in 2009/10, again suffering immediate relegation), but
runners-up, Hapoel Bnei Sakhnin, lasted three seasons and
won the 2003/04 Israeli cup, thereby qualifying for the 2004/05 UEFA
Cup. They were relegated at the end of 2005/06 but returned to the
top flight for the 2007/08 season, and remained there for a dozen
seasons until suffering relegation in 2019; again, they returned to
the top flight after only one season at the second level.
But Palestinian clubs from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are
restricted to their own regional championships and cups (interaction
between the two areas has been minimal) and no clubs from the area
have entered the Israeli league structure, apart from (currently) six
clubs from Jewish settlements in the area, which enter leagues at
the Israeli lower levels, in clear contravention of FIFA regulations
(see also the section on Ukrainian clubs in Russia,
in particular concerning the Crimea peninsula). As of 2018, the best
such club, Hapoel Bik'at HaYarden from Tomer, plays in the third level
Liga Alef; in addition, both Beitar Ironi Ma'ale Adumim and
Beitar Giv'at Ze'ev play in the fourth level Liga Bet and
Elitzur Ironi Yehuda from Kiryat Arba, Hapoel Oranit and Ironi Ariel
in the fifth level Liga Gimel.
Jordan annexed the West Bank in 1948, following the
Arab-Israeli War, and lost it to Israel in 1967,
following the Six-Day war. In 1988, Jordan relinquished
its claims on the area.
For the definition of Palestine (including the West Bank)
in the context of this document, see the section on
British Palestine.
Nothing is known about clubs from the West Bank entering Jordan football competitions.
However, following the 1948 mass exodus of Palestinians from areas now in Israel, a number of Palestinian clubs were formed in Jordan, such as Al-Wahdat (founded 1956), Shabab Al-Hussein (1954) and Al-Baqa'a (1968), all named after Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan. Most successful has been Al-Wahdat ("Unity", referring to the unity between both banks of the Jordan river; the club was temporarily called Al-Deffatain ("The Two Banks") between 1986 and 1988, when Jordan withdrew its claim on the West Bank). They joined the Jordan league in 1966, reached the top level in 1975, and have since won 17 Jordan championships, 11 Jordan cups, 14 Jordan Super Cups and 10 Jordan FA Shields. But as they are based within the internationally recognised borders of Jordan, they do not qualify as 'club from Palestine in Jordan'. Other 'Palestinian' clubs were formed in other Arab countries, in particular Syria and Iraq, where Nadi Haifa Al-Riyadhi (Haifa Sports Club, founded 1979 and named after the city from which the first wave of Palestinian refugees to Iraq originated, but based in Baghdad) played one season (1999/00) in the top division, finishing 26th and last after winning 3 and drawing 9 of their 50(!) matches.
Egypt occupied the Gaza Strip in 1948, following the
Arab-Israeli War, and lost it to Israel in 1967,
following the Six-Day war.
For the definition of Palestine (including the Gaza Strip)
in the context of this document, see the section on
British Palestine.
There was a regional league in the Gaza Strip in the 1960s, but no data are available, and it is not known whether there was any (competitive) interaction between clubs from the Gaza Strip and those in the regular Egyptian league structure.
Algeria | French Guyana | Guadeloupe | Martinique | Mayotte | Morocco | New Caledonia | Reunion | Saint-Pierre et Miquelon | Tahiti (French Polynesia) | Tunisia | Vanuatu
Clubs from Northern Africa (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia) entered the Coupe de France between 1954 and 1960 (the Moroccan and Tunisian clubs only until 1956). The best ever performance of any such club undoubtedly was the win of SC Union El Biar over Stade de Reims (European Cup finalists the previous season!) in Toulouse, on February 3, 1957. Until 1957/58, the African clubs did not meet those from France itself (the Hexagone) until the sixth round (the last round before the 1/32 finals, the stage at which the top level clubs entered); in 1958/59 and 1959/60, Algerian teams already played European ones in the fifth round.
Clubs from the French overseas regions
(Départements d'Outre-Mer, abbreviated D.O.M., which
legally have the same status as the departments in the Hexagone,
and Territoires d'Outre-Mer, abbreviated T.O.M., which have
a more 'colonial' status) have entered the Coupe de France, the
French domestic cup, since the 1961/62 season, when CS Moulien from
Guadeloupe played a fifth round tie against FC Dieppe, losing 2-3.
The first club to win a tie were Golden Star from Martinique
in 1974/75, who eliminated third level US Melun after a replay before
losing 0-8 to OGC Nice.
So far, nine overseas clubs (five from Reunion alone) have managed
to survive two rounds against mainland opposition: in 1988/89,
ASC Geldar from Kourou in French Guyana eliminated EAC Chaumont
and FC Sens before losing 0-11 on aggregate (over 2 legs) to top
club FC Nantes in the tenth round (1/16 finals); in 1994/95,
SS Saint-Louisienne from Reunion threw SA Epinal and Chamois
Niortais out of the cup before succumbing to top level side
AS Cannes; in 2008/09 SS Jeanne d'Arc, also from Reunion,
eliminated Saint-Louis Neuweg and SC Feignies, before losing 1-7
at home to second level club Tours FC in round 9; in 2014/15
Club Franciscain from Martinique overcame Sainte-Geneviève Sports
and US Lormont before losing 0-4 to top level club FC Nantes; in
2015/16 US Sainte-Marie became the third Reunion club to
perform this feat, eliminating FC Saint-Lô Manche and USSA Vertou
before falling 0-2 away to top level side GFCO Ajaccio; in
2016/17 AS Excelsior defeated both Avoine OCC and FC Mulhouse
in penalty shoot-outs after 1-1 draws to reach the ninth round as the
fourth club from Reunion, where they lost 1-4 away at top level club Lille OSC;
in 2018/19 Aiglon du Lamentin from Martinique eliminated
both Stade Poitevin and Sainte-Geneviève Sports; in the ninth
round they lost 2-3 away at second level US Orléans Loiret Football;
in 2019/20 JS Saint-Pierroise from Reunion ousted Jura Sud Foot
and Thaon ES before eliminating second level Chamois Niortais in round 9
to reach the round of 32 (1/16 finals), where they took fourth level
hosts SA Epinal to extra time before succumbing 0-1;
and in 2021/22 Jumeaux de Mzouasia from Mayotte overcame
CS Plédran 5-1 and Plancoët-Arguenon FC 3-1 before falling 0-10
to top level side FC Girondins Bordeaux in the ninth round (which was
also reached by Reunion side Saint-Denis FC, but they had faced local
opposition in the seventh round).
The most successful overseas club is Club Franciscain from Martinique, who
won 8 ties (not counting matches against other overseas clubs since 2019)
at the national level (in 7 different seasons, and from 16 entries,
also a record); they are followed by SS Saint-Louisienne from Reunion with
5 won ties (from only 6 entries), AS Excelsior, also from Reunion, with
5 won ties from 7 entries (winning their seventh round fixture in three
successive seasons between 2015/16 and 2017/18, an unprecedented feat),
and JS Saint-Pierroise, again from Reunion, also with 5 won ties from
8 entries, who became the first overseas club to eliminate three clubs
from the Hexagone in one season when reaching the round of 32
in 2019/20; they were the first overseas club to do so since ASC Geldar
in 1988/89 (see above).
No other overseas club survived more than three ties at the national level.
The 2007/08 cup was a particularly good one for the clubs from the
Caribbean region: the 3 participants from French Guyana, Guadeloupe
and Martinique all won their ties in the seventh (and first national)
round; it was the second time ever this happened (after 1980/81).
However, all were eliminated in the eighth round (as 27 years before).
Currently, the overseas clubs enter in the seventh round
of the tournament (which is still far from the final – top level clubs
do not enter until the ninth round, corresponding to the round of 64
(1/32 finals) and the cup final is the fourteenth round). In all
regions, a knock-out tournament called Coupe de France (or
Coupe de France régionale) is played (separately from the
'normal' cup tournament of the region) whose winners earn a tie
against a club from the European continent.
Since the 2014/15 season, French Guyana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Reunion
are allowed two entrants in the seventh round; in 2015/16 both Reunion
clubs won their first tie and both were eliminated by a club from another
island, Corsica: AS Excelsior were eliminated by AC Ajaccio in the eighth
round and US Sainte-Marie fell to GFCO Ajaccio in the ninth. Since the 2019/20
season, the Caribbean territories (French Guyana, Guadeloupe and Martinique) all
had their two entrants play each other in the seventh round to determine
a sole eighth round representative; those seventh round "domestic" meetings
are included in the statistical overviews below. The same applies to
La Réunion since the 2020/21 season, whereas Mayotte enjoyed this privilige
only once (in 2020/21).
Below all entrants from the French overseas regions are listed, as well
as all the ties in which they were successful; additional information
can be found in the file on
D.O.M./T.O.M. Clubs in the Coupe de France.
For all clubs, seasons in which they survived one tie are given in italics, those in which they eliminated two clubs in bold face.
SC Union El Biar eliminated Stade de Reims (who had narrowly (3-4, after taking a 2-0 lead, and conceding the winning goal in the 79th minute) lost the 1955/56 European Cup final against Real Madrid!) in Toulouse, on February 3, 1957. Stade de Reims were the third club from France itself to fall to the pieds noirs that season, making SCUEB's run in the 1956/57 Coupe de France easily the best ever by any 'colonial' club in a European cup competition.
Below, all Algerian teams to have met European opposition from the 6th round (the second inter-ligues round, and the last before the 1/32 finals, at which stage the French top level clubs entered) onwards are listed; various clubs also played French clubs in the fifth rounds of 1958/59 (FC Oran lost to SC Bastia while Olympic Hussein-Dey defeated FC Gueugnon 3-0) and 1959/60 (CAL Oran lost to SC Draguignan, ASPTT Constantine lost to CA Montreuil after 2 replays, and AGS Mascara eliminated Stade Saint-Germain).
City name correspondence: colonial current Bône Annaba Cup 1955: 6th round: FC Blida (0-5 vs UA Sedan-Torcy) IS Mostaganem (0-3 vs Stade Rennais) Jeunesse Bône AC (lost vs Stade Français) 1956: 6th round: Gallia Sports Alger (0-1 vs Olympique Alès) SC Bel-Abbès (0-4 vs FC Nantes) AS Saint-Eugène Alger (0-3 vs Stade Français) 1957: 6th round: SC Union El Biar (2-0 vs SO Montpellier) Gallia Sports Alger (0-5 vs RCFC Besançon) Gallia Club Oran (1-3 aet vs FC Sète) SC Bel-Abbès (1-2 vs FC Nantes) AS Batna (1-4 aet vs SC Draguignan) 1/32 fin.: SC Union El Biar (1-1 aet, 1-0 vs AS Aix-en-Provence) 1/16 fin.: SC Union El Biar (2-0 vs Stade de Reims) 1/8 final: SC Union El Biar (0-4 vs Lille OSC) 1958: 6th round: Gallia Sports Alger (2-1 vs CA Paris) SC Bel-Abbès (1-2 vs RC Strasbourg) Racing Univ. Alger (0-8 vs Stade Rennais) IS Mostaganem (1-7 vs SO Montpellier) AS Bône (2-6 vs AS Cannes) 1/32 fin.: Gallia Sports Alger (1-1 aet, 0-1 vs Stade Rennais) 1959: 6th round: Olympique Hussein-Dey (0-0 aet, 4-2 vs CO Roubaix-Tourcoing) SC Bel-Abbès (2-0 vs CA Paris) Red Star Alger (0-4 vs SC Toulon) ROP Constantine (0-2 vs FC Sète) 1/32 fin.: Olympique Hussein-Dey (1-2 vs RCFC Besançon) SC Bel-Abbès (0-1 aet vs Stade Rennais) 1960: 6th round: AGS Mascara (1-0 vs Red Star Alger) Red Star Alger (0-1 vs AGS Mascara) SC Bel-Abbès (0-6 vs Olympique de Marseille) AS Batna (0-4 vs FC Grenoble) AS Saint-Eugène Alger (1-5 vs FC Nancy) 1/32 fin.: AGS Mascara (0-1 vs AS Cannes)
Cup 61 entries, 13 wins (5 internal) CSCC [Club Colonial] (Cayenne) [12 entries, 3 wins (1 internal)] entries: 1977/78, 1978/79, 1979/80, 1987/88, 1991/92, 2000/01, 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09, 2009/10. 2019/20, 2021/22 won ties: 1977/78 CA Mantes 0-1 Club Colonial [aet] (rd 7) 2007/08 Bastia CA 1-1 CSCC [aet, 2-4 pen] (rd 7) 2021/22 ASC Ouest 0-2 CSCC (rd 7, internal) ASC Le Geldar (Kourou) [9 entries, 3 wins (1 internal)] entries: 1983/84, 1988/89, 2002/03, 2010/11, 2012/13, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2022/23, 2023/24 won ties: 1988/89 ASC Le Geldar 1-1 EAC Chaumont [aet, 5-4 pen] (rd 8) FC Sens 1-2 ASC Le Geldar (rd 9) 2023/24 ASC Le Geldar 3-0 ASC Agouado (rd 7, internal) US Matoury [8 entries, 1 win] entries: 1998/99, 2001/02, 2003/04, 2005/06, 2011/12, 2013/14, 2014/15, 2016/17, 2018/19 won tie: 2014/15 CMS Oissel 1-1 US Matoury [aet, 2-4 pen] (rd 7) AJ Saint-Georges (Cayenne) [7 entries, 2 wins (1 internal)] entries: 1966/67, 1975/76, 1980/81, 1996/97, 1997/98, 1999/00, 2019/20 won ties: 1980/81 AJ Saint-Georges 0-0 Véloce Vannes US [aet, 7-6 pen] (rd 7) 2019/20 AJ Saint-Georges 2-1 CSCC (rd 7, internal) ASL Sport Guyanais (Cayenne) [5 entries] entries: 1973/74, 1982/83, 1985/86, 1989/90, 1993/94 US Macouria [3 entries] entries: 1995/96, 2004/05, 2014/15 US Sinnamary [2 entries, 2 wins (1 internal)] entry: 1994/95, 2020/21 won ties: 2020/21 ASU Grand Santi 0-2 US Sinnamary (rd 7, internal) US Sinnamary 2-0 Phare du Canal (rd 8, inter-DOM) Etoile de Matoury [2 entries, 1 win] entry: 2017/18, 2018/19 won tie: 2017/18 Etoile de Matoury 0-0 US Avranches [aet, 3-2 pen] (rd 7) ASU Grand Santi [2 entries, 1 win (internal)] won ties: 2022/23 ASC Le Geldar 1-1 ASU Grand Santi [aet, 4-5 pen] (rd 7, internal) entry: 2020/21, 2022/232 ASC Agouado [2 entries] entries: 2015/16, 2023/24 AS Jahouvey Mana [2 entries] entries: 1986/87, 1992/93 USL Montjoly [2 entries] entries: 1981/82, 1984/85 Olympique de Cayenne [2 entries] entries: 1974/75, 1976/77 ASC Ouest [1 entry] entry: 2021/22 EF Iracoubo [1 entry] entry: 2015/16 SC Kouroucien (Kourou) [1 entry] entry: 1990/91
Cup 62 entries, 12 wins (5 internal) CS Moulien (Moule) [14 entries, 4 wins (1 internal)] entries: 1961/62, 1980/81, 1987/88, 2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08, 2010/11, 2013/14, 2014/15, 2015/16. 2016/17, 2017/18, 2019/20, 2023/24 won ties: 1980/81 AAJ Blois 1-2 CS Moulien (rd 7) 2007/08 CS Moulien 0-0 Pacy-sur-Eure [aet, 4-2 pen] (rd 7) 2023/24 CS Moulien 3-1 SC Baie-Mahault (rd 7, internal) CS Moulien 3-1 FC Fleury 91 [aet, 3-2 pen] (rd 8) Etoile (Morne-à-l'Eau) [13 entries, 3 wins (1 internal)] entries: 1977/78, 1982/83, 1984/85, 1988/89, 1992/93, 1994/95, 1996/97, 2000/01, 2003/04, 2012/13, 2015/16, 2017/18, 2022/231993/94 won tie: 1993/94 AS Red Star 1-0 La Roche-sur-Yon VF (rd 7) Solidarité Scolaire (Pointe-à-Pitre) [4 entries, 1 win (internal)] entries: 1986/87, 1990/91, 1999/00, 2021/22 won tie: 2021/22 Solidarité Scolaire 2-1 AS Gosier (rd 7, internal) Phare (Petit-Canal) [3 entries, 1 win (internal)] entry: 1997/98, 2016/17, 2020/21 won tie: 2020/21 Phare 1-0 US Sainte-Rosienne (rd 7, internal) Cygne Noir (Basse-Terre) [3 entries] entries: 1972/73, 1981/82, 1983/84 Evolucas (Lamentin) [3 entries] entries: 2004/05, 2008/09, 2011/12 AS Dragon (Gosier) [2 entries] entries: 2001/02, 2002/03 Juventus (Sainte-Anne) [2 entries] entries: 1964/65, 1973/74 SC Baie-Mahault [2 entries] entries: 2022/23, 2023/24 US Sainte-Rosienne [2 entries] entries: 2018/19, 2020/21 La Gauloise (Basse-Terre) [1 entry, 1 win] entry: 1978/79 won tie: 1978/79 AS Poissy 0-1 La Gauloise (rd 7) Jeunesse Evolution (Abymes) [1 entry, 1 win (internal)] entry: 2019/20 won tie: 2019/20 CS Moulien 0-2 Jeunesse Evolution (rd 7, internal) Amical Club (Marie-Galante) [1 entry] entry: 2009/10 Arsenal Club (Petit-Bourg) [1 entry] entry: 1995/96 AS Gosier [1 entry] entry: 2021/22 CS Saint-François [1 entry] entry: 1985/86 Equinoxe (Petit-Canal) [1 entry] entry: 1971/72 JS Vieux-Habitants [1 entry] entry: 2018/19 Siroco (Les Abymes) [1 entry] entry: 2014/15 US Baie-Mahault [1 entry] entry: 1998/99
Cup 66 entries, 23 wins (5 internal) Club Franciscain [16 entries, 12 wins (3 internal)] entries: 1982/83, 1992/93, 1994/95, 1996/97, 1999/00, 2000/01, 2002/03, 2003/04, 2005/06, 2009/10, 2013/14, 2014/15, 2016/17, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22 won ties: 1982/83 Club Franciscain 2-1 Montpellier PSC (rd 7) 1992/93 Club Franciscain 2-1 FC Bourges (rd 8) 1994/95 Club Franciscain 2-1 ESA Brive (rd 7) 1996/97 Club Franciscain 2-2 FC Trélissac [aet, 4-3 pen] (rd 7) 2002/03 Club Franciscain 2-1 Olympique Noisy-le-Sec (rd 7) 2005/06 SCO Angers 0-2 Club Franciscain (rd 7) 2014/15 Club Franciscain 2-0 Sainte-Geneviève Sports (rd 7) US Lormont 0-2 Club Franciscain (rd 8) 2019/20 Golden Star 0-1 Club Franciscain (rd 7, internal) 2020/21 Club Franciscain 2-0 Samaritaine (rd 7, internal) Club Franciscain bye (rd 8) US Sinnamary 1-1 Club Franciscain [aet, 1-3 pen] (rd 9, inter-DOM) 2021/22 Club Colonial 0-1 Club Franciscain (rd 7, internal) Aiglon du Lamentin [7 entries, 3 wins (1 internal)] entries: 1965/66, 1991/92, 2004/05, 2006/07, 2014/15, 2018/19, 2022/23 won ties: 2018/19 Stade Poitevin 0-0 Aiglon [aet, 1-4 pen] (rd 7) Aiglon 3-2 Sainte-Geneviève Sports (rd 8) 2022/23 Golden Lion 1-2 Aiglon (rd 7, internal) Golden Lion (Saint-Joseph) [6 entries, 3 wins (1 internal)] entry: 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2022/23, 2023/24 won ties: 2015/16 Golden Lion 1-1 Ol. Noisy-le-Sec [aet, 12-11pen](rd 7) 2023/24 Samaritaine 0-1 Golden Lion (rd 7, internal) Golden Lion 3-2 FC Métropole Troyenne (rd 8) Club Colonial (Fort-de-France) [6 entries] entries: 1963/64, 1979/80, 1983/84, 2012/13, 2017/18, 2021/22 Golden Star (Fort-de-France) [5 entries, 1 win] entries: 1974/75, 1975/76, 1997/98, 2015/16, 2019/20 won tie: 1974/75 Golden Star 1-1, 2-1 US Melun (rd 7) Samaritaine (Sainte-Marie) [4 entries, 1 win] entries: 1976/77, 2007/08, 2020/21, 2023/24 won tie: 2007/08 Sables d'Olonne 0-1 Samaritaine RC Rivière Pilote [3 entries] entries: 1977/78, 1981/82, 2008/09 JA Trénelle (Fort-de-France) [2 entries, 1 win] entries: 1986/87, 1988/89 won tie: 1986/87 JA Trénelle 2-1 EA Guingamp (rd 8) CS Case Pilote [2 entries] entries: 2001/02, 2010/11 Excelsior (Fort-de-France) [2 entries] entries: 1984/85, 1990/91 CS Vauclinois [2 entries] entries: 1968/69, 1969/70 Good Luck (Fort-de-France) [1 entry, 1 win] entry: 1978/79 won tie: 1978/79 Good Luck 3-1 UES Montmorillon (rd 7) Club Peléen (Morne Rouge) [1 entry, 1 win] entry: 1980/81 won tie: 1980/81 Club Peléen 1-0 Stade Français (rd 7) Assaut (Saint-Pierre) [1 entry] entry: 1985/86 CS Bélimois [1 entry] entry: 2011/12 Eclair (Rivière Salée) [1 entry] entry: 1998/99 La Gauloise (Trinité) [1 entry] entry: 1993/94 Olympique Marin [1 entry] entry: 1973/74 RC Gros Morne [1 entry] entry: 1987/88 Réal Tartane [1 entry] entry: 1989/90 US Robert (Le Robert) [1 entry] entry: 1995/96 Stade Spiritain [1 entry] entry: 1962/63
From 1986 to 2000, clubs from Mayotte were allocated a place in the round of 32 of the Coupe de France Régionale in Reunion (from 1998 to 2000, 2 Mayotte clubs could enter). No Mayotte club ever reached the French Cup itself through this route. Since the 2001/02 season, the winners of the Coupe de France Régionale in Mayotte enter the seventh round of the French Cup directly. In one season (2020/21) Mayotte entered two clubs in the seventh round, who played each other, the winners meeting (and defeating) the Reunion representative in the eight round.
Cup 24 entries, 4 wins (1 internal) FC M'tsapere [7 entries, 2 wins (1 internal)] entries: 2001/02, 2004/05, 2012/13, 2016/17, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 won ties: 2020/21 Pamandzi SC 0-2 FC M'tsapere (rd 7, internal) JS Saint-Pierroise 1-1 FC M'tsapere [aet, 4-5 pen] (rd 8, inter-DOM) Jumeaux de Mzouasia [3 entries, 2 wins] entries: 2014/15, 2015/16, 2021/22 won ties: 2021/22 CS Plédran 1-8 Jumeaux de Mzouasia (rd 7) Plancoët-Arguenon 1-3 Jumeaux de Mzouasia (rd 8) Pamandzi SC [3 entries] entries: 2002/03, 2003/04, 2020/21 Diables Noirs (Combani) [2 entries] entry: 2017/18, 2022/23 Foudre 2000 [2 entries] entries: 2007/08, 2008/09 AJ Kani-Keli [2 entries] entries: 2005/06, 2013/14 ASC Abeilles [1 entry] entry: 2011/12 ASC Kawéni [1 entry] entry: 2009/10 FC Koropa [1 entry] entry: 2010/11 AS Rosador [1 entry] entry: 2023/24 FCO de Tsingoni [1 entry] entry: 2006/07
From 1986 to 1997, one Mayotte club entered the 1/16 finals of the Coupe de France Régionale in Reunion, the winners of which obtaining entry in the French Cup; from 1998 to 2000, two Mayotte clubs entered the 1/16 finals of this tournament. No Mayotte club ever managed to survive more than one round; below we list all known cases of Mayotte clubs eliminating opposition from Reunion. Since the 2001/02 season, Mayotte clubs can enter the French Cup directly. In the 2020/21 season, the last remaining representative from Mayotte defeated the last remaining representative from Reunion in its eighth round.
Coupe de France Régionale FC M'tsapéré won ties: 1995 FC M'tsapéré bt US Chaudron 2020 JS Saint-Pierroise 1-1 FC M'tsapere [aet, 4-5 pen] (rd 8 French Cup) FC Kani-Bé won tie: 1998 SS Dynamo 1-2 FC Kani-Bé Miracle du Sud won tie: 2000 SS Dynamo lt Miracle du Sud
In addition to the two clubs listed below, RAC Casablanca (1954/55)
and US Marocaine (1955/56) entered the 5th round (the first
inter-ligue stage) once, but both were eliminated by other
African clubs (RAC by FC Blida and USM by Gallia Sports Alger).
The Ligue du Protectorat Français au Maroc was one of
the five Northern African leagues affiliated
to the French football federation (together with those of Alger,
Constantine, Oran (all in current Algeria) and Tunis); in 1929 three
clubs from Tanger, Hilal, Moghreb FC and ASFT, joined this league
although their home town was then part
of Spanish Morocco; when
the Federación Hispano-marroquí de Fútbol was founded there
in 1931, Hilal and Moghreb FC moved to that federation, Hilal
disappearing after a few months and Moghreb FC changing name to
Moghreb Al-Aksa.
Cup 1955: 6th round: MAS Fès (0-9 vs RSO Audonien) 1956: 6th round: WAC Casablanca (1-0 aet vs RCFC Besançon) 1/32 fin.: WAC Casablanca (1-2 aet vs AS Saint-Etienne)
Only since 1994 a club from New Caledonia gains direct access to the 7th round of the French cup; earlier they had to contest that right with clubs from Tahiti and (on at least two occasions) the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu) in the Tournoi du Pacifique.
Cup 33 entries, 1 win AS Magenta [11 entries, 1 win] entries: 1994/95, 2000/01, 2001/02, 2002/03, 2003/04, 2004/05, 2005/06, 2010/11, 2014/15, 2016/17, 2018/19 won tie: 2010/11 AS Magenta 1-1 USL Dunkerque [aet, 5-4 pen] (rd 7) Hienghène Sport [5 entries] entries: 2013/14, 2015/16, 2019/20, 2022/23, 2023/24 CA Saint-Louis [4 entries] entries: 1983/84, 1986/87, 1995/96, 1996/97 AS Lössi [3 entries] entries: 2007/08, 2012/13, 2017/18 JS Traput (Lifou) [3 entries] entries: 1997/98, 1998/99, 1999/00 AS Mont-Dore [2 entries] entries: 2008/09, 2009/10 JS Baco [1 entry] entry: 2006/07 FC Gaïtcha [1 entry] entry: 2011/12 USL Gélima (Canala) [1 entry] entry: 1982/83 AS Le Nickel (Nouméa) [1 entry] entry: 1975/76 JS Vallée du Tir (Nouméa) [1 entry] entry: 1966/67
Cup 68 entries, 30 wins (4 internal) JS Saint-Pierroise [9 entries, 6 wins (1 internal)] entries: 1964/65, 1971/72, 1976/77, 1977/78, 1989/90, 2016/17, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2022/23 won ties: 1977/78 JS Saint-Pierroise 3-1 FC Yonnais (rd 7) 1989/90 JS Saint-Pierroise 1-1 Le Mans UC 72 [aet] (rd 8) 2019/20 Jura Sud Foot 0-1 JS Saint-Pierroise (rd 7) JS Saint-Pierroise 1-1 Thaon ES [aet, 5-3 pen] (rd 8) Chamois Niortais 1-2 JS Saint-Pierroise (rd 9) 2020/21 JS Saint-Pierroise 2-2 US Sainte-Marie [aet, 3-2 pen] (rd 7, internal) AS Excelsior (Saint-Joseph) [7 entries, 5 wins] entries: 1974/75, 2001/02, 2009/10, 2014/15, 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18 won ties: 2009/10 AS Excelsior 1-0 Quimper Cornouaille FC (rd 7) 2015/16 AS Excelsior 1-0 AS Poissy [aet] (rd 7) 2016/17 Avoine OCC 1-1 AS Excelsior [aet, 2-4 pen] (rd 7) AS Excelsior 1-1 FC Mulhouse [aet, 3-0 pen] (rd 8) 2017/18 Feignies Aulnoye FC 1-3 AS Excelsior (rd 7) CS Saint-Denis [7 entries, 1 win] entries: 1975/76, 1980/81, 1982/83, 1983/84, 1985/86, 1987/88, 1990/91 won ties: 1975/76 CS Saint-Denis 2-1 AS Libourne (rd 7) SS Saint-Louisienne [6 entries, 5 wins] entries: 1994/95, 1995/96, 1996/97, 1997/98, 2002/03, 2014/15 won ties: 1994/95 SA Epinal 1-3 SS Saint-Louisienne (rd 7) SS Saint-Louisienne 1-1 Chamois Niortais [aet, 4-2 pen] (rd 8) 1995/96 SS Saint-Louisienne 1-0 La Roche-sur-Yon VF (rd 7) 1997/98 SS Saint-Louisienne 2-1 La Roche-sur-Yon VF (rd 7) 2014/15 GSI Pontivy 2-2 SS Saint-Louisienne [aet, 4-5p] (rd 7) US Bénédictine (Saint-Benoît) [6 entries] entries: 1965/66, 1966/67, 1968/69, 1969/70, 1972/73, 1981/82 US Sainte-Marie [5 entries, 3 wins] entries: 2007/08, 2013/14, 2015/16, 2019/20, 2020/21 won ties: 2013/14 US Sainte-Marie 2-0 Paris FC (rd 7) 2015/16 FC Saint-Lô Manche 0-2 US Sainte-Marie (rd 7) US Sainte-Marie 2-2 USSA Vertou [aet, 3-0 pen] (rd 8) US Stade Tamponnaise (Le Tampon) [5 entries, 1 win] entries: 1992/93, 1998/99, 2003/04, 2006/07, 2011/12 won tie: 2006/07 Schiltigheim 0-7 US Stade Tamponnaise (rd 7) Saint-Denis FC [3 entries, 3 wins (2 internal)] entries: 2004/05, 2021/22, 2023/24 won ties: 2021/22 ASC Makes 1-9 Saint-Denis FC (rd 7, internal) Canet Roussillon FC 1-1 Saint-Denis FC [aet, 6-7 pen] (rd 8) 2023/24 La Tamponnaise 2-3 Saint-Denis FC (rd 7, internal) SS Jeanne d'Arc (Le Port) [3 entries, 2 wins] entries: 1999/00, 2008/09, 2018/19 won ties: 2008/09 Saint-Louis Neuweg 0-1 SS Jeanne d'Arc (rd 7) SS Jeanne d'Arc 3-2 SC Feignies (rd 8) La Tamponnaise (Le Tampon) [2 entries, 2 wins (1 internal)] entries: 2022/23, 2023/24 won ties: 2022/23 JS Saint-Pierroise 0-0 La Tamponnaise [aet, 4-5 pen] (rd 7, internal) La Tamponnaise 1-0 FCM Aubervilliers (rd 8) FC Ouest Savanna (Saint-Paul) [2 entries] entries: 1984/85, 1988/89 Saint-Pauloise FC [2 entries] entries: 2010/11, 2012/13 AS Chaudron [1 entry, 1 win] entry: 2005/06 won tie: 2005/06 AS Chaudron 2-1 Vauban Strasbourg [aet] (rd 7) US Possession [1 entry, 1 win] entry: 1993/94 won tie: 1993/94 US Possession 2-1 SCO Roubaix [aet] (rd 7) AJ Petite-Ile [1 entry] entry: 2017/18 AS Marsouins (Saint-Leu) [1 entry] entry: 2000/01 AS Sainte-Suzanne [1 entry] entry: 2018/19 ASC Makes [1 entry] entry: 2021/22 SS Gauloise (Bras-Panon) [1 entry] entry: 1991/92 SS Patriote (Saint-Denis) [1 entry] entry: 1973/74 SS Saint-Pauloise [1 entry] entry: 1986/87 US Saint-Joseph [1 entry] entry: 1978/79 USSA Léopards (Sainte-Anne) [1 entry] entry: 1979/80
In 2018/19, a club from Saint-Pierre et Miquelon entered the Coupe de France for the first time ever, in round 3. AS Saint-Pierraise (ASSP) lost 1-2 away to ALC Longvic on 15 September 2018. In 2019/20, AS Ilienne Amateurs (ASIA) also entered the third round, losing 1-5 away to FC Lyon on 14 September 2019. In 2020/21, ASSP qualified for round 3, in which they were to play La Roche Vendée Football away, but they were forbidden to travel by the local authorities because of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021/22, ASSP obtained their second entry, losing 0-8 away to USSA Vertou on 17 September 2021. In 2022/23, ASIA entered for the second time, losing 0-6 away to Luynes Sports on 10 September 2022. In 2023/24, ASSP entered for the third time, losing 0-1 away to CO Pacéen on 16 September 2023.
Cup 46 entries, 4 wins AS Pirae [12 entries] entries: 1989/90, 1990/91, 1992/93, 1993/94, 1994/95, 1996/97, 1998/99, 1999/00, 2000/01, 2002/03, 2015/16, 2023/24 AS Central Sport (Papeete) [9 entries, 2 wins] entries: 1974/75, 1976/77, 1977/78, 1978/79, 1979/80, 1981/82, 1982/83, 1985/86, 1988/89 won ties: 1978/79 AS Central Sport 3-0 Arago Orléans (rd 7) 1981/82 AS Central Sport 4-2 AS Béziers [aet] (rd 7) AS Dragon (Papeete) [7 entries, 1 win] entries: 1997/98, 2001/02, 2004/05, 2010/11, 2013/14, 2016/17, 2018/19 won tie: 2001/02 AS Dragon 2-1 FC Rouen (rd 7) AS Tefana [7 entries, 1 win] entries: 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2014/15, 2017/18 won tie: 2008/09 SR Colmar 0-0 AS Tefana [aet, 2-4 pen] (rd 7) AS Vénus (Mahina) [5 entries] entries: 1991/92, 1995/96, 2019/20, 2021/22, 2022/23 AS Manu Ura [3 entries] entries: 2003/04, 2005/06, 2009/10 JS Arue [1 entry] entry: 1980/81 AS Jeunes Tahitiens (Papeete) [1 entry] entry: 1987/88 AS Postes (Papeete) [1 entry] entry: 1984/85
In addition to the two clubs listed below, Stade Tunisien (1955/56) entered the 5th round (the first inter-ligue stage) once, but they were eliminated by another African club (SC Bel-Abbès).
Cup 1955: 6th round: CS Hammam Lif (1-3 vs Havre AC) 1956: 6th round: Espérance ST (2-2, 0-4 vs RSO Audonien)
On at least two occasions, a club from the Anglo-French condominium of the
New Hebrides (which gained independence as Vanuatu in 1980) entered the
Tournoi du Pacifique, a
qualifying tournament for the French Cup.
In 1975, Inter Club de Vila missed out on qualification at the final hurdle,
losing the final of a triangular tournament played in Port Vila by 0-1 to
AS Le Nickel from Nouméa, New Caledonia; the third
entrants were Central Sports from Papeete, Tahiti.
In 1978, Erakor Golden Star entered a qualifying tournament in Tahiti, but
hosts Central Sports eventually progressed.
Angola | Cape Verde | Guinea Bissau | Mozambique | São Tomé e Príncipe
Between 1957 and independence, the Portuguese colonies in Africa were represented in the Portuguese Cup. This started in the 1957/58 season, when the champions of Angola and Mozambique entered an 'extra' semifinal against the winners (Benfica and Porto) of the cup semifinals in Portugal itself. Both lost heavily, but from then on clubs from the colonies had places reserved for them in the later stages of the Portuguese domestic cup (the quarterfinals from 1958/59 to 1966/67, the round of 16 from 1967/68 to 1970/71 and the round of 32 from 1971/72 until independence in the mid-seventies). Only once, a club from the colonies, Independente from Porto Alexandre (currently Tômbwa) in Angola managed to eliminate a team from Portugal itself.
In 1957/58, clubs from Angola and Mozambique obtained spots in an 'extra semifinal' round of the Portuguese cup, playing against the winners of the 'proper' semifinals, Porto and Benfica. Starting from 1958/59, one spot in the quarterfinals of the Portuguese cup was reserved for a representative from Mozambique (presumably after a playoff against an Angolan club, but the Mozambican clubs seem to have qualified each time). In the 1962/63 season, a mini-league between three clubs, one from Angola (Ferroviário de Luanda), one from Mozambique (Sporting Lourenço Marques), and one from São Tomé (Andorinhas) was organised, with the winners (Sporting) qualifying for the quarterfinals of the Portuguese cup. It is not clear whether such a 3-way tournament was organised in other years. Starting from 1967/68, one spot in the round of 16 (1/8 finals) of the Portuguese cup was reserved for a representative from Angola. In the 1970/71 edition, Independente won their first tie, 1-0 against União Coimbra. This is the only ever success in a Portuguese cup tie by any team from Portugal's former African colonies. From 1971/72 on, Angolan teams entered one round earlier, in the round of 32 (1/16 finals). Angolan clubs, like those from the other African colonies, did not enter anymore after the 1973/74 season (places were still reserved for them in the following two seasons).
City name correspondences: colonial current Nova Lisboa Huambo Porto Alexandre Tômbwa Cup 1958: semifinal: Ferroviário Luanda (2-6, 1-11 vs Benfica) 1968: Angola did not enter club 1969: 1/8 final: Atlético Luanda (0-4, 2-3 vs Benfica) 1970: 1/8 final: Independente P.A. (0-4, 1-5 vs União Tomar) 1971: quarterf.: Independente P.A. (0-6, 0-2 vs Benfica) 1972: 1/16 fin.: Independente P.A. (1-2 vs Tirsense) 1973: 1/16 fin.: Benfica Nova Lisboa (1-2 vs Atlético Lisboa) 1974: 1/16 fin.: FC do Moxico Luena (0-6 vs CUF Barreiro) NB: P.A. = Porto Alexandre
Starting from 1970/71, one spot in the round of 16 (1/8 finals) of the Portuguese cup was reserved for the winners of a playoff between a representative from Cape Verde (Cabo Verde) and one from Guinea Bissau. Possibly such a playoff regulation had existed before, but only in 1970/71 a club from Cape Verde made it to the main tournament (Mindelense won 1-0 at home against Os Balantas of Mansôa), and immediately suffered the record defeat by any club from Portugal's former African colonies, which did not enter anymore after the 1973/74 season (places were still reserved for them in the following two seasons).
Cup 1971: 1/8 final: Mindelense (0-21 vs Sporting)
Starting from 1964/65, one spot in the round of 16 (1/8 finals) of the Portuguese cup was reserved for a representative from Guinea Bissau (Guiné Bissau). From 1970/71 (but possibly already before), the representatives of Guinea Bissau had to play off against a club from Cape Verde (Cabo Verde) for this spot (only in 1970/71, the representatives of Guinea Bissau, in this case Os Balantas of Mansôa, failed to qualify). From 1971/72 on, the winners of this playoff entered one round earlier, in the round of 32 (1/16 finals). One club from the region won a match, a 1-0 win by Tenis over Braga in the return leg of their 1/8 final tie in 1969/70, after suffering a 0-3 defeat in the first leg. It was the first ever win from a club from Portugal's former African colonies, which did not enter anymore after the 1973/74 season (places were still reserved for them in the following two seasons).
Cup 1965: 1/8 final: União Bissau (0-4, 2-3 vs Olhanense) 1966: Guinea Bissau did not enter club 1967: 1/8 final: Tenis Bissau (0-6, 3-5 vs Beira-Mar) 1968: Guinea Bissau did not enter club 1969: 1/8 final: União Bissau (1-5, 0-12 vs Sporting) 1970: 1/8 final: Tenis Bissau (0-3, 1-0 vs Braga) 1971: Os Balantas lost 0-1 to Mindelense 1972: 1/16 fin.: Sporting Clube Bissau (0-2 vs Sintrense) 1973: 1/16 fin.: União Bissau (0-6 vs Farense) 1974: 1/16 fin.: Sporting Clube Bissau (0-1 vs Oriental Lisboa)
In 1957/58, clubs from Angola and Mozambique (Moçambique) obtained spots in an 'extra semifinal' round of the Portuguese cup, playing against the winners of the 'proper' semifinals, Porto and Benfica. Starting from 1958/59, one spot in the quarterfinals of the Portuguese cup was reserved for a representative from Mozambique (presumably after a playoff against an Angolan club, but the Mozambican clubs seem to have qualified each time); another was reserved for a club from the Azores (Açores), which are still part of Portugal, and whose clubs have meanwhile gained access to Portugal's top division. In the 1962/63 season, a mini-league between three clubs, one from Angola (Ferroviário de Luanda), one from Mozambique (Sporting Lourenço Marques), and one from São Tomé (Andorinhas) was organised, with the winners (Sporting) qualifying for the quarterfinals of the Portuguese cup. It is not clear whether such a 3-way tournament was organised in other years. From 1964/65 on, the Mozambican club entered one round earlier, in the round of 16 (1/8 finals); from 1971/72 on, in the round of 32 (1/16 finals). In total, Mozambican clubs played 22 matches in the Portuguese cup, more than those from any other of Portugal's former African colonies (which did not enter anymore after the 1973/74 season, although places were still reserved for them in the following two seasons), and managed only one draw (after losing the first leg of the tie), and that not against a club from the mainland but a representative from the Azores.
City name correspondences: colonial current Lourenço Marques Maputo Vila Pery Chimoio Cup 1958: semifinal: Desportivo L.Marques (2-6, 1-9 vs Porto) 1959: quarterf.: Ferroviário L.Marques (0-9, 0-7 vs Porto) 1960: quarterf.: Sporting Nampula(?) (0-6, 0-3 vs Belenenses) 1961: quarterf.: Sporting L.Marques (1-4, 1-4 vs Belenenses) 1962: quarterf.: Ferroviário L.Marques (1-7, 1-7 vs Benfica) 1963: quarterf.: Sporting L.Marques (1-3, 1-4 vs Sporting) 1964: quarterf.: Ferroviário L.Marques (1-3, 2-2 vs Lusitânia (Açores)) 1965: Mozambique did not enter club 1966: Mozambique did not enter club 1967: Mozambique did not enter club 1968: Mozambique did not enter club 1969: 1/8 final: Ferroviário L.Marques (1-4, 0-1 vs Académica Coimbra) 1970: 1/8 final: Textafrica Vila Pery (2-6, 0-3 vs Belenenses) 1971: 1/8 final: Ferroviário L.Marques (1-4 vs Porto) 1972: 1/16 fin.: Textafrica Vila Pery (1-3 vs Leixões) 1973: 1/16 fin.: Ferroviário L.Marques (1-3 vs CUF Barreiro) 1974: 1/16 fin.: Textafrica Vila Pery (0-1 vs Atlético Lisboa)
In the 1962/63 season, a mini-league between three clubs, one from Angola (Ferroviário de Luanda), one from Mozambique (Sporting Lourenço Marques), and one from São Tomé (Andorinhas) was organised, with the winners (Sporting) qualifying for the quarterfinals of the Portuguese cup. Andorinhas lost 0-3 to Ferroviário and 2-4 to Sporting but might be considered to have played at (a stage equivalent to) the 1/16 finals of the tournament. It is not clear whether such a 3-way tournament was organised in other years.
The northernmost regions of the current Morocco were a Spanish protectorate until 1956, when it merged with the French Protectorate to found the Kingdom of Morocco. Note that the clubs from the cities of Ceuta and Melilla, which still belong to Spain, are not included here.
Apart from the one-season appearance of Atlético Tetuán in the Primera División, who also once reached the quarterfinals of the Spanish cup, two other clubs from the region played at the second Spanish level: UD España from Tánger (3 seasons, from 1953/54 to 1955/56, with their best finish 4th in the southern group 1954/55) and EHÁ Tánger (in 1939/40 only; EHÁ denoted Escuela Hispano Árabe; the club was dissolved in 1943); in 1956, UD España merged into UD España de Algeciras, while Atlético Tetuán split into a Moroccan side (Moghreb Tétouan, champions of Morocco 2011/12) and a Spanish one (merging with SD Ceuta into Atlético Ceuta). Atlético Tetuán had first reached the second level in 1949, and gained promotion to the top flight in their second ever season in the Segunda División; after their immediately relegation back to the second level, they twice reached the promotion/relegation playoffs, in 1953 and 1955, but failed to return (by only 1 point in 1953).
Other clubs from the region to have featured in the third tier Tercera División (distributed into a varying number of regional groups) include: Patronato Deportivo Larache (renamed Larache CF in 1947) from the town currently called El-Araïch, who played at the third level for 10 seasons (from 1945/46 to 1951/52 and from 1953/54 to 1955/56), Español de Tetuán (6 seasons from 1950/51 to 1955/56), UD Sevillana de Tánger (4 seasons from 1952/53 to 1955/56), Moghreb Al-Aksa de Tánger (3 seasons from 1949/50 to 1951/52, when like Larache CF they withdrew during the season; between 1929 and 1931 Moghreb Al-Aksa had played as Moghreb FC in the league structure of French Morocco), SD Villa Nador, CD Alcázar de Alcazarquivir, UD Pescadores Villasanjurjo (all 2 seasons 1954/55 and 1955/56; Alcazarquivir is nowadays known as Qsar al-Kabir (or Ksar-el-Kebir) and Villasanjurjo (or Villa Sanjurjo) as Al-Hoceima) and Alcazaba de Tánger (in 1955/56 only). Larache CF were dissolved in 1956 and a new club Club Chabab Larache was founded and admitted to the second division of Morroco for 1956/57; it played in the Moroccan first division for two seasons (1959/60, finishing 10th, and 1960/61, finishing 13th and suffering relegation). Most clubs from Tanger were also dissolved in 1956; only Widad Juventud de Tanger (founded in 1950 and never active above the fourth league level during the Spanish era) survived; in 1983, they were, meanwhile renamed Nahda (or Renaissance) de Tanger, among the clubs merging into Ittihad Riadi de Tanger, who were first promoted to the Moroccan top level in 1987, finishing runners-up in 1989/90.
Nothing is known about clubs from Sidi Ifni playing within the Spanish football structure.
Championship Atlético Tetuán (1 top level season) 1951/52 16.Atlético Tetuán 30 7 5 18 51-85 19 Cup 1943: 1/16 fin.: Atlético Tetuán (3-1, 0-3 vs Betis) 1951: quarterf.: Atlético Tetuán (1-3, 1-4 vs Barcelona)
The Soviet Union 'inherited' most of its territory from the old Russian Empire, as assembled by the tsars. There were not many football competitions in this Empire extending beyond city boundaries, but in 1912 and 1913, national championships for city selections were played which involved a number of Ukrainian teams as well as a Polish one (which withdrew without playing). Odessa (Odesa in Ukrainian) even won the 1913 final but had their title taken away from them for playing with 4 foreigners (rather than the allowed 3); the title was not awarded. Note that the tournament was played in knock-out style.
In 1914, the Cercul Amatorilor de Sport din Chișinău joined the football federation of the Russian Empire in order to enter the third edition of the Russian championships for city selections, to be held in 1914, which was cancelled due to World War I. In April of that year, the club played two friendly matches, losing 2-5 to Sporting Club Odessa on April 7 before meeting a team from Bender on April 13 (result not known).
Łódź entered the northern group of the 1913 city championship, which had 4 participants; they withdrew before playing their first round match against Sankt Peterburg.
Between 1911 and 1918, participants in the local league of Łódź included Touring Club, a club formed in 1895 by the local German minority, which was reactivated in 1921 (by now in Poland) under the Polish name Turystów Łódź, which entered the highest Polish leaggue between 1927 and 1929; in 1932 it merged with Union, another club originally founded by the local German minority, into Union-Touring Łódź.
City Selection Championship 1913: quarterf.: Łódź (forfeit vs Sankt Peterburg)
Various Ukrainian cities entered the 1912 and 1913 Russian championships for city selections. Odessa (Odesa in Ukrainian) even won the 1913 final but had their title taken away from them following a dispute on an awarded match between Kharkov and Kiev in an earlier round; the title was not awarded. Note that the tournament was played in knock-out style. The 1913 championship was split in a northern and a southern group, whose winners met in the final; all 7 Ukrainian participants played in the southern group (together with Rostov, who lost 1-5 to Yusovka (currently Donetsk) in the first round).
In 2014, Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula, which had been a
republic within the Soviet Union during the interbellum
but was downgraded to a Russian province during the second
World War and transferred to the Ukraine in 1954. At the start
of the 2014/15 season, three clubs from the peninsula, Tavrija Simferopol'
(renamed TSC Simferopol), FC Sevastopol (renamed BSF SC Sevastopol)
and Zhemchuzhyna Yalta (Zhemchuzhina Yalta in Russian) were admitted
to the southern group of the Russian third level
Pervenstvo Professional'noy futbol'noy ligi, contravening
explicit FIFA regulations; in December 2014, UEFA duly ruled the
three could not continue competing in Russian leagues. (However,
UEFA and FIFA have been less than consistent in applying the same
regulations in the case of Israeli clubs based in the
occupied West Bank playing in the Israeli
league structure.) After that, a separate league for the Crimea
peninsula was formed.
Tavrija Simferopol' had been champions of Ukraine in 1992, the inaugural
season in independent Ukraine, cup winners in 2009/10 and losing cup
finalists in 1993/94; they had been a fixture at the Ukrainian
top level, never suffering relegation before 2014. FC Sevastopol played
at the Ukrainian top level in 2013/14 for the second time in their history
(after suffering immediate relegation in 2010/11), finishing ninth.
Zhemchuzhyna Yalta had played at the Ukrainian third level in 2012/13 before
being excluded for the next season because of debts.
City Selection Championship 1912: semifinal: Odessa (withdrew) 1912: quarterf.: Kiev (forfeit vs Sankt Peterburg) 1912: quarterf.: Kharkov (1-6 vs Moskva) 1913: winners: Odessa (4-2 vs Sankt Peterburg) NB: title later revoked 1913: semifinal: Kharkov (0-2 vs Odessa) 1913: quarterf.: Kherson (0-10 vs Odessa) 1913: quarterf.: Yusovka (1-2 vs Kharkov) 1913: 1/8 final: Nikolaev (2-3 vs Odessa) 1913: 1/8 final: Kiev (forfeit vs Kharkov) 1913: 1/8 final: Sevastopol (forfeit vs Kherson)
Ireland | Cyprus | Germany | Soviet Union | Georgia | Czechoslovakia | Romania | Yugoslavia | South Africa | Sudan | Tanzania | Pakistan | Malaysia | Korea | Vietnam | Yemen | United Arab Republic | British Palestine | Comoros | Netherlands Antilles | additional remarks on Africa
Over the years, many countries in the world have split into various parts, while others have managed to merge or reunify. The sudden changes in the map of Europe following the collapse of communist rule were probably the most spectacular, but various other examples exist in other areas and eras.
A case not included in this section is that of the Habsburg Empire, which disintegrated as a consequence of the First World War. The reason is that in footballing terms, the structure contained two countries: Austria and Hungary, who both obtained FIFA membership upon its creation. (The desire of the third main entity, Bohemia, which politically fell under Austria, to obtain independent FIFA membership led to the first major political problems within the new organisation.) The corresponding changes to the Austrian and Hungarian football structures are therefore included in the section on border moves (see Austria and Hungary).
The first two cases discussed here are islands messed up under British rule (a curse from which also Palestine and the Indian subcontinent did not recover).
Up to and including the 1919/20 season, the Irish football
competition (organised by the IFA, the Irish FA) theoretically
encompassed the entire island, though the league was dominated
by Belfast clubs. After an independence declaration in 1919,
the Irish Free State was officially recognised as a separate
British dominion in 1922; only in 1949 the United Kingdom
recognised the independence of the Irish Republic declared
at the end of 1948. In 1920, Bohemians (who had just been relegated)
and Shelbourne left the IFA league (as did Belfast Celtic) due to
political unrest. Bohemians and Shelbourne entered the regional
Leinster League before joining the newly founded FA of Ireland and
its competitions in 1921.
Three Dublin clubs played at the top level prior to 1920, and 4 cup
tournaments were won by Dublin clubs, 3 by Shelbourne and 1 by
Bohemians; 2 finals were all-Dublin affairs.
Note that in this section only the period until 1920 is discussed, and not the adventures of Derry City half a century later; for those see the section on roving clubs (which also includes a note on Belfast junior club side Alton United).
Also note that we do not separately discuss the fortunes of clubs from Belfast and other towns currently in 'Northern Ireland' within the all-Irish structure prior to 1920, as they clearly dominated proceedings and the organising football association (the Irish FA, as opposed to the FA of Ireland for the current republic) remained the same; FIFA (and UEFA, who were founded well after the Irish split) follow the same procedure, although that argument is not decisive here (see e.g. the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia).
Championship Note: from 1915/16 to 1918/19 no official competition was organised; a war-time championship not involving Dublin sides did take place. Three Dublin clubs played at the highest league level prior to 1921: Bohemians (13 top level seasons) 1902/03 7.Bohemians 14 3 3 8 22-36 9 1903/04 6.Bohemians 14 4 3 7 24-33 11 1904/05 8.Bohemians 14 2 2 10 15-26 6 1905/06 5.Bohemians 14 5 2 7 17-20 12 1906/07 5.Bohemians 14 4 5 5 19-22 13 1907/08 8.Bohemians 14 2 2 10 13-31 6 1908/09 5.Bohemians 12 6 1 5 27-24 13 1909/10 6.Bohemians 14 4 3 7 20-31 11 1910/11 8.Bohemians 14 1 4 9 14-25 6 1912/13 6.Bohemians 18 8 2 8 31-28 18 1913/14 7.Bohemians 14 2 2 10 19-36 6 1914/15 8.Bohemians 14 0 1 13 10-45 1 1919/20 8.Bohemians 14 2 2 10 7-38 6 Shelbourne (12 top level seasons) 1904/05 6.Shelbourne 14 5 3 6 15-17 13 1905/06 6.Shelbourne 14 5 2 7 16-18 12 1906/07 2.Shelbourne 14 8 3 3 27-21 19 1907/08 5.Shelbourne 14 6 2 6 22-17 14 1908/09 3.Shelbourne 14 7 0 7 20-20 14 1909/10 8.Shelbourne 14 2 7 5 15-24 11 1910/11 6.Shelbourne 14 3 4 7 15-31 10 1911/12 6.Shelbourne 14 2 3 9 12-33 7 1912/13 8.Shelbourne 18 7 4 7 20-23 18 1913/14 5.Shelbourne 14 6 2 6 16-10 14 1914/15 5.Shelbourne 14 6 3 5 17-12 15 1919/20 4.Shelbourne 14 3 7 4 16-21 13 Tritonville (1 top level season) 1912/13 10.Tritonville 18 2 1 15 27-55 5 Cup NB: unless stated otherwise, all clubs based in the current Republic of Ireland were from Dublin; Black Watch Regiment and Sherwood Foresters were British military teams without roots in the local community. 1886: semifinal: Dublin University (0-4 vs Distillery) 1890: semifinal: Dublin Association (2-3 vs Cliftonville) 1892: finalists: Black Watch Regiment (0-7 vs Linfield) NB: Black Watch Regiment were based in Limerick 1895: finalists: Bohemians (1-10 vs Linfield) 1897: finalists: Sherwood Foresters (1-3 vs Cliftonville) NB: Sherwood Foresters were based in Kildare 1898: semifinal: Bohemians (0-1 vs St. Columbia's Hall Celtic) 1899: semifinal: Bohemians (2-4 vs Linfield) 1900: finalists: Bohemians (1-2 vs Cliftonville) 1901: finalists: Freebooters (0-1 vs Cliftonville) 1902: semifinal: Bohemians (0-2 vs Linfield) semifinal: Richmond Rovers (3-5 vs Distillery) 1903: finalists: Bohemians (1-3 vs Distillery) 1905: finalists: Shelbourne (0-3 vs Distillery) 1906: winners: Shelbourne (2-0 vs Belfast Celtic) semifinal: Bohemians (0-2 vs Belfast Celtic) 1907: finalists: Shelbourne (0-0, 0-1 vs Cliftonville) 1908: winners: Bohemians (0-0, 3-1 vs Shelbourne) finalists: Shelbourne (0-0, 1-3 vs Bohemians) 1909: finalists: Bohemians (0-0, 1-2 vs Cliftonville) 1910: semifinal: Bohemians (0-3 vs Cliftonville) 1911: winners: Shelbourne (2-1 vs Bohemians) finalists: Bohemians (1-2 vs Shelbourne) 1912: semifinal: Shelbourne (withdrew) NB: three semifinalists, including Shelbourne, withdrew from the IFA, leaving Linfield as only remaining participants (and thereby winners by default) 1913: semifinal: Tritonville (1-4 vs Linfield) 1914: semifinal: Shelbourne (1-1, 1-1, 0-0, 1-2 vs Glentoran) 1915: semifinal: Shelbourne (0-0, 0-1 vs Belfast Celtic) 1916: semifinal: Bohemians (2-4 vs Glentoran) 1917: semifinal: Bohemians (2-4 vs Belfast Celtic) 1919: semifinal: Shelbourne (0-0 aet, 1-2 vs Linfield) 1920: winners: Shelbourne (walkover) NB: the semifinal replay between Belfast Celtic and Glentoran was abandoned after 70 minutes following crowd disturbances including Celtic fans firing into the Glentoran followers, injuring some; Celtic were disqualified, but after their protest on an ineligible player (in fact the goal keeper) of Glentoran, so were their opponents and Shelbourne won the cup final by walkover. City Cup This was a league style tournament, first held in 1892/93, whose matches were mostly played in Belfast, though teams from Londonderry and Dublin were admitted starting from the 1905/06 season. Shelbourne and Bohemians both participated in various seasons, with one notable success: 1908/09 1.Shelbourne 10 7 1 2 22-13 15
The island was de facto split between a Greek and a Turkish part after the 1974 invasion by Turkish troops, but problems between the two ethnic groups went back a long time and had already led to the withdrawal of Turkish side Çetin Kaya in 1955 (and the abandonment or cancellation of various championships in the two decades in between). Çetin Kaya, known as LTSK until 1951, had been a successful club in the early fifties, winning one championship, appearing in three consecutive cup finals (of which they won two), and winning three of the first four Super Cups organised on the island. Since 1955 they play in a separate league for Turkish clubs, from which they were first relegated in 2020; they are both its record champions (14 titles) and cup winners (17 trophies).
Note that we do not separately discuss the fortunes of the clubs of the internationally recognised part of the island in the all-Cypriot structure (due to their dominance before the split in the 1950s and the fact that the football association remained the same), and keep in mind that some of the currently 'Greek' Cypriot clubs were based in towns now in Northern Cyprus; these were forced to move to new homes after the Turkish invasion. Some of the clubs involved were Anórthosis from Ammóchostos/Gazimağusa, Néa Salamína from Salamís (near Ammóchostos) and ASIL from Lysi/Akdoğan, who all moved to Lárnaka/Larnaka, Digenís Akrítas who moved from Mórfou/Güzelyurt to Lemesós/Leymosun, Dóxa who moved from Katokopiá/Zümrütköy to nearby Peristeróna and Ethnikós Ássias who moved from Ássia/Paşaköy to Stróvolos (the largest municipality of the capital Lefkosía/Lefkoşa). Likewise various 'Turkish' clubs originally were based in the southern part of the island: Türk Ocağı Limasol moved from Leymosun/Lemesós to Girne/Kerýnia, Çanakkale from Çanakkale/Kantoú to Gazimağusa/Ammóchostos and Yalova from Yalova/Episkopí to Yeni Bostancı/Páno Zódia.
The champions of 'Greek' Cyprus were invited to compete for a season in the Greek league during the military dictatorship in Greece.
LTSK (renamed Çetin Kaya in 1951) played in all official editions of the Cypriot championship between 1934/35 (the first ever such edition) and 1954/55, after having entered the unofficial 1933/34 edition as well. They became one of the powerhouses of Cypriot football in the first half of the fifties, before withdrawing to a separate Turkish league in the wake of the guerrilla actions (directed against British rule) by the Greek EOKA. Other Turkish clubs to have played in the Cypriot Cup until 1955 are Demirspor, Doğan Birliği, Gençlik Gücü and Turkish Aviation.
Championship LTSK/Çetin Kaya top-4 finishes (in 18 top level seasons - all between 1934 and 1955) 1934/35 2.LTSK 13 6 4 3 31-12 16 1935/36 3.LTSK 14 9 1 4 28-21 19 1936/37 3.LTSK 12 5 5 2 29-16 15 1937/38 3.LTSK 4 2 1 1 8-10 5 1950/51 1.Çetin Kaya 14 8 4 2 36-26 20 1951/52 3.Çetin Kaya 14 8 1 5 31-25 17 1952/53 4.Çetin Kaya 14 6 3 5 27-23 15 1953/54 4.Çetin Kaya 16 7 3 6 28-26 17 1954/55 4.Çetin Kaya 18 8 4 6 30-24 20 Cup 1935: semifinal: LTSK (0-1 vs APÓEL) 1936: finalists: LTSK (1-4 vs Trast) 1937: semifinal: LTSK (1-3 vs APÓEL) 1939: semifinal: LTSK (0-2 vs AÉL) 1940: semifinal: LTSK (2-5 vs Pezoporikós) 1945: quarterf.: LTSK (0-1 vs AÉL) 1946: quarterf.: LTSK (0-9 vs APÓEL) 1947: quarterf.: LTSK (0-3 vs Anórthosis) 1948: semifinal: LTSK (1-8 vs APÓEL) 1949: semifinal: LTSK (1-5 vs Anórthosis) 1950: semifinal: LTSK (1-3 vs ÉPA) 1951: quarterf.: Çetin Kaya (2-5 vs ÉPA) 1952: winners: Çetin Kaya (4-1 vs Pezoporikós) 1953: finalists: Çetin Kaya (1-2 vs ÉPA) 1954: winners: Çetin Kaya (2-1 vs Pezoporikós) quarterf.: Demirspor (5-8 vs Salamína) 1955: semifinal: Çetin Kaya (1-4 vs Pezoporikós) Super Cup 1951: winners: Çetin Kaya (5-1 vs APÓEL) 1952: winners: Çetin Kaya (2-1 vs APÓEL) 1954: winners: Çetin Kaya (2-1 vs Pezoporikós)
The shape of Germany underwent many changes since the invention of football and the foundation of the DFB, last on October 3, 1990, when the German Democratic Republic (to which we will refer as East Germany below) joined the Federal Republic of Germany (we will use West Germany to describe the area of which this entity consisted from 1957 (when the Saarland, to be referred to as Saar hereafter, joined the Federal Republic; the area had been under French occupation and then sovereignty since the end of World War II) until 1990); we take West Germany to include West-Berlin although formally it had a special status (see also below).
We here look at some clubs from the Saar and East Germany who made an impact in (West) Germany since joining it, or in German football history prior to World War II. We will not separately look at the performances of clubs from West Germany in the current Germany or the pre-WWII one, as the football federation (DFB) has been the same in all three entities, in spite of its varying borders.
A special case is that of Berlin. After World War II, the city was split in 4 zones (as was the rest of the country), controlled by the United States of America, the United Kingdom, France and the Soviet Union respectively. A regional league (the Oberliga Berlin, technically one of the many regional top level leagues in the country) started in 1946 encompassing clubs from the entire city, and when a national championship was first organised after the war in the summer of 1948, the Berlin champions, Union Oberschöneweide, who resided in the Soviet zone of the city, also entered, losing 0-7 at home to FC Sankt Pauli in the quarterfinals. Note that the 1947/48 champions of the Ostzone, SG Planitz, who had been drawn to play 1.FC Nürnberg in the quarterfinals, forfeited the match for political reasons, although the formal establishment of the German Democratic Republic did not happen until October 1949.
This situation continued until the summer of 1950, when the clubs residing in the Soviet section of the city (corresponding to what became known as Ost-Berlin) were forced to enter the East German league structure. This included two clubs (Union Oberschöneweide and VfB Pankow) which had played in the all-Berlin top level of 1949/50, and one (SC Lichtenberg 47, formerly Lichtenberg-Nord) which had just been promoted to the Oberliga, in which they had earlier played for two seasons, for 1950/51. These three clubs all entered the top level of East Germany (Oberliga der demokratischen Sportbewegung) in 1950/51 and finished 15th (Oberschöneweide), 17th (Pankow) and 18th (Lichtenberg) among the 18 clubs. Union Oberschöneweide had been weakened by the loss of their best players: as Berlin runners-up they had qualified for the first round of the (West) German championship playoff but the East German sports authorities forbade them the trip to Kiel, where they were to face Hamburger SV. The players went anyway, and remained in West Germany after the match, founding a new club, SC Union 06 Berlin, which kept the place in the Oberliga of West-Berlin, which they won again in 1952/53 after being runners-up in 1950/51 and 1951/52. The performances of clubs from Ost-Berlin in the Oberliga Berlin 1946-1950 are listed as a special case under the East German section.
Championship (Deutsche Meisterschaft) 1903: winners: VfB Leipzig (7-2 vs DFC Prag) 1906: winners: VfB Leipzig (2-1 vs 1.FC Pforzheim) 1911: finalists: VfB Leipzig (1-3 vs Viktoria 89 Berlin) 1914: finalists: VfB Leipzig (2-3 vs SpVgg Fürth) 1923: finalists: Union Oberschöneweide (0-3 vs Hamburger SV) 1940: finalists: Dresdner SC (0-1 vs Schalke 04) 1943: winners: Dresdner SC (3-0 vs FV Saarbrücken) 1944: winners: Dresdner SC (4-0 vs LSV Groß Hamburg) Championship (Oberliga Berlin 1946-1950) Four clubs from Ost-Berlin played in the Oberliga Berlin between 1946 and 1950: Union Oberschöneweide (3 top level seasons) 1947/48 1.Union Oberschöneweide 22 16 3 3 68-21 35 1948: quarterf.: Union Oberschöneweide (0-7 vs FC Sankt Pauli) 1948/49 3.Union Oberschöneweide 22 13 5 4 52-28 31 1949/50 2.Union Oberschöneweide 22 15 2 5 69-31 32 1950: 1/8 final: Union Oberschöneweide (0-7 vs Hamburger SV) VfB Pankow (3 top level seasons) 1947/48 8.VfB Pankow 22 7 6 9 26-35 20 1948/49 7.VfB Pankow 22 5 8 9 34-47 18 1949/50 8.VfB Pankow 22 8 2 12 32-51 18 SG Köpenick (3 top level seasons) 1946/47 8.SG Köpenick 22 8 4 10 46-41 20 1947/48 9.SG Köpenick 22 6 5 11 36-58 17 1948/49 10.SG Köpenick 22 5 5 12 32-41 15 SG Lichtenberg-Nord/SC Lichtenberg 47 (2 top level seasons) 1946/47 10.SG Lichtenberg-Nord 22 8 3 11 46-51 19 1948/49 12.SC Lichtenberg 47 22 4 1 17 17-55 9 Championship (Bundesliga) Six East German clubs played in the Bundesliga since 1990: Hansa Rostock (12 top level seasons) 1991/92 18.Hansa Rostock 38 10 11 17 43-55 31 1995/96 6.Hansa Rostock 34 13 10 11 47-43 49 1996/97 14.Hansa Rostock 34 11 7 16 35-46 40 1997/98 6.Hansa Rostock 34 14 9 11 54-46 51 1998/99 13.Hansa Rostock 34 9 11 14 49-58 38 1999/00 15.Hansa Rostock 34 8 14 12 44-60 38 2000/01 12.Hansa Rostock 34 12 7 15 34-47 43 2001/02 14.Hansa Rostock 34 9 7 18 35-54 34 2002/03 13.Hansa Rostock 34 11 8 15 35-41 41 2003/04 9.Hansa Rostock 34 12 8 14 55-54 44 2004/05 17.Hansa Rostock 34 7 9 18 31-65 30 2007/08 17.Hansa Rostock 34 8 6 20 30-52 30 RB Leipzig (8 top level seasons) 2016/17 2.RB Leipzig 34 20 7 7 66-39 67 2017/18 6.RB Leipzig 34 15 8 11 57-53 53 2018/19 3.RB Leipzig 34 19 9 6 63-29 66 2019/20 3.RB Leipzig 34 18 12 4 81-37 66 2020/21 2.RB Leipzig 34 19 8 7 60-32 65 2021/22 4.RB Leipzig 34 17 7 10 72-37 58 2022/23 3.RB Leipzig 34 20 6 8 64-41 66 2023/24 4.RB Leipzig 34 19 8 7 77-39 65 Energie Cottbus (6 top level seasons) 2000/01 14.Energie Cottbus 34 12 3 19 38-52 39 2001/02 13.Energie Cottbus 34 9 8 17 36-60 35 2002/03 18.Energie Cottbus 34 7 9 18 34-64 30 2006/07 13.Energie Cottbus 34 11 8 15 38-49 41 2007/08 14.Energie Cottbus 34 9 9 16 35-56 36 2008/09 16.Energie Cottbus 34 8 6 20 30-57 30 Union Berlin (5 top level seasons) 2019/20 11.1.FC Union Berlin 34 12 5 17 41-58 41 2020/21 7.1.FC Union Berlin 34 12 14 8 50-43 50 2021/22 5.1.FC Union Berlin 34 16 9 9 50-44 57 2022/23 4.1.FC Union Berlin 34 18 8 8 51-38 62 2023/24 15.1.FC Union Berlin 34 9 6 19 33-58 33 Dynamo Dresden (4 top level seasons) 1991/92 14.Dynamo Dresden 38 12 10 16 34-50 34 1992/93 15.Dynamo Dresden 34 7 13 14 32-49 27 1993/94 12.Dynamo Dresden 34 10 14 10 33-44 34 1994/95 18.Dynamo Dresden 34 4 8 22 33-68 16 VfB Leipzig (1 top level season) 1993/94 18.VfB Leipzig 34 3 11 20 32-69 17 Cup (von-Tschammer-Pokal) 1936: winners: VfB Leipzig (2-1 vs Schalke 04) 1937: semifinal: Dresdner SC (2-5 vs Fortuna Düsseldorf) 1940: winners: Dresdner SC (2-1 aet vs 1.FC Nürnberg) 1941: winners: Dresdner SC (2-1 vs Schalke 04) 1943: semifinal: Dresdner SC (1-2 vs LSV Groß Hamburg) Cup (DFB-Pokal) 1993: semifinal: Chemnitzer FC (1-2 vs Hertha BSC Amateure) 1994: semifinal: Dynamo Dresden (0-2 vs Werder Bremen) 1997: finalists: Energie Cottbus (0-2 vs VfB Stuttgart) 2000: semifinal: Hansa Rostock (2-3 vs Bayern München) 2001: finalists: Union Berlin (0-2 vs Schalke 04) 2008: semifinal: Carl Zeiss Jena (0-3 vs Borussia Dortmund) 2011: semifinal: Energie Cottbus (1-2 vs MSV Duisburg) 2019: finalists: RB Leipzig (0-3 vs Bayern München) 2021: finalists: RB Leipzig (1-4 vs Borussia Dortmund) 2022: winners: RB Leipzig (1-1 aet, 4-2 pen vs SC Freiburg) 2022: semifinal: 1.FC Union Berlin (1-2 vs RB Leipzig) 2023: winners: RB Leipzig (2-0 vs Eintracht Frankfurt)Some remarks on the clubs involved: the VfB Leipzig winning two German championships and losing two more finals before the second World War was dissolved in 1945; a new club called SG Probstheida was founded in their place, but there is no continuity between the 'old' VfB Leipzig and the team of the same name who played one season in the German Bundesliga; that 'new' version originated from East German powerhouse Lokomotive Leipzig, who never won the league championship but claimed 5 East German cups and were losing finalists (to Ajax) in the 1986/87 Cup Winners' Cup. RB Leipzig are not related to either but a club founded in 2009 which took over the fifth level place of SSV Markranstädt.
Championship (Deutsche Meisterschaft/Bundesliga) 1943: finalists: FV Saarbrücken (0-3 vs Dresdner SC) 1952: finalists: 1.FC Saarbrücken (2-3 vs VfB Stuttgart) Three Saar clubs played in the Bundesliga since 1963: 1.FC Saarbrücken (5 top level seasons) 1963/64 16.1.FC Saarbrücken 30 6 5 19 44-72 17 1976/77 14.1.FC Saarbrücken 34 9 11 14 43-55 29 1977/78 17.1.FC Saarbrücken 34 6 10 18 39-70 22 1985/86 17.1.FC Saarbrücken 34 6 9 19 39-68 21 1992/93 18.1.FC Saarbrücken 34 5 13 16 37-71 23 Borussia Neunkirchen (3 top level seasons) 1964/65 10.Borussia Neunkirchen 30 9 9 12 44-48 27 1965/66 17.Borussia Neunkirchen 34 9 4 21 32-82 22 1967/68 17.Borussia Neunkirchen 34 7 5 22 33-93 19 FC Homburg/Saar (3 top level seasons) 1986/87 16.FC Homburg 34 6 9 19 33-79 21 1987/88 17.FC Homburg 34 7 10 17 37-70 24 1989/90 18.FC Homburg 34 8 8 18 33-51 24 Cup (DFB-Pokal) 1957: semifinal: 1.FC Saarbrücken (1-3 aet vs Bayern München) 1958: semifinal: 1.FC Saarbrücken (1-4 vs VfB Stuttgart) 1959: finalists: Borussia Neunkirchen (2-5 vs Schwarz-Weiß Essen) 1985: semifinal: 1.FC Saarbrücken (0-1 vs Bayer Uerdingen) 2020: semifinal: 1.FC Saarbrücken (0-3 vs Bayer Leverkusen) 2024: semifinal: 1.FC Saarbrücken (0-2 vs 1.FC Kaiserslautern)Some remarks on the clubs involved: Borussia Neunkirchen played in the Ehrenliga, the independent Saar championship held for three seasons from 1948/49 to 1950/51, and won it in the first of those seasons (then still as VfB Neunkirchen). FC Homburg also played there all three seasons, but never finished higher than third (in 1948/49). 1.FC Saarbrücken only entered their reserve side (who won it 1950/51), preferring to play in the French second division as guest team (1948/49), albeit hors concours (they would have won the division had their matches counted); when their request to enter that league on a regular basis in 1949/50 was eventually rejected, they organised the Saarland-Pokal, an international club tournament, for two seasons before the Saar clubs were allowed to re-enter the Oberliga Südwest, where they had already played from 1945/46 to 1947/48, in 1951/52. In that season, 1.FC Saarbrücken reached the final of the West German championship (though Saarbrücken did not belong to West Germany at the time).
Armenia | Azerbaijan | Belarus | Estonia | Georgia | Kazakhstan | Kyrgyzstan | Latvia | Lithuania | Moldova | Russia | Tajikistan | Turkmenistan | Ukraine | Uzbekistan
FIFA and UEFA may see Russia as the natural successors of the former Soviet Union, but we consider it as just one of the 15 countries to have been (re-)established after the breakdown in the early nineties. Certainly, Russia contributed most of the population and geographical area, and also most of the strongest football clubs, and until 1960 all league titles went to Moscow, but by the time the union broke down, the record champions were Dynamo Kiev from Ukraine and 20 of 54 championships as well as 20 of 51 cups had gone outside of the current Russian borders (16 of each to the Ukraine). Moreover, all 4 European trophies (3 Cup Winners Cups and 1 Super Cup) won by Soviet teams were contributed by non-Russian clubs. Should the city of Moscow ever decide to go its own way in football, there would be far more justification in considering it the natural successor of Russia (in football terms) than to do so now for Russia w.r.t. the Soviet Union. Over the last three decades (1961-1990) of the country's existence, Ukrainian clubs were far more successful, winning more than half of the league titles and half of the Soviet cups on offer.
Until 1956, there was a sixteenth Soviet Socialist Republic, the Karelo-Finnish SSR, which comprised some areas annexed from Finland during the second World War (the Karelian Isthmus and Ladoga Karelia). It was relegated to an ASSR (autonomous SSR) within Russia (as Karelian ASSR) in 1956 (and thereby lost its constitutional secession right). See the section on moving countries for information on clubs from Vyborg/Viipuri (on the Karelian Isthmus) and Sortavala (on Lake Ladoga) playing in the Finnish league structure.
Another former ASSR is that of Abkhazia, which lies within the internationally recognised borders of Georgia (but also borders the Black Sea and Russia). This region has claimed independence and organises its own championship since 1994; see the separate section on the (de facto) split of Georgia.
Due to the dominance of Russia and the Ukraine, we do not treat those two republics 'equally' with the 13 others; while for the smaller ones we indicate all clubs to ever reach the Soviet top flight or cup semifinals, for Russia and Ukraine we only summarise the winners of Soviet honours (as well as their palmares after disintegration).
The states resulting from the breakdown are listed in (English) alphabetical order (like in all comparable situations in this document). For additional data, see also Former Soviet Union - Regional Analysis.
Note that the former Russian Empire, whose territory the Soviet Union roughly inherited after the 1917-1922 Civil War, organised two championships for city selections in 1912 and 1913, which involved cities from Poland and the Ukraine.
Only one Armenian club, Ararat Yerevan, reached the top flight of Soviet football (albeit under different names: they were known as Dynamo and as Spartak for part of their history). Their best period was the first half of the seventies, with as highlight winning the league-and-cup double in 1973. They also were runners-up twice and won a second cup in 1975. Since the split, Ararat won one Armenian championship (1993) and six cups (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2008 and 2021; they also lost the 2001 and 2007 finals), having ceded their status as the country's first club to Pyunik around the turn of the millennium.
Note that Nagorno-Karabakh, an independent region within the Azerbaijani SSR during Soviet times, is de facto independent, and clubs originating from its main city Stepanakert currently play in the Armenian league (hosting their matches outside of Nagorno-Karabakh though); nevertheless, the region is within the internationally recognised borders of Azerbaijan, though controlled by Armenia.
Championship Ararat Yerevan Top-5 finishes (in 33 top level seasons) 1971 2.Ararat Yerevan 30 13 11 6 37-28 37 1972 4.Ararat Yerevan 30 12 10 8 38-29 34 1973 1.Ararat Yerevan 30 18 7 5 79-55 39 [-4] NB: drawn matches were decided by penalties, with only the shoot-out winners obtaining a point. 1974 5.Ararat Yerevan 30 11 10 9 37-28 32 1975 5.Ararat Yerevan 30 15 4 11 40-38 34 1976 spr 2.Ararat Yerevan 15 8 3 4 22-13 19 1982 5.Ararat Yerevan 34 14 10 10 50-47 38 Cup 1954: finalists: Spartak Yerevan (1-2 vs Dynamo Kiev) 1962: semifinal: Spartak Yerevan (0-1 vs Znamya Truda Orekhovo-Zuyevo) 1973: winners: Ararat Yerevan (2-1 vs Dynamo Kiev) 1975: winners: Ararat Yerevan (2-1 vs Zarya Voroshilovgrad) 1976: finalists: Ararat Yerevan (0-3 vs Dynamo Tbilisi) 1991: semifinal: Ararat Yerevan (0-0, 6-7 pen vs Torpedo Moscow)
Three clubs from Azerbaijan reached the Soviet top flight. Two only lasted one season (Dynamo Kirovabad, from the town called GƏncƏ since 1991, and Temp Baku) while Neftchi Baku (earlier known as Neftianik) played there 27 seasons, their best ever league finish being 3rd in 1966; they also were eliminated at the semifinal stage of the Soviet Cup on 4 occasions within 5 seasons. No Azerbaijani club ever reached the Soviet cup final. Since the split, Neftchi (nowadays Neftçi Bakı) won 9 championships in Azerbaijan and 7 cups. Dinamo Kirovabad were renamed Kyepez (Kapaz) in 1973 and won 3 league championships and 4 cups in Azerbaijan since independence. They were renamed FK GƏncƏ during the 2004/05 season and withdrew from the 2006/07 league. Temp Baku were a temporary phenomenon – they were dissolved in 1940.
Note that Nagorno-Karabakh, an independent region within the Azerbaijani SSR during Soviet times, is de facto independent, and clubs originating from its main city Stepanakert currently play in the Armenian league (hosting their matches outside of Nagorno-Karabakh though); nevertheless, the region is within the internationally recognised borders of Azerbaijan, though controlled by Armenia. In fact, Qarabağ Ağdam, who play home matches in Bakı but represent the deserted town of Ağdam in Nagorno-Karabakh, successfully represent the region in the Azerbaijani football structure: they won a record eleven championships and seven cups; in 2014/15 they reached the group stage of the UEFA Europa League and only narrowly failed to progress at the cost of later finalists Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk; they also qualified for the UEFA Europa League group stage in 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2018/19, while reaching the UEFA Champions League group stage in 2017/18, in which they drew home and away with Atlético de Madrid.
City name correspondences: Russian Azerbaijani Baku Bakı Kirovabad GƏncƏ Championship Neftianik/Neftchi Baku Top-5 finishes (in 27 top level seasons) 1966 3.Neftianik Baku 36 18 9 9 56-28 45 1967 5.Neftchi Baku 36 16 10 10 51-33 42 Dynamo Kirovabad (1 top level season)) 1968 20.Dynamo Kirovabad 38 5 9 24 25-59 19 Temp Baku (1 top level season) 1938 19.Temp Baku 25 6 8 11 33-40 20 Cup 1967: semifinal: Neftchi Baku (0-3 vs CSKA Moscow) 1968: semifinal: Neftchi Baku (0-2 vs Torpedo Moscow) 1970: semifinal: Neftchi Baku (0-1 vs Dynamo Tbilisi) 1971: semifinal: Neftchi Baku (0-5 vs Spartak Moscow)
Only one Belarussian club played in the Soviet top division, under 3 different names (Dynamo Minsk, Spartak Minsk and Belarus Minsk). They won one championship, in 1982, and reached and lost two Soviet Cup finals. Since the independence of Belarus, Dynamo won 8 league championships (including the first five editions) and 3 cup tournaments.
Note that prior to World War II, parts of Belarus (including cities such as Brest/Brześć, Hrodna/Grodno and Pinsk/Pińsk) belonged to Poland.
As an aside, note that the Polish region around Białystok (Belastok in Belarussian, Belostok in Russian) was occupied by the Soviet Union from 1939 to 1944 and as such part of the Belarussian Soviet Socialist Republic. No information on football activities during this period is available.
Championship Dynamo Minsk Top-5 finishes (in 39 top level seasons) 1954 3.Spartak Minsk 24 12 6 6 29-23 30 1963 3.Dynamo Minsk 38 18 12 8 47-27 48 1965 4.Dynamo Minsk 32 14 9 9 37-27 37 1967 4.Dynamo Minsk 38 13 17 6 47-31 43 1982 1.Dynamo Minsk 34 19 9 6 63-35 47 1983 3.Dynamo Minsk 34 17 9 8 51-34 43 1984 5.Dynamo Minsk 34 15 13 6 43-28 40 [-3] NB: points were only awarded for the first 10 draws 1985 4.Dynamo Minsk 34 16 9 9 40-31 41 1987 5.Dynamo Minsk 30 12 9 9 33-25 33 Cup 1965: finalists: Dynamo Minsk (0-0, 1-2 vs Spartak Moscow) 1966: semifinal: Dynamo Minsk (0-1 vs Dynamo Kiev) 1987: finalists: Dynamo Minsk (3-3 aet, 2-4 pen vs Dynamo Kiev)
Only one Estonian club, Kalev Tallinn, played in the top Soviet division, and that for only 2 seasons. In 58 matches they managed only 3 wins, 2 of them in the relegation playoff in their first season. No Estonian club ever reached the Soviet cup semifinals. Prior to Estonia's annexation by the Soviet Union at the start of World War II, Kalev had won two Estonian championships (1923 and 1930) and reached one cup final (1939, lost 1-4 vs Tallinna JK). The football section of this omnisports club was dissolved at some stage afterwards but refounded in 2002, and returned to the Estonian top level in 2007, finishing sixth. They were relegated in 2009 but returned to the top flight for the 2012 season, again lasting three seasons before being relegated again in 2014 and taking three seasons to return to the top level for the 2018 season; they were relegated once more in 2020, again after three seasons at the top level, but now only took one season to bounce back for the 2022 season.
Championship Kalev Tallinn (2 top level seasons) 1960 19.Kalev Tallinn 26 2 6 18 21-72 10 [group and playoff] 1961 22.Kalev Tallinn 32 1 8 23 25-74 10
Five Georgian clubs played in the Soviet top flight: two lasted only one season, and one just two, but Torpedo Kutaisi held their own for 13 seasons and Dynamo Tbilisi was one of the powerhouses of the Soviet Union, ever present from the second edition of the Soviet league in the fall of 1936 until departing for an independent Georgian championship in 1990, winning 2 league championships, 2 Soviet Cups (and losing 6 finals), and bringing home a European trophy (the 1980/81 Cup Winners Cup, won 2-1 against Carl Zeiss Jena in a fairly deserted stadium in Düsseldorf).
Since Georgia organises its own independent championship, Dinamo Tbilisi have won it 19 times, including each of the first ten editions, and won 13 cups, including each of the first six. Their six consecutive league-and-cup doubles from 1991/92 to 1996/97 are a world record they share with Pakhtakor Toshkent (2002 to 2007) in Uzbekistan. Torpedo Kutaisi won 4 championships and 5 cups, Lokomotivi Tbilisi have won 3 cups and Guria Lanchkhuti 1. Spartaki Tbilisi played two seasons in the top Georgian league division (2003/04 and 2005/06) but its relationship with the 1950s club is doubtful.
Note that the former Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic of Abkhazia, which lies within the internationally recognised borders of Georgia, claimed independence and organises its own championship since 1994; clubs from the region (whose main cities include Sukhumi, Gali, Ochamchira and Gagra) played in the Georgian league structure until 1993. In 2005/06 a team called Dinamo Sukhumi, based in Tbilisi, entered the Georgian top level for one season before disappearing. Finally, FC Gagra, founded in 2004 by Gagra-born Beso Chikhradze and (like Dinamo Sukhumi) based in Tbilisi, obtained entry to the 2008/09 first level; they were relegated in 2009/10 but won promotion again in the following season, winning the 2010/11 cup as a bonus. They were relegated again in 2012, but reached another cup final in 2018 as a second level team, this time losing to Torpedo Kutaisi, the club they had beaten in the 2011 final. In 2020 Gagra won their second ever cup, in their third ever final, again as a second level side. In 2021, they again gained promotion to the top flight.
Championship Dynamo Tbilisi Top-3 finishes (in 51 top level seasons) 1936 aut 3.Dynamo Tbilisi 7 3 3 1 14- 9 16 1939 2.Dynamo Tbilisi 26 14 5 7 60-41 33 1940 2.Dynamo Tbilisi 24 15 4 5 56-30 34 1946 3.Dynamo Tbilisi 22 15 3 4 47 26 33 1947 3.Dynamo Tbilisi 24 14 5 5 57-30 33 1950 3.Dynamo Tbilisi 36 20 7 9 78-50 47 1951 2.Dynamo Tbilisi 28 15 6 7 59-36 36 1953 2.Dynamo Tbilisi 20 11 5 4 39-24 27 1959 3.Dynamo Tbilisi 22 12 3 7 48-33 27 1962 3.Dynamo Tbilisi 22 10 8 4 29-20 28 1964 1.Dynamo Tbilisi 32 18 10 4 48-30 46 NB: Dynamo won championship playoff (4-1 aet vs Torpedo Moscow) 1967 3.Dynamo Tbilisi 36 16 13 7 53-33 45 1969 3.Dynamo Tbilisi 26 12 11 3 34-17 35 1971 3.Dynamo Tbilisi 30 14 8 8 33-33 36 1972 3.Dynamo Tbilisi 30 12 11 7 41-34 35 1976 spr 3.Dynamo Tbilisi 15 7 4 4 18-10 18 1976 aut 3.Dynamo Tbilisi 15 6 5 4 16-12 17 1977 2.Dynamo Tbilisi 30 13 13 4 43-26 39 1978 1.Dynamo Tbilisi 30 17 8 5 45-24 42 1981 3.Dynamo Tbilisi 34 16 10 8 62-35 42 Torpedo Kutaisi Best 5 league finishes (in 13 top level seasons) 1963 12.Torpedo Kutaisi 38 6 21 11 22-37 33 1964 13.Torpedo Kutaisi 32 10 7 15 20-37 27 1967 13.Torpedo Kutaisi 36 8 15 13 37-50 31 1982 13.Torpedo Kutaisi 34 10 10 14 39-45 30 1985 11.Torpedo Kutaisi 34 11 9 14 40-51 31 Spartak Tbilisi (2 top level seasons) 1950 9.Spartak Tbilisi 36 14 9 13 50-53 37 1951 14.Spartak Tbilisi 28 7 2 19 32-56 16 Guria Lanchkhuti (1 top level season) 1987 16.Guria Lanchkhuti 30 5 8 17 18-38 18 Lokomotiv Tbilisi (1 top level season) 1938 24.Lokomotiv Tbilisi 25 5 5 15 44-62 15 NB: Lokomotiv were to play in the 1940 league but withdrew Cup 1936: finalists: Dynamo Tbilisi (0-2 vs Lokomotiv Moscow) 1937: finalists: Dynamo Tbilisi (2-5 vs Dynamo Moscow) 1946: finalists: Dynamo Tbilisi (2-3 vs Spartak Moscow) 1960: finalists: Dynamo Tbilisi (3-4 vs Torpedo Moscow) 1970: finalists: Dynamo Tbilisi (1-2 vs Dynamo Moscow) 1974: semifinal: Dynamo Tbilisi (0-1, 0-0 vs Dynamo Kiev) 1975: semifinal: Dynamo Tbilisi (1-3 vs Ararat Yerevan) 1976: winners: Dynamo Tbilisi (3-0 vs Ararat Yerevan) 1979: winners: Dynamo Tbilisi (0-0 aet, 5-4 pen vs Dynamo Moscow) 1980: finalists: Dynamo Tbilisi (1-2 vs Shakhter Donetsk) 1982: semifinal: Dynamo Tbilisi (0-2 vs Dynamo Kiev) 1989: semifinal: Dynamo Tbilisi (1-2 vs Dnepr Dnepropetrovsk)
Only one Kazakh club played in the Soviet top division, Kairat Alma-Ata, who managed to play 24 seasons at that level. They reached the semifinals of the Soviet Cup in 1963. After independence, they play (as Qayrat Almaty) in the Kazakh league, in which they claimed four championships; they also won a record 10 Kazakh cups.
Note that the Kazakh Socialist Soviet Republic was only established in December 1936; before, the Kazakh Autonomous Republic had been part of the Russian Federation, and so Dinamo Aktyubinsk entered the first ever Soviet Cup in 1936 (in which they lost 0-4 to CDKA (now CSKA) Moscow in the 1/32 finals) as a Russian team although the town of Aktyubinsk (now called Aqtöbe, and as such home of the five-time Kazakh champions FK Aqtöbe) is in Kazakhstan.
Championship Kairat Alma-Ata Top-10 finishes (in 24 top level seasons) 1971 8.Kairat Alma-Ata 30 9 10 11 36-40 28 1973 9.Kairat Alma-Ata 30 8 11 11 25-37 26 [-1] NB: drawn matches were decided by penalties, with only the shoot-out winners obtaining a point; Kairat won 10 of their 11 shoot-outs! 1977 8.Kairat Alma-Ata 30 6 17 7 26-31 29 1984 8.Kairat Alma-Ata 34 13 8 13 44-42 34 1985 9.Kairat Alma-Ata 34 11 13 10 43-46 32 [-3] NB: points were only awarded for the first 10 draws 1986 7.Kairat Alma-Ata 30 11 8 11 33-39 30 Cup 1963: semifinal: Kairat Alma-Ata (1-2 vs Shakhter Donetsk)
No Kyrgyz club ever played in the Soviet top level or
reached a Soviet cup semifinal. (In 1948, a top flight
with about 30 clubs, including at least one from each
Soviet Republic, was planned but eventually cancelled;
the prospective Kyrgyz participants were Zenit Frunze.)
Alga Frunze (their home town
is now called Bishkek) played several seasons at the
second level, their best performance being an 11th place
finish in 1972. Since
independence, this club won the league-and-cup double
in 1992 before converting to Alga-PVO and then SKA-PVO
Bishkek; they are now called Alga again and have won
4 championships and 8 cups (of which 7-in-a-row
between 1997 and 2003) in Kyrgyzstan.
Soviet First League (2nd level) Alga Frunze (best performance) 1972 11.Alga Frunze 38 10 14 14 42-44 34
Only one Latvian club played in the Soviet top division, Daugava Riga, who completed 7 seasons there. Their best ever league placing was 11th, in 1951. The club was founded in 1948 and so did not participate in Latvian football prior to the annexation by the Soviet Union. After independence, they reached the 1992 cup final (as Daugava/Kompar), losing 0-1 after extra time to Skonto Rīga, but the club went bankrupt in 1995. A club called Amstrig then was renamed to Daugava Rīga and finished runners-up in the Virslīga behind Skonto in 1996 and 1997, but it was not related to the old Daugava and eventually disappeared from the top level as well.
Note that although all other Baltic clubs withdrew from the Soviet league structure before the start of the 1991 season at the latest, one Latvian club, Pardaugava Riga, played at the second level (Pervaja Liga) of the Soviet league structure in 1991, finishing 22nd and last. As Latvia became formally independent in August 1991, they played the last few months of the season as a roving club.
Championship Daugava Riga (7 top level seasons) 1949 17.Daugava Riga 34 7 5 22 21-64 19 1950 12.Daugava Riga 36 12 8 16 37-45 32 1951 11.Daugava Riga 28 9 7 12 44-44 25 1952 12.Daugava Riga 13 2 5 6 10-14 9 1960 12.Daugava Riga 30 9 11 10 35-36 29 [group and playoff] 1961 21.Daugava Riga 32 5 7 20 30-63 17 1962 21.Daugava Riga 18 6 4 8 14-20 16
Only one Lithuanian club played in the Soviet top division,
Žalgiris Vilnius (called Spartak for part of their history),
who completed 11 seasons. In the eighties they consistently
managed top-10 finishes after earning promotion in 1982, with
their best ever final placing 3rd in 1987. The club was
founded in 1947 and so did not play any role in Lithuanian
football prior to the annexation of the Baltic states by the
Soviet Union; for that matter, no club from the current capital
of Lithuania did, as Vilnius/Wilno was part of Poland
at the time. Since Lithuania broke away from the Soviet Union,
Žalgiris have won 10 league titles and a record 14 cups.
The area around Klaipėda/Memel was
part of Germany until 1923; clubs from Klaipėda
played in the Lithuanian league between 1924 and 1939 (when
Germany invaded the area) but also played several seasons
during this period in the
German league structure.
Championship Žalgiris Vilnius Top-10 finishes (in 11 top level seasons) 1983 5.Žalgiris Vilnius 34 15 9 10 38-36 39 1984 9.Žalgiris Vilnius 34 12 11 11 30-38 34 [-1] NB: points were only awarded for the first 10 draws 1985 7.Žalgiris Vilnius 34 12 11 11 43-49 34 [-1] NB: points were only awarded for the first 10 draws 1986 8.Žalgiris Vilnius 30 11 8 11 32-37 30 1987 3.Žalgiris Vilnius 30 14 8 8 43-29 36 1988 5.Žalgiris Vilnius 30 14 7 9 39-35 35 1989 4.Žalgiris Vilnius 30 14 8 8 39-29 36 Cup 1988: semifinal: Žalgiris Vilnius (1-2 vs Metallist Kharkov)
Only one Moldovan club played in the Soviet top division, Nistru Kishinev, also known as Dynamo, Burevestnik, Moldava, Avintul and Moldova during their history. In the 1991 season, Tiligul Tiraspol were second level runners-up and earned promotion to the Soviet top flight, but they joined the newly formed independent Moldovan league in 1992. No Moldovan club ever reached the semifinals of the Soviet Cup. Nistru were renamed Zimbru Chișinău after independence and as such won 8 league championships (a record until the rise of Sheriff Tiraspol) and 6 Moldovan cups. Tiligul finished runners-up behind Zimbru on 6 occasions and won 3 cups but later lost top status in their home town, which lies in Transdnistria, to Sheriff, winners of ten consecutive championships from 2000/01 to 2009/10. After having been renamed Tiligul-Tiras in 2004, the club was dissolved due to financial problems in 2009.
See also the section on Romania, as prior to the second World War, most of the current Republic of Moldova belonged (as Bessarabia) to that country. In fact, the Moldovian Socialist Soviet Republic was formed by merging Bessarabia with the Moldovian Autonomous Republic (part of Ukraine and corresponding to current Transdnistria) in August 1940; Spartak Tiraspol entered the 1938 Soviet Cup (in which they lost 0-4 to Dzerzhinets Kremenchug in the 1/256 finals) as Ukrainian representatives.
As an aside, note that SKA Odessa (who twice played in the top Soviet league in 1965 and 1966 (finishing last both seasons, 17th and 19th respectively) and also entered the Ukrainian top league in 1992 (finishing 10th and last in their group)) temporarily (between 1972 and 1976) moved to Tiraspol (then part of the Moldovian Socialist Soviet Republic) and as such represented Moldova in the second level of the Soviet league structure (known as Zvezda Tiraspol 1972-73 and Komanda goroda Tiraspol 1974-75).
Championship Nistru Kishinev Best 5 league finishes (in 11 top level seasons) 1956 6.Burevestnik Kishinev 22 9 5 8 38-49 23 1957 9.Burevestnik Kishinev 22 4 10 8 24-36 18 1958 11.Moldova Kishinev 22 3 9 10 25-47 15 1959 10.Moldova Kishinev 22 6 5 11 22-45 17 1962 12.Moldova Kishinev 22 3 5 14 20-35 11
Five different Russian clubs accounted for 34 league
championships, including all 22 played between 1936
and 1960 (and so only 12 in the last 3 decades of the
existence of the Soviet Union) while 31 Soviet cups,
including 18 of the 19 played between 1936 and 1960,
were won by seven different Russian clubs. Twenty-six
other Russian clubs reached the Soviet top flight, and
five lost Soviet cup finals.
Four of the clubs involved won league championships
in Russia after the disintegration of the Soviet Union,
and one other won a cup:
Spartak Moskva (10 championships, 4 cups),
Lokomotiv Moskva (3 championships, 9 cups (a record); Lokomotiv
never won a Soviet championship), CSKA Moskva (6 championships
and 8 cups), Zenit Sankt Peterburg
(10 championships and 5 cups; Leningrad having reverted to its old name)
and Dinamo Moskva (1 cup). Torpedo
have been less successful, only winning the 1992/93 cup
before suffering relegation in 2006 for the first time since
entering the Soviet top level in 1937; Dinamo followed suit in 2016.
Note that some regions now in Russia belonged to Finland (Karelian Isthmus with Viipuri/Vyborg and Ladoga Karelia with Sortavala) and Germany (East Prussia (Ostpreußen) with Königsberg/Kaliningrad and Insterburg/Černjahovsk) before the second World War.
Championship Spartak Moscow (12 championships) 1936, 1938, 1939, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1962, 1969, 1979, 1987, 1989 NB: the 1936 title was the autumn one. Dynamo Moscow (11 championships) 1936, 1937, 1940, 1945, 1949, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1963, 1976 NB: the 1936 and 1976 titles were the spring ones. CSKA Moscow (7 championships; includes CDKA and CDSA) 1946, 1947, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1970, 1991 NB: the 4 titles 1946-50 were won as CDKA, the 1951 one as CDSA Torpedo Moscow (3 championships) 1960, 1965, 1976 (autumn) Zenit Leningrad (1 championship) 1984 Cup Spartak Moscow (10 cups) 1938, 1939, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1958, 1963, 1965, 1971, 1992 Dynamo Moscow (6 cups) 1937, 1953, 1967, 1970, 1977, 1985 Torpedo Moscow (6 cups) 1949, 1952, 1960, 1968, 1972, 1986 CSKA Moscow (5 cups; includes CDKA and CDSA) 1945, 1948, 1951, 1955, 1991 NB: the 2 cups 1945-48 were won as CDKA, the 2 1951-55 as CDSA Lokomotiv Moscow (2 cups) 1936, 1957 SKA Rostov-na-Donu (1 cup) 1981 Zenit Leningrad (1 cup) 1944
Only one Tajik club played in the Soviet top division, Pamir Dushanbe. They first gained promotion in 1988 and preserved their status for three seasons before joining the new Tajik league. In the last Soviet Cup, played 1991/92 and characterised by the withdrawal of many teams from break-away republics, Pamir reached the semifinals. After independence, Pamir won 2 league championships and one Tajik cup, including the 1992 league-and-cup double. After their 1995 title, the players all left the club and the country, moving to Uzbekistan, where there was no civil war and they could earn more money, and the club was dissolved.
Championship Pamir Dushanbe (3 top level seasons) 1989 13.Pamir Dushanbe 30 7 10 13 20-38 24 1990 10.Pamir Dushanbe 24 7 4 13 26-34 18 1991 10.Pamir Dushanbe 30 7 13 10 28-32 27 Cup 1992: semifinal: Pamir Dushanbe (0-2 vs CSKA Moscow)
No Turkmen club ever played in the Soviet top level or
reached a Soviet cup semifinal. (In 1948, a top flight
with about 30 clubs, including at least one from each
Soviet Republic, was planned but eventually cancelled;
the prospective Turkmen participants were Lokomotiv Ashgabat.)
Kolhozchi Ashgabat played several seasons at the
second level (also as Stroitel), their best performance
being a 9th place
finish in 1976.
Soviet First League (2nd level) Kolhozchi Ashgabat (best performance) 1976 9.Kolhozchi Ashgabat 38 16 7 15 61-62 39
Three different Ukrainian clubs accounted for 16 league
championships, all in the three decades from 1961 to 1990,
and as many Soviet cups were brought to the Ukraine by
5 different clubs, all but one in the same three decades
from 1961 to 1990. Apart from the six clubs involved,
also precisely all Ukrainian clubs to reach the Soviet
cup final (1972 champions Zarya Voroshilovgrad lost both
their cup finals in 1974 and 1975), eight others reached
the Soviet top flight.
Among the six clubs to win honours in the Soviet Union,
only 2 managed to do so since independence: Dynamo Kyiv
won 16 league titles (a record) and 13 Ukrainian cups
while Shakhtar Donetsk (who never won the Soviet league)
claimed 15 championships and 14 cups (a record).
These two clubs have
won all Ukrainian honours between 1994 (when Chornomorets Odesa
won the 1993/94 cup) and 2009 (when Vorskla Poltava won the
2008/09 cup).
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk reached 3 cup finals but lost them all
to Shakhtar, while Karpaty Lviv faced Dynamo Kyiv in both
of their cup final appearances and were defeated both times.
Metalist Kharkiv reached the first cup final since independence
in 1992 but lost it to Chornomorets. Zarya Voroshilovgrad,
probably the most surprising club to have ever won a Soviet
championship, are currently called Zorja Luhansk,
after their home town returned to its original name, and
spent most time since independence moving between the
divisions, dropping as deep as the third division for
five seasons (1998-2003) before returning to the top flight
for the 2006/07 season; they reached the 2015/16 Ukrainian
cup final, losing to Shakhtar.
As an aside, note that SKA Odessa (who twice played in the top Soviet league in 1965 and 1966 (finishing last both seasons, 17th and 19th respectively) and also entered the Ukrainian top league in 1992 (finishing 10th and last in their group)) temporarily (between 1972 and 1976) moved to Tiraspol (then part of the Moldovian Socialist Soviet Republic) and as such represented Moldova in the second level of the Soviet league structure (known as Zvezda Tiraspol 1972-73 and Komanda goroda Tiraspol 1974-75).
Another 'internal' border change during the Soviet era involves the Crimea peninsula. This was part of the Russian Federation until February 1954, when it was transferred to the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic. Five clubs from the area played in the Soviet Cup as Russian clubs: Pischevik Simferopol' (in 1938 only, losing 0-1 to Spartak Simferopol' in the 1/256 finals), Spartak Simferopol' (in 1938 only, losing 1-2 to Lokomotiv Kiev in the 1/32 finals), Pischevik Kerch' (in 1938 only, losing 1-3 to Spartak Simferopol' in the 1/128 finals), Stal Kerch' (in 1938 only, losing 2-3 to Sudostroitel Sevastopol' in the 1/128 finals), and Sudostroitel Sevastopol' (on four occasions, 1936-38 and 1949, with their best performance reaching the 1/32 finals in 1936, losing 2-3 to KhTZ Kharkov). Sudostroitel Sevastopol' also played one season at the second level of the Soviet league structure (finishing 10th out of 11 in the Russian Zone of Class B in 1949). See also above for information on football on the Crimea peninsula after Russian annexation in 2014.
Note that some comparatively small parts of the Ukraine belonged to
Romania (northern Bukovina, with as largest
city Chernivtsy/Chernovtsy/Cernăuți, which was occasionally
represented at the second Soviet level (first in 1960, by Avangard,
and last in 1991, when that club had been renamed Bukovina; after
that, they played for a few seasons at the Ukrainian top level), and
the area south of current Moldova bordering the Black Sea) and
(Czecho-)Slovakia (Transcarpathia
or Carpathian Ruthenia)
prior to the second World War. A much larger part
(comprising (parts of) Galicia, Podolia and Volhynia, and
including cities such as
Lviv/Lemberg/Lwów/Lvov, Łuck/Lutsk, Rivne/Równe,
and Stanisławów/Ivano-Frankivsk) belonged to
Poland. During the war, Hungary
occupied Transcarpathia (Kárpátalja,
a region which had belonged to Hungary for centuries).
Moreover, Ukrainian city selections entered the
Russian championships of 1912 and 1913.
Championship Dynamo Kiev (13 championships) 1961, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1990 Dnepr Dnepropetrovsk (2 championships) 1983, 1988 Zarya Voroshilovgrad (1 championship) 1972 Cup Dynamo Kiev (9 cups) 1954, 1964, 1966, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1990 Shakhter Donetsk (4 cups, includes Shakhter Stalino) 1961, 1962, 1980, 1983 NB: the 1961 cup was won as Shakhter Stalino, after the temporary name of the club's hometown Metalist Kharkov (1 cup) 1988 Dnepr Dnepropetrovsk (1 cup) 1989 Karpaty Lvov (1 cup) 1969
Only one Uzbek club played in the Soviet top division, Pakhtakor Tashkent, who were active at the level for 22 seasons, finishing 6th on 2 occasions and in the top-10 on 8. They once reached the Soviet Cup final. They were founded in 1946 under the name of Spartak and are not related to the 1939 Soviet cup semifinalists Dinamo Tashkent. Since independence Pakhtakor Toshkent won 16 Uzbek league championships (one shared in 1992 with Neftchi Fergana), including six consecutive ones from 2002 to 2007, as well as 13 Uzbek cups, including seven consecutive ones from 2001 to 2007; both numbers are records. Their six consecutive league-and-cup doubles from 2002 to 2007 are a world record they share with Dinamo Tbilisi (1991/92 to 1996/97) in Georgia.
Championship Pakhtakor Tashkent Top-10 finishes (in 22 top level seasons) 1961 10.Pakhtakor Tashkent 30 11 8 11 44-61 30 1962 6.Pakhtakor Tashkent 22 9 5 8 24-33 23 1965 10.Pakhtakor Tashkent 32 10 12 10 34-40 32 1966 9.Pakhtakor Tashkent 36 10 18 8 36-32 38 1974 8.Pakhtakor Tashkent 30 10 10 10 45-44 30 1979 9.Pakhtakor Tashkent 34 11 9 14 42-53 30 [-1] NB: points were only awarded for the first 8 draws 1982 6.Pakhtakor Tashkent 34 13 11 10 42-38 36 [-1] NB: points were only awarded for the first 10 draws 1983 10.Pakhtakor Tashkent 34 13 9 12 37-34 35 Cup 1939: semifinal: Dinamo Tashkent (0-3 vs Stalinets Leningrad) 1968: finalists: Pakhtakor Tashkent (0-1 vs Torpedo Moscow)
When most clubs from Georgia withdrew from the Soviet championship after the 1989 season to enter an independent Georgian championship in 1990, various clubs from Abkhazia remained in the Soviet structure: Dinamo Sukhumi played at the second Soviet level in 1990 and 1991, and Dinamo Gagra at the fourth level 1991. Other clubs from the region did enter the Georgian league between 1990 and 1992/93. Abkhazia declared independence in 1992; in the ensuing war, Abkhazia, supported by Russia, defeated the Georgian army and a mass exodus of ethnic Georgians from the region followed. After a Georgian attack on the likewise separatist region of South Ossetia in 2008, Russia intervened, assumed military control over both regions and recognised their independence.
Since 1994, Abkhazia organises an independent football championship. In 2005/06, a club called Dinamo Sukhumi but playing in Tbilisi entered the Premier League in Georgia, and FC Gagra entered it for the 2008/09 season after having played at the second Georgian level since 2005/06 (also staging home matches in Tbilisi), where Siharuli-90 Gagra had played in 1990 and 1991.
Only limited information is available on the Abkhaz championships held since 1994; Dinamo Gagra, who played in the fourth Soviet division in 1991, finished third in the league in 2003, while FK Gagra (possibly a new name for Dinamo and clearly not related to the club playing in the Georgian league structure) won the Abkhaz championship on four occasions (2006, 2010, 2012 and 2023) and the cup seven times. Dinamo Sukhum, who played at the second Soviet level in 1990 and 1991, won the first ever Abkhaz championship in 1994 and the cup three times (1996, 2010 and 2023).
Championship FC Gagra/Gagra GU (6 top level seasons) 2008/09 9.FC Gagra 30 7 7 16 23-48 28 2009/10 10.FC Gagra 30 5 9 22 30-59 24 2011/12 11.FC Gagra 22 6 3 13 21-32 21 [relegated after playoff] 2022 9.FC Gagra 36 9 9 18 36-57 36 2023 7.Gagra GU 36 10 8 18 47-65 38 2024 season running NB: play in Tbilisi Tskhumi Sukhumi (4 top level seasons) 1990 7.Tskhumi Sukhumi 34 13 10 11 50-36 49 1991 6.Tskhumi Sukhumi 19 9 4 6 34-26 31 1991/92 2.Tskhumi Sukhumi 38 24 4 10 96-53 76 1992/93 17.Tskhumi Sukhumi 32 8 1 23 59-84 25 Mziuri Gali (3 top level seasons) 1990 13.Mziuri Gali 34 11 7 16 47-69 40 1991 14.Mziuri Gali 19 6 4 9 25-28 22 1991/92 7.Mziuri Gali 38 16 5 17 53-65 53 Amirani Ochamchira (3 top level seasons) 1990 17.Amirani Ochamchira 34 10 7 17 36-55 37 1991 19.Amirani Ochamchira 19 4 6 9 27-37 18 1991/92 17.Amirani Ochamchira 38 13 8 17 48-56 47 Dinamo Sukhumi (1 top level season) 2005/06 15.Dinamo Sukhumi 30 5 3 22 26-70 18 NB: played in Tbilisi Cup 1990: finalists: Tskhumi Sukhumi (0-1 aet vs Guria Lanchkhuti) 1/8 final: Mziuri Gali (1-0, 2-4 vs Guria Lanchkhuti) 1992: finalists: Tskhumi Sukhumi (1-3 vs Iberia Tbilisi) quarterf.: Mziuri Gali (3-2, 1-2 vs Torpedo Kutaisi) quarterf.: Amirani Ochamchira (1-1, 1-3 aet vs Tskhumi Sukhumi) 1993: 1/8 final: Tskhumi Sukhumi (1-1, 1-5 vs Torpedo Kutaisi) 2006: 1/8 final: FC Gagra (1-4, 0-0 vs Ameri Tbilisi) 1/8 final: Dinamo Sukhumi (0-2, 1-2 vs FC Borjomi) 2010: 1/8 final: FC Gagra (1-2 vs Kolkheti Poti) 2011: winners: FC Gagra (1-0 aet vs Torpedo Kutaisi) 2012: semifinal: FC Gagra (1-2, 1-0 vs Dila Gori) 2013: 1/8 final: FC Gagra (1-1, 1-3 vs Torpedo Kutaisi) 2019: 1/8 final: FC Gagra (2-3 vs Torpedo Kutaisi) 2020: winners: FC Gagra (0-0 aet, 5-3 pen vs Samgurali Tskhaltubo) 2021: quarterf.: FC Gagra (1-2 vs Shukura Kobuleti)
Like Abchazia (and Abcharia), South Ossetia has been seeking independence from Georgia since the break-up of the Soviet Union. In spite of this, clubs from the capital Tskhinvali have entered the Georgian league structure, occasionally playing in the top flight, and there is no information on an independent league structure in the region.
Championship Spartaki Tskhinvali (8 top level seasons) 2005/06 14.FC Tskhinvali 30 8 3 19 30-61 27 2007/08 11.Spartaki Tskhinvali 26 5 8 13 15-28 23 2008/09 10.Spartaki (Tskhinvali) 30 6 7 17 28-46 25 2009/10 5.Spartaki (Tskhinvali) 36 11 10 15 44-58 43 2010/11 9.Spartaki (Tskhinvali) 36 7 11 18 32-42 32 2011/12 10.Spartaki (Tskhinvali) 22 6 6 10 22-32 24 [relegated after playoff] 2013/14 10.Spartaki (Tskhinvali) 32 12 4 16 33-38 40 2014/15 4.Spartaki (Tskhinvali) 30 16 5 9 47-37 53 2015/16 7.FC Tskhinvali 30 12 10 8 51-36 46 NB: FC Tskhinvali played in Gori in 2005/06, and later moved to Tbilisi under their new name Spartaki, dropped again in 2015. Liahvi Tskhinvali (1 top level season) 1990 18.Liahvi Tskhinvali 34 0 0 34 11-135 0 Cup 2008: quarterf.: Spartaki Tskhinvali (0-0, 1-2 vs Dinamo Tbilisi) 2009: 1/8 final: Spartaki Tskhinvali (1-0, 1-3 vs Merani Martvili) 2010: semifinal: Spartaki Tskhinvali (0-0, 0-3 vs Dinamo Tbilisi) 2011: quarterf.: Spartaki Tskhinvali (0-1, 1-2 vs WIT Georgia Tbilisi) 2012: 1/8 final: Spartaki Tskhinvali (0-2, 1-1 vs Merani Martvili) 2013: quarterf.: Spartaki Tskhinvali (0-1, 1-1 vs Metalurgi Rustavi) 2014: 1/8 final: Spartaki Tskhinvali (4-4 aet, 5-6 pen vs Torpedo Kutaisi) 2015: semifinal: Spartaki Tskhinvali (0-2, 1-0 vs Dinamo Tbilisi) 2016: 1/8 final: FC Tskhinvali (1-3, 1-1 vs Shukura Kobuleti)
Czech Republic (1918-1938) | Czech Republic (1944-1993) | Slovakia (1918-1938) | Ukraine (1918-1938) | Slovakia (1944-1993)
Note that below we use the adjective 'Czech' to mean 'belonging to the area of the current Czech Republic'. In the Czech language itself, the corresponding adjective český originally referred to Bohemia (Čechý) only. Also note that the current Czech Republic does not only consist of the historical regions Bohemia and Moravia but also comprises a part of Silesia, with as most important towns Ostrava, Opava, Karviná and Havířov.
The former Czechoslovakia was both unified and split twice
during its history, quite apart from
various border changes concerning nearly all of its neighbours
(Germany, Hungary, Soviet Union/Ukraine and Poland).
However, all the more important clubs came from the regions
that are now the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and for each
of them we will discuss those teams to win honours during the
times the two countries were bound together. Between the
wars, Czechoslovakia also comprised a part of the current
Ukraine
(Transcarpathia, with as main cities (names in Slovak)
Užhorod,
Berehovo
and Mukačevo).
War-time feats of clubs from both countries not part of the
Bohemian-Moravian or Slovak league structures can be
found above, under Germany (for Bohemian
and Moravian clubs) and Hungary (for
Slovak clubs).
Given the multitude of clubs involved, we proceed
similarly as for the Russian and Ukrainian clubs with the
Soviet Union – i.e. listing only the honours won by the
various clubs. We distinguish two periods of
common championships (from 1918 to 1938 and from 1944 to 1993)
and three of separate championships (until 1918, from 1938 to 1944
and since 1993). However, given the almost complete lack of
Slovak clubs at the Czechoslovak top level in the interbellum,
all relevant top flight finishes of Slovak clubs in that period
are listed.
Note that an official league championship was not created until
1925, together with the introduction of professional football
in the country. Prior to
that, regional championships were organised, followed by
national championship playoffs on an irregular basis – in fact,
on only four occasions: 1912, 1913, 1919 and 1922. All four
were won by the champions of the Central Bohemian region,
the středočeska župa, dominated by clubs
from Prague. It is therefore customary to consider the winners
of the Central Bohemian league as Czech champions (until 1917)
or Czechoslovak champions (between 1918 and 1925; Slovakia was
part of the Hungarian section of the Habsburg Empire until
October 1918), also in the seasons without a national playoff,
but officially this is not correct.
Moreover, the official league may have been professional, but it
was not really national for almost a decade: from 1925 to 1933,
only clubs from Bohemia (Prague/Praha/Prag, Teplice/Teplitz,
Kladno) entered, none from Moravia or Slovakia, who played in
regional amateur leagues (which organised a national amateur
championship playoff during this period). However, in 1932/33,
a Moravian club, SK Židenice Brno (national amateur
champions in 1926), entered the second level of the
Asociační Liga, won it and earned promotion to
the first level 1933/34. They were then also one of two
Moravian participants (along with SK Prostějov, national
amateur champions in 1927/28) to enter the first truly
national league, the Státní Liga, in its inaugural
1934/35 season. The first Slovak club,
1.ČsŠK Bratislava (national amateur champions in 1927
and 1929/30) entered in the following season.
Nevertheless, all champions since 1925 are considered official,
as there is little doubt that the top (professional) Prague
clubs (in particular Slavia and Sparta) were (far) superior to
anything the rest of the country, which was divided among a
host of regional and ethnic (German and Hungarian) leagues
and federations, could offer. Similar observations can after
all be made for other countries such as Austria (official
league champions since 1911/12; first entry of clubs from
outside Vienna (Wien) 1938/39), Hungary
(official league champions since 1901; first entry of clubs
from outside Budapest 1926/27) or Uruguay (first entry of
clubs from outside Montevideo 1999!).
Three Czech clubs won official or unofficial league championships
between 1918 and 1938. Among those three, two won unofficial
Bohemian titles prior to 1917: Slavia (8 championships,
including a 1913 title which they confirmed in a national
playoff) and Sparta (1 championship, in 1912, also confirmed in
a national playoff). Both clubs also won championships
in the league of the Protektorat Böhmen und Mähren,
a peculiar war-time construction due to Nazi Germany: Slavia won
4 titles, Sparta 2.
Prior to World War II there was no cup competition for
all of Czechoslovakia. There was a variety of cup
tournaments for Central Bohemia, or just for Prague
clubs (which regarding the winners amounted to the
same thing, though provincial clubs occasionally reached
the final of the Central Bohemian
Středočeský Pohár).
The first cup for all Czech clubs (more precisely, those
from the Protektorat Böhmen und Mähren) was held in
1939/40 and promptly had two Moravian finalists (ASO Olomouc
beating SK Prostějov 5-2 on aggregate); however, this
was an anomaly as the remaining 4 cup tournaments organised
in this war-time 'state' were all claimed by Slavia (the first
two) and Sparta (the last two), and no Moravian teams reached
the final.
Championship Sparta Praha (10 championships, of which 5 official) 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1926, 1927, 1932, 1936, 1938 NB: only the last 5 are official (professional) titles, but Sparta confirmed their 1919 and 1922 Central Bohemian amateur titles by winning a national playoff Slavia Praha (10 championships, of which 8 official) 1918, 1924, 1925, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1937 NB: the first 2 titles were not official Viktoria Žižkov (1 championship) 1928 Cup There was no national cup tournament.
Eight Czech clubs won Czechoslovak league championships between 1944 and 1993. Among these clubs, both Slavia (4) and Sparta (2) won titles in the Protektorat Böhmen und Mähren between 1938 and 1944. Since 1993, three of these clubs have won titles in the Czech Republic: Sparta 14, Slavia 7 and Baník Ostrava 1. In the same period Sparta won 8 Czech cups, Slavia 7 and Baník Ostrava 1. The other Czech clubs to have won Czechoslovak league titles have not managed to do so in the Czech Republic.
In addition, four Czech clubs won Czechoslovak cups in the post-war period: Sparta Praha, Dukla Praha, Baník Ostrava and TJ Gottwaldov. Dukla reached one cup final in the independent Czech Republic (1997) and later were moved to Příbram and renamed Marila; they have not won any Czech honours. Spartak Hradec Králové won the Czech cup in 1994/95 (as SK Hradec Králové; they are currently called FC Hradec Králové), as did FC Zlín in 2016/17 (the current name of TJ Gottwaldov after their home town reverted to its former name) while Bohemians, Vítkovice and Zbrojovka Brno have not won any Czech honours or reached a cup final.
Since 2017, the Czech and Slovak cup winners play for the Czecho-Slovak super cup as a season opener, replacing the super cup of both countries.
We have refrained from listing all aliases under which clubs have been known.
Championship Sparta Praha (14 championships) 1946, 1947, 1952, 1954, 1965, 1967, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993 Dukla Praha (11 championships) 1953, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1977, 1979, 1982 Baník Ostrava (3 championships) 1976, 1980, 1981 Slavia Praha (1 championship) 1947 NB: Slavia also won the unofficial, transitional autumn league 1948. Bohemians Praha (1 championship) 1983 Spartak Hradec Králové (1 championship) 1960 TJ Vítkovice (1 championship) 1986 Zbrojovka Brno (1 championship) 1978 Cup Sparta Praha (8 cups) 1964, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1992 Dukla Praha (8 cups) 1961, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1990 Baník Ostrava (3 cups) 1973, 1978, 1991 TJ Gottwaldov (1 cup) 1970
No Slovak clubs won official or unofficial league championships between 1918 and 1938. However, 1.ČsŠK Bratislava won national amateur titles in 1927 and 1930. Only one Slovak club ever entered the Czechoslovak state league: 1.ČsŠK Bratislava for three seasons. Below we list their league finishes.
Championship 1.ČsŠK Bratislava (3 league seasons) 1935/36 7.1.ČsŠK Bratislava 26 10 5 11 50-61 25 1936/37 4.1.ČsŠK Bratislava 22 11 5 6 44-36 27 1937/38 5.1.ČsŠK Bratislava 22 10 1 11 46-53 21 Cup There was no national cup tournament.
The currently Ukrainian region Zakarpattya (Transcarpathia or Carpathian Ruthenia) belonged to Czechoslovakia during the interbellum, after having belonged to the Hungarian part of the Habsburg Empire prior to the Great War (as Kárpátalja). One club, Rusj Užhorod, played in the national league for one season. During the second World War, they were known as Ungvári Rusznyi and played at the lower levels of the Hungarian league structure (city rivals Ungvári AC won promotion to the Hungarian top level in 1944 but the 1944/45 season in which they competed lasted only 3 rounds before being abandoned). After the war, the club presumably was dissolved. No clubs from the region reached the first Soviet level, but Zakarpattya Uzhhorod have reached the top flight of independent Ukraine.
Apart from the participation of various clubs in the national Czechoslovak league structure, as detailed below, 18 regional championships were played during the interbellum, divided in Slavic and Hungarian sections. The Slavic winners were: ČsŠK Užhorod 8 titles, ŠK Rusj Užhorod 6 titles, ŠK Slavia Mukačevo and ŠK Rusj Chust with both 2 titles. The Hungarian winners were: Ungvári TK 6 titles, Ungvári AC, Ungvári MTE and Munkácsi SE, all with 3 titles, and Spartakus Palánk (from Munkács), Huszti SE and Királyhelmeci SC (from a town still in Slovakia), all with 1 title.
City name correspondences: Slovak Ukrainian Hungarian Russian Berehovo Berehowe Beregszász Beregowo Chust Khust Huszt Khust Kráľovský Chlmec Korolevs.Khlumcy Királyhelmec Mukačevo Mukacheve Munkács Mukachyovo Užhorod Uzhhorod Ungvár Uzhgorod Championship Rusj Užhorod (1 league season) 1936/37 11.Rusj Užhorod 22 3 2 17 24-79 8 Second level clubs from the region included: BFTC (Berehovo), MSE (Munkácsi Sport Egyesület), Slavia and Slovan (all from Mukačevo), UAC (Ungvári AC) and ČsŠK (both Užhorod). Cup There was no national cup tournament.
Three Slovak clubs won Czechoslovak league championships between
1944 and 1993. While the Czech clubs were dominant for most of
this period, Slovak clubs won all league titles from 1968 to 1975,
a stretch culminating in the 1976 win of the European championship
with a team greatly influenced by Slovak players – an honour which
should therefore not be credited to the current Czech Republic.
A comparable case is the 1962 African Nations Cup won by Ethiopia,
whose team at the time was dominated by Eritrean
players.
Among the 3 clubs involved, one (Slovan) won championships in the
war-time Slovak league (the country had been created by the nazis,
not including areas near the border with Hungary which Hitler had
handed to his Hungarian allies, see
Slovak clubs in Hungary).
Under their contemporary name of ŠK Bratislava (the new name
for 1.ČsŠK Bratislava) they won 4 of the 6 league
championships played.
In addition, five Slovak clubs won Czechoslovak cups in the post-war
period: Slovan Bratislava, Spartak Trnava, Lokomotíva Košice,
1.FC Košice and DAC Dunajská Streda.
Since independence, all three former Czechoslovakian champions won
league titles in Slovakia: Slovan a record 14, in addition to 10 Slovak
cups (also a record), Internacional 2 around the turn of the millennium
and 3 Slovak cups, and Spartak Trnava 1, in addition to 4 cups.
1.FC Košice won 2 Slovak league titles and 2 Slovak cups
(as MFK Košice). DAC Dunajská Streda and Lokomotíva Košice
are yet to win any honours in independent Slovakia (DAC Dunajská Streda
reached but lost the 1994/95 cup final).
Since 2017, the Czech and Slovak cup winners play for the Czecho-Slovak super cup as a season opener, replacing the super cup of both countries.
We have refrained from listing all aliases under which clubs have been known.
Championship Slovan Bratislava (8 championships) 1949, 1950, 1951, 1955, 1970, 1974, 1975, 1992 Spartak Trnava (5 championships) 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973 Internacional Bratislava (1 championship) 1959 Cup Slovan Bratislava (5 cups) 1962, 1963, 1968, 1974, 1982 Spartak Trnava (4 cups) 1967, 1971, 1975, 1986 Lokomotíva Košice (2 cups) 1977, 1979 1.FC Košice (1 cup) 1993 DAC Dunajská Streda (1 cup) 1987
During the interbellum, Romania was larger
than today. At the end of the Second Balkan War (1913),
the Romanian kingdom consisting of the historical areas Walachia
(Țara Românească) and Moldavia (Moldova,
west of the Prut river, not to be confused with the currently
existing Republic of Moldova which is east of the same river)
annexed the southern Dobrodgea region (Cadrilater in
Romanian) from Bulgaria. In this region, Romanians were
a minority (about 2 percent in 1910, nearly all living in
Silistra and Turtucaia/Tutrakan, and between 20 and 25 percent
between 1930 and 1940, with both Bulgarians and Turks forming
significantly larger groups).
The Cadrilater was divided in two provinces (județe)
during Romanian occupation, Durostor (with as main towns Silistra and
Turtucaia) and Caliacra (with as main towns Balcic, Bazargic and
Cavarna). Both provinces had one club playing at the
Romanian third level: Gloria Venera CFR Bazargic in both 1936/37
and 1937/38, the only two seasons before the second World War
in which a third level was organised, and Vifor Dristor Silistra
in 1937/38. Another team from Bazargic was Avântul (which must
have existed between 1938 and 1940 at least), and a Bazargic youth
selection won the Cupa Virgil Tilea in 1940, defeating a youth selection
from București 1-0 in the final.
In Bulgarian football, only Bazargic (as Dobrich or Tolbukhin) and
Cavarna (as Kavarna) were ever represented in the Bulgarian top level
league, while Levski-Dorostol Silistra (possibly related to
Vifor Dristor) entered the 1945 knock-out championship.
Note that all clubs mentioned below are from Bessarabia (Basarab);
apart from Traian Tighina and Macabi Bălți, all are from
the Bessarabian (and now Moldovan) capital Chișinău; Bessarabia
only corresponds partially to the current Republic of Moldova and
is but a part of the historical region of Moldavia (which also
includes most of current Romania east of the Carpathian mountains,
with as most important city the former Romanian capital Iași).
Bessarabia did not include much of the area of currently secessionist
Transdnistria (with as main city Tiraspol) but did contain the
region between the current Republic of Moldova and the Black Sea,
which now belongs to the Ukraine.
One club from Chișinău/Kishinev
reached the first Soviet level, and of course
many clubs from the region have played in the top flight of the
current republic of Moldova, but none appear to be related to any
of the interbellum clubs listed here.
Clubs from Chișinău reached the semifinals of the
Romanian championship playoff on three occasions.
After the introduction of a national league in 1932, no clubs from
the region reached the Romanian top level. Sporting
Chișinău played at the second level from 1934/35 to 1938/39,
Mihai Viteazul Chișinău in 1938/39 and Nistru
Chișinău (possibly a merger of the two former clubs, but
apparently not related to the Nistru Kishinev club which played
at the Soviet top level, as that club was founded (as Dynamo) in 1947)
and Macabi Chișinău in the 1939/40 season. Finally,
Traian Tighina played at the second level in 1938/39 and 1939/40 (in
which season they withdrew at the halfway stage),
after winning the eastern section of the third level in 1937/38; in
1937/38 their initial third level group (Liga de Est, Seria I)
comprised eight clubs, three from current Romania (Ateneul
Tătărași Iași, Unirea CFR Pașcani and
Victoria CFR Iași), one from current
After the Great War 1914-1918, Romania managed to convince the Allies
to enlarge it with several regions where Romanians formed
the majority of the population, in particular Transylvania
(Ardeal in Romanian, Erdély in Hungarian,
Siebenbürgen in German) from the Hungarian part of the
Habsburg Empire, the Bukovina (Bucovina in Romanian,
Buchenland or Bukowina in German, Bukovyna
in Ukrainian) from its Austrian part, and Bessarabia (Basarab)
from the Russian Empire.
At the start of the second World War, in September 1940, Romania
ceded the southern Dobrodgea to Bulgaria, a move followed by a
'population exchange', nearly all Romanians leaving the southern
Dobrodgea and nearly all Bulgarians leaving the northern part.
After the second World War, Transylvania (which had partially
gone to Hungary during the war) and the
southern part of the Bukovina remained Romanian, but the northern
Bukovina and Bessarabia were claimed by Stalin for the Soviet Union.
Nowadays, the northern Bukovina
lies in the Ukraine while Bessarabia roughly corresponds to the current
Republic of Moldova (roughly – the Soviets are responsible for
some illogical border changes between (the Republic of) Moldova
and the Ukraine).
None of these areas played a major role in Romanian football between
the wars, but as that was organised on a regional level until 1932,
various clubs from the northern Bukovina and Bessarabia reached the
semifinals of the national championship playoff, and one club from
Cernăuți, the main city in the Bukovina, played a season
in the top national division.
Bulgarian clubs in the Romanian football structure
City name correspondences:
Romanian Bulgarian
Balcic Balčik
Bazargic Dobrich (Tolbukhin during communist times)
Cavarna Kavarna
Silistra Silistra
Turtucaia Tutrakan
Championship
No club from the region played above the third level.
Cup
No club from the region reached the 1/16 finals of the Romanian cup.
Moldovan clubs in the Romanian football structure
City name correspondences: Romanian Russian Bălți Byel'tsy Chișinău Kishinev Tighina Bendery Championship (knock-out style) 1925: prel. rd.: Fulgerul CFR Chișinău (2-0 vs Oltul Slatina, disqualified) NB: Fulgerul had already played (and won) their quarterfinal (2-1 vs Jahn Cernăuți) before being disqualified for using an ineligible player 1926: semifinal: Fulgerul CFR Chișinău (2-2, 1-4 vs Juventus București) 1927: quarterf.: Mihai Viteazul Chișinău (4-4, 1-3 vs Unirea Tricolor București) 1928: semifinal: Mihai Viteazul Chișinău (4-6 vs Coltea Brașov) 1929: prel. rd.: Mihai Viteazul Chișinău (0-1 vs Dragoș Vodă Cernăuți) 1930: semifinal: Mihai Viteazul Chișinău (2-4 vs Juventus București) 1931: prel. rd.: Mihai Viteazul Chișinău (1-3 vs Concordia Iași) Cup 1937: 1/8 final: Sporting Chișinău (1-3 vs Venus București) 1939: 1/16 fin.: Mihai Viteazul Chișinău (1-9 vs Unirea Tricolor București) 1940: 1/16 fin.: Macabi Chișinău (1-4 vs AS Constanța)
Note that all clubs discussed below are from the northern Bukovina (in fact its capital Cernăuți); the southern Bukovina (with as major city Suceava) is part of current Romania. The current Ukraine also comprises another region which was part of Romania in the interbellum, namely the southern section of Bessarabia (Basarab) bordering the Black Sea. The main cities of that region were (names in Romanian) Cetatea Albă, Ismail and Chilia, but no clubs from there made any impact in Romanian football.
No clubs from the region reached the first Soviet level, but Bukovyna Chernivtsy have played a few seasons in the top flight of independent Ukraine. However, they do not bear any relationship with the clubs listed below, having been founded in 1958 as Avangard Chernovtsy; under that name they intermittently played at the second Soviet level, first in 1960, when that second level consisted of nine regional leagues, and last in 1991, finishing fifth as Bukovina Chernovtsy in the then unionwide second level league.
The Romanian championship was organised in regional leagues whose
best teams played off for the national championship until 1932;
a first nationwide league (divided into two groups) was played in
1932/33. Clubs from Cernăuți reached the semifinals of
the national playoffs on five occasions, and one club,
Dragoș Vodă Cernăuți, played one season
in the national league (1937/38; they had finished fourth in one of
the two second division groups in the previous season and profited
from the extension of the top flight from 12 to 20 clubs (organised
in two groups of 10); they finished last in their group and were
relegated). In addition, two clubs from the city played one or more
seasons at the second level: Jahn Cernăuți (1934/35-1938/39)
and Muncitorul Cernăuți (1939/40).
Dragoș Vodă Cernăuți are also the only club
from outside the current Romanian borders to have reached the
quarterfinals of the Romanian cup.
City name correspondence: Romanian Ukrainian Russian German Cernăuți Chernivtsy Chernovtsy Czernowitz Cetatea Albă Bilhorod Belgorod Chilia Kiliya Kiliya Ismail Izmayil Izmail NB: Cetatea Albă/Belgorod/Bilhorod was known by its Turkish name Akkerman (also used in German) prior to the first World War; its full Ukrainian name is Bilhorod-Dnistrovs'kyi (correspondingly, in Russian the full name is Belgorod-Dnestrovskiy). Championship (knock-out style) 1922: quarterf.: Polonia Cernăuți (0-1 vs Tricolor București) 1923: quarterf.: Polonia Cernăuți (0-1 vs MTK Târgu Mureș) 1924: semifinal: Jahn Cernăuți (0-1 vs CA Oradea) 1925: semifinal: Jahn Cernăuți (1-3 vs UCAS Petroșani) 1926: quarterf.: Hackoah Cernăuți (0-1 vs Fulgerul CFR Chișinău) 1927: prel. rd.: Macabi Cernăuți (0-6 vs Mihai Viteazul Chișinău) 1928: quarterf.: Polonia Cernăuți (0-5 vs Mihai Viteazul Chișinău) 1929: semifinal: Dragoș Vodă Cernăuți (3-4 vs Venus București) 1930: quarterf.: Dragoș Vodă Cernăuți (2-4 vs Mihai Viteazul Chișinău) 1931: semifinal: Macabi Cernăuți (2-4 vs SG Sibiu) 1932: semifinal: Macabi Hackoah Cernăuți (0-5 vs Venus București) Championship (league) 1937/38 10.Dragoș Vodă Cernăuți 18 4 0 14 26-57 8 [group B] Cup 1935: 1/16 fin.: Jahn Cernăuți (0-4 vs CA Oradea) 1/16 fin.: Macabi Cernăuți (0-4 vs SG Sibiu) 1936: 1/8 final: Dragoș Vodă Cernăuți (1-4 vs Universitatea Cluj) 1937: 1/8 final: Jahn Cernăuți (3-7 vs Rapid București) 1938: 1/16 fin.: Dragoș Vodă Cernăuți (0-4 vs Phoenix Baia Mare) 1940: quarterf.: Dragoș Vodă Cernăuți (2-6 vs Sportul studențesc București) 1/16 fin.: Caurom Cernăuți (1-9 vs Victoria Cluj) 1943: 1/8 final: Dragoș Vodă Cernăuți (0-4 vs FC Ploiești) 1944: 1/16 fin.: Neptun and Dragoș Vodă Cernăuți were to play each other in the 1/16 finals, but the competition was abandoned
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Croatia | Kosovo (until 1999) | Kosovo (since 1999) | Macedonia | Montenegro (until 1992) | Montenegro (1992-2006) | Serbia (until 1992) | Serbia (since 1992) | Slovenia
Yugoslavia was created as the 'Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes' in 1918, and obtained its 'definite' interbellum borders in 1920. These essentially corresponded to those of Yugoslavia after the second World War (during which the Croats had obtained nominal independence after the axis powers had dissolved the state). The federation underwent a slow and bloody disintegration in the 1990s, with Slovenia and Croatia declaring independence in June 1991, followed by Macedonia a few months later; Bosnia-Herzegovina officially declared independence in February 1992 but had to suffer a war in the mid-90s before the situation 'stabilised'. Finally, the last two republics forming the original federation, Serbia and Montenegro, split in 2006 when Montenegro declared independence. The Kosovo, where Albanians form the overwhelming majority of the population, was one of two autonomous regions within Serbia during communist times (the other was the Vojvodina, split between Hungary and Croatia during the second world war and providing one club to the Hungarian top flight for a few seasons and one to the Croatian top flight for one season), and declared independence in 1991. While the corresponding declarations of the former constituent republics tended to be recognised by the western world fast, that of the Kosovo (Kosova in Albanian) was not (a later declaration in February 2008 was meanwhile recognised by a number of countries but not universally accepted). The NATO intervened in 1999 by starting a war on Yugoslavia (as the state consisting of Serbia and Montenegro was still called) and the Kosovo ended up under UN administration controlled by NATO troops.
As Yugoslav football was dominated by clubs from Serbia and Croatia,
we treat those two regions similarly as Russia and the Ukraine in
the Soviet era, while the other regions obtain the same treatment as
the other 13 former Soviet republics. As Kosovo clubs now play their
own competition (even if not recognised by any official football body),
they (like Northern Cyprus) are treated as a separate entity here.
We will use Yugoslavia only for the entity before the 1991/92 split-ups,
including the 1991/92 season in which the 'Yugoslav' league still
comprised clubs from Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina (but not
from Croatia or Slovenia). From 1992/93 up to and including
2005/06 only teams from Serbia and Montenegro entered, apart from
the token participation by Borac Banja Luka (then playing home
matches in Belgrade and Valjevo) in 1992/93. This
includes the two entries (1992/93 and 1998/99) by FK Priština
(who played at the second and third Serbian levels between 1993 and 1998;
after 1999 no Kosovar clubs have played above
the fourth level of the Serbian league structure);
we will therefore use Serbia-Montenegro for the entire period from 1992
to 2006, even if this name only became official in February 2003 (and
as such only lasted for three years). The
case of a club from Trieste/Trst playing in the Yugoslav league shortly
after World War II is discussed in the section on
moving borders.
A muslim-only league started in 1994/95, and Čelik Zenica
won the first 3 editions; from 1997/98 to 1999/00, the best clubs
from the Muslim league played off with the best clubs from the
Croat league, which saw both Željezničar (1997/98) and
Sarajevo (1998/99) win their first Bosnian titles. In 2000/01
the two leagues merged completely, and Željezničar won
the first two editions of the combined league before Serbian clubs
also joined from the 2002/03 season on. Since then, Sarajevo won
the league on four occasions, Željezničar three times
and Zrinjski Mostar, who played in the
Croatian war-time league eight times – if they are
really the same club. Borac Banja Luka won the 2000/01 league
of the 'Republik Srpska' (which merged in 2002 into the all-Bosnian
league) and the 2010/11, 2020/21 and 2023/24 titles in the official championship.
Both Željezničar and eternal rivals Sarajevo won 6 editions of
the cup (i.e. the FSBiH cup competition, in existence since 1997/98),
Zrinjski Mostar 3,
and Borac Banja Luka and Velež Mostar both one; Sloboda Tuzla
were losing finalists in 2008, 2009 and 2016 and Čelik Zenica in 2011
and 2014 (after having won the first two 'Muslim' cups in 1995 and 1996,
the latter in a final against Sloboda Tuzla; likewise, Borac Banja Luka
won the Srpska cups of 1995 and 1996).
It is unclear whether pre-war Slavija Sarajevo are related to the current Slavija Istočno Sarajevo; SAŠK Sarajevo (who played, with other Bosnian clubs, in the war-time Croatian league) and Krajišnik Banja Luka have been dissolved while Iskra Bugojno so far failed to win any honours since independence.
Championship Championships in knock-out style 1923: finalists: SAŠK Sarajevo (1-1, 2-4 vs Građanski Zagreb) 1924: semifinal: SAŠK Sarajevo (1-6 vs Hajduk Split) 1925: quarterf.: SAŠK Sarajevo (0-6 vs Građanski Zagreb) 1926: quarterf.: SAŠK Sarajevo (1-2 vs Hajduk Split) 1936: finalists: Slavija Sarajevo (1-1, 0-1 vs BSK Beograd) quarterf.: Krajišnik Banja Luka (1-3, 1-4 vs Ljubljana) Championships in league style Sarajevo Top-5 finishes (in 43 top level seasons) 1950 5.Sarajevo 18 7 3 8 30-27 17 1963/64 4.Sarajevo 26 11 7 8 47-37 29 1964/65 2.Sarajevo 28 15 5 8 52-38 35 1966/67 1.Sarajevo 30 18 6 6 51-29 42 1978/79 4.Sarajevo 34 17 5 12 56-53 39 1979/80 2.Sarajevo 34 17 7 10 55-41 41 1981/82 4.Sarajevo 34 16 7 11 57-54 39 1984/85 1.Sarajevo 34 19 10 5 51-30 48 NB: both Sarajevo's league championships came immediately after a season in which they had finished 9th; they also failed to confirm their status in the seasons after their title wins, finishing 6th in 1967/68 and 15th(!) in 1985/86. Velež Mostar Top-5 finishes (in 38 top level seasons) 1962/63 4.Velež Mostar 26 10 8 8 33-31 28 1965/66 3.Velež Mostar 30 14 7 9 48-37 35 1969/70 3.Velež Mostar 34 17 9 8 64-44 43 1972/73 2.Velež Mostar 34 17 12 5 48-27 46 1973/74 2.Velež Mostar 34 19 7 8 54-34 45 1974/75 4.Velež Mostar 34 15 9 10 62-35 39 1978/79 5.Velež Mostar 34 15 8 11 50-41 38 1985/86 3.Velež Mostar 34 13 11 10 64-50 37 1986/87 2.Velež Mostar 34 19 4 11 65-46 42 1987/88 3.Velež Mostar 34 15 12 7 61-34 42 Željezničar Sarajevo Top-5 finishes (in 34 top level seasons) 1962/63 3.Željezničar Sarajevo 26 11 7 8 49-31 29 1964/65 5.Željezničar Sarajevo 28 13 7 8 39-30 33 1967/68 5.Željezničar Sarajevo 30 12 9 9 44-34 33 1968/69 5.Željezničar Sarajevo 34 15 8 11 51-38 38 1969/70 4.Željezničar Sarajevo 34 17 9 8 52-33 43 1970/71 2.Željezničar Sarajevo 34 18 9 7 59-34 45 1971/72 1.Željezničar Sarajevo 34 21 9 4 55-20 51 1972/73 5.Željezničar Sarajevo 34 18 6 10 59-41 42 1981/82 5.Željezničar Sarajevo 34 16 6 12 52-37 38 1983/84 3.Željezničar Sarajevo 34 15 12 7 52-35 42 Sloboda Tuzla Top-8 finishes (in 25 top level seasons) 1971/72 7.Sloboda Tuzla 34 12 11 11 34-33 35 1972/73 6.Sloboda Tuzla 34 8 18 8 34-32 34 1974/75 7.Sloboda Tuzla 34 12 12 10 41-45 36 1975/76 6.Sloboda Tuzla 34 11 11 12 46-42 33 1976/77 3.Sloboda Tuzla 34 14 11 9 43-32 39 1977/78 6.Sloboda Tuzla 34 15 5 14 47-46 35 1978/79 8.Sloboda Tuzla 34 11 10 13 34-34 32 1979/80 6.Sloboda Tuzla 34 13 9 12 44-37 35 1980/81 4.Sloboda Tuzla 34 14 8 12 46-51 36 1982/83 6.Sloboda Tuzla 34 12 11 11 44-33 35 1987/88 5.Sloboda Tuzla 34 14 10 10 53-41 38 Čelik Zenica Top-10 finishes (in 17 top level seasons) 1968/69 9.Čelik Zenica 34 11 11 12 42-41 33 1970/71 9.Čelik Zenica 34 14 8 12 35-32 36 1973/74 6.Čelik Zenica 34 12 11 11 30-28 35 Borac Banja Luka Top-10 finishes (in 15 top level seasons) 1975/76 10.Borac Banja Luka 34 9 14 11 34-40 32 1976/77 6.Borac Banja Luka 34 14 8 12 53-43 36 1990/91 4.Borac Banja Luka 36 14 11 11 42-38 35 [-4] NB: drawn matches were decided by penalties, with only the shoot-out winners obtaining a point 1991/92 8.Borac Banja Luka 33 11 10 12 24-32 28 [-4] NB: drawn matches were decided by penalties, with only the shoot-out winners obtaining a point Slavija Sarajevo (6 seasons) 1930 5.Slavija Sarajevo 10 2 2 6 15-23 6 1932/33 9.Slavija Sarajevo 20 7 2 11 37-48 16 1934/35 8.Slavija Sarajevo 18 7 1 10 26-34 15 1936/37 5.Slavija Sarajevo 18 7 3 8 36-40 17 1937/38 5.Slavija Sarajevo 18 7 4 7 25-28 18 1938/39 7.Slavija Sarajevo 22 7 5 10 34-43 19 SAŠK Sarajevo (3 seasons) 1927 5.SAŠK Sarajevo 5 2 0 3 12-13 4 1928 4.SAŠK Sarajevo 5 2 1 2 10- 7 5 1930/31 5.SAŠK Sarajevo 10 4 0 6 18-28 8 Iskra Bugojno (1 season) 1984/85 17.Iskra Bugojno 34 8 11 15 32-50 27 Cup 1958: finalists: Velež Mostar (0-4 vs Crvena zvezda Beograd) 1967: finalists: Sarajevo (1-2 vs Hajduk Split) 1971: finalists: Sloboda Tuzla (0-4, 0-2 vs Crvena zvezda Beograd) 1974: finalists: Borac Banja Luka (0-1 vs Hajduk Split) 1981: winners: Velež Mostar (3-2 vs Željezničar Sarajevo) 1981: finalists: Željezničar Sarajevo (2-3 vs Velež Mostar) 1983: finalists: Sarajevo (2-3 vs Dinamo Zagreb) 1986: winners: Velež Mostar (3-1 vs Dinamo Zagreb) 1988: winners: Borac Banja Luka (1-0 vs Crvena zvezda Beograd) 1989: finalists: Velež Mostar (1-6 vs Partizan Beograd)
Since independence, Dinamo Zagreb (temporarily called Croatia) won 25 league championships and 17 cups, both records, and Hajduk Split 6 championships and 8 cups. Rijeka added 6 Croatian cups to their 2 Yugoslav ones and once won the Croatian league, in 2016/17.
Between 1933/34 and 1939/40, ČŠK from Čakovec entered the second level Slovenian regional league. During the second world war, the same club entered the Hungarian league structure.
Championship Hajduk Split (9 championships) 1927, 1929, 1950, 1952, 1955, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1979 Građanski Zagreb (5 championships) 1923, 1926, 1928, 1937, 1940 Dinamo Zagreb (4 championships) 1948, 1954, 1958, 1982 Concordia Zagreb (2 championships) 1930, 1932 HAŠK Zagreb (1 championship) 1938 Cup Hajduk Split (9 cups) 1967, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1984, 1987, 1991 Dinamo Zagreb (7 cups) 1951, 1970, 1963, 1965, 1969, 1980, 1983 Rijeka (2 cups) 1978, 1979
Titova Mitrovica was later renamed Kosovska Mitrovica; the
Albanian version of the town's name is Mitrovicë, and
likewise Priština corresponds to Prishtinë. A club
called Prishtina won 8 Kosovar championships since 1999 (and
3 more in 1992, 1996 and 1997), as well as 6 cup tournaments, but it
is not directly related to the Priština listed below,
which played in the league structure of Yugoslavia (c.q. Serbia
and Montenegro) until 1998/99.
For a number of seasons, the top level of the Kosovar league
contained two similarly named teams
from Mitrovicë, Trepça '89 (2016/17 champions and 2011/12 cup
winners) and Trepça (2009/10 champions), but apparently neither is
directly related to the 1978 Yugoslav cup finalists, as a club
called Trepča Kosovska Mitrovica still played at the fourth
level (Šumadijska Zona) of the Serbian league structure
in 2006/07 (they were relegated at the end of that season due to
merging of the Šumadijska and Moravička zones into the
Zonska liga Morava for 2007/08;
city rivals Partizan Kosovska Mitrovica earned promotion to that
new structure, finishing 9th).
City name correspondences: Serbian Albanian Mitrovica Mitrovicë Priština Prishtinë Championship Priština (7 top level seasons) 1983/84 8.Priština 34 15 3 16 36-55 33 1984/85 10.Priština 34 13 6 15 44-49 32 1985/86 11.Priština 34 13 6 15 37-47 32 1986/87 14.Priština 34 11 7 16 35-48 29 1987/88 18.Priština 34 10 7 17 43-59 27 1992/93 18.Priština 36 7 9 20 32-64 23 1998/99 17.Priština 24 5 3 16 25-49 18 NB: the 1998/99 season was abandoned after the NATO attack on Serbia, and the table after 24 (from 34) rounds was declared final Trepča Titova Mitrovica 1977/78 18.Trepča Titova Mitrovica 34 7 10 17 28-52 24 Cup 1978: finalists: Trepča Titova Mitrovica (0-1 aet vs Rijeka)
Since the NATO attack on Serbia in 1999, no Kosovar clubs have played above the 4th level of the league structure of Serbia and Montenegro anymore, but clubs from the northern part of Kosovo have entered the Serbian league structure both before and after the 2008 Kosovar declaration of independence. Until the 2008/09 season, clubs from the region had a fixed place in the round of 32 of the Serbian cup tournament (since 2009/10 they have to enter a preliminary round prior to this stage, but both Partizan Kosovska Mitrovica and Mokra Gora Zubin Potok managed to qualify once since), and there is a fifth level regional league (Liga Severnog Kosova) which serves as a feeder for the fourth level Zonska Liga Morava.
City name correspondences: Serbian Albanian Leposavić Leposaviq (or Albaniku) Mitrovica Mitrovicë Priština Prishtinë Zubin Potok Zubin Potoku Cup Since 1999/00 2000: 1/16 fin.: Priština (withdrew vs Mogren Budva) 2002: 1/16 fin.: Ibar Leposavić (0-3 vs Vojvodina Novi Sad) 2003: 1/16 fin.: Rudar Kos. Mitrovica (0-6 vs Zemun) 2004: 1/16 fin.: Trepča Kos. Mitrovica (0-0 aet, 0-3 pen vs Zemun) 2005: 1/16 fin.: Mokra Gora Zubin Potok (1-5 vs Obilić) 2006: 1/16 fin.: Mokra Gora Zubin Potok (0-3 vs OFK Beograd) 2007: 1/8 final: Mokra Gora Zubin Potok (1-2 vs Crvena zvezda Beograd) 2008: 1/16 fin.: Mokra Gora Zubin Potok (1-1 aet, 3-4 pen vs Zemun) 2009: 1/16 fin.: Partizan Kos. Mitrovica (1-3 vs Borac Čačak) 2010: 1/8 final: Partizan Kos. Mitrovica (1-3 vs OFK Beograd) 2011: 1/16 fin.: Mokra Gora Zubin Potok (0-0, 8-9 pen vs Smederevo) 2015: 1/16 fin.: Trepča Kos. Mitrovica (0-1 vs Vojvodina Novi Sad) 2016: 1/16 fin.: Mokra Gora Zubin Potok (1-2 vs Čukarički) 2018: 1/16 fin.: Polet 1980 Zubin Potok (1-8 vs Spartak Subotica)
In 1947, Pobeda Skopje (called Građanski until 1939) merged with Makedonija Skopje (see Macedonian clubs in Bulgaria) to form Vardar Skopje, the strongest Macedonian club in the communist era, who could call themselves Yugoslav champions for a few months following the 1986/87 season. Since independence, Vardar have won 10 league championships and 5 cups in Macedonia, both records; Rabotnički have won 4 championships and 4 cups. Pelister Bitola have won 2 Macedonian cups and lost 3 more cup finals. Teteks Tetovo won 2 cups while town rivals Škendija (or Shkëndia in the Albanian version of the name) won 4 league championships and 2 cups.
Championship Championships in knock-out style 1936: 1/8 final: Građanski Skopje (2-1, 4-0 vs Građanski Niš) quarterf.: Građanski Skopje (2-1, 1-10 vs Slavija Sarajevo) Championships in league style Vardar Skopje Top-8 finishes (in 34 top level seasons) 1947/48 8.Vardar Skopje 18 5 4 9 22-39 14 1952 7.Vardar Skopje 16 7 1 8 21-33 15 (group and playoff) 1957/58 7.Vardar Skopje 26 10 6 10 30-44 26 1966/67 8.Vardar Skopje 30 13 5 12 41-44 31 1967/68 6.Vardar Skopje 30 10 10 10 31-37 30 1979/80 7.Vardar Skopje 34 10 15 9 43-41 35 1982/83 8.Vardar Skopje 34 13 9 12 43-47 35 1984/85 5.Vardar Skopje 34 15 5 13 67-58 37 1985/86 8.Vardar Skopje 34 14 6 14 52-59 34 1986/87 5.Vardar Skopje 34 15 8 11 40-39 38 NB: due to point deductions for 10 from 18 clubs, Vardar had finished first and entered the 1987/88 Champions Cup, but later the deductions were revoked and Vardar finished 5th. 1987/88 6.Vardar Skopje 34 15 7 12 37-40 37 1991/92 6.Vardar Skopje 33 15 6 12 50-34 34 [-2] NB: drawn matches were decided by penalties, with only the shoot-out winners obtaining a point Rabotnički Skopje (2 top level seasons) 1952 11.Rabotnički Skopje 16 4 2 10 19-44 10 (group and playoff) 1954 14.Rabotnički Skopje 26 4 3 19 20-88 11 Građanski/Pobeda Skopje (2 top level seasons) 1938/39 10.Građanski Skopje 22 7 2 13 31-57 16 1946/47 8.Pobeda Skopje 26 8 6 12 41-49 22 Teteks Tetovo (1 top level season) 1981/82 17.Teteks Tetovo 34 8 9 19 31-68 23 Pelister Bitola (1 top level season) 1991/92 15.Pelister Bitola 33 9 3 21 30-57 20 [-1] NB: drawn matches were decided by penalties, with only the shoot-out winners obtaining a point Cup 1961: winners: Vardar Skopje (2-1 vs Varteks Varaždin)
What happened to Crnogorac Cetinje after World War II is not known, presumably they were dissolved. For further comments, see the 1992-2006 section. The only clubs from Montenegro to have played at the Yugoslav top level in this period are Budućnost and Sutjeska; in addition, thirteen clubs played at the Yugoslav second level between 1946 and 1992: Lovćen Cetinje (who twice missed out on promotion to the top level following playoffs, in 1955/56 and 1956/57), Mladost Titograd, Bokelj Kotor, Jedinstvo Bijelo Polje, Berane, Iskra Danilovgrad, Arsenal Tivat, Jedinstvo Herceg Novi, Mogren Budva, Čelik Nikšić, Radnički, Rudar Pljevlja and Zabjelo Titograd.
Championship Championships in knock-out style 1936: 1/8 final: Crnogorac Cetinje (3-3, 1-2 vs Slavija Sarajevo) Championships in league style Budućnost Titograd/Podgorica Top-8 finishes (in 26 top level seasons) 1948/49 6.Budućnost Titograd 18 6 4 8 29-36 16 1978/79 6.Budućnost Titograd 34 15 8 11 33-36 38 1980/81 6.Budućnost Titograd 34 11 12 11 38-34 34 1981/82 8.Budućnost Titograd 34 13 8 13 47-44 34 1986/87 7.Budućnost Titograd 34 14 9 11 40-36 37 Sutjeska Nikšić (9 top level seasons) 1964/65 15.Sutjeska Nikšić 28 6 7 15 31-57 19 1966/67 15.Sutjeska Nikšić 30 8 6 16 30-58 22 1971/72 16.Sutjeska Nikšić 34 9 10 15 25-39 28 1972/73 18.Sutjeska Nikšić 34 9 7 18 32-49 25 1984/85 9.Sutjeska Nikšić 34 11 11 12 41-42 33 1985/86 10.Sutjeska Nikšić 34 14 4 16 55-61 32 1986/87 10.Sutjeska Nikšić 34 12 10 12 50-52 34 1987/88 17.Sutjeska Nikšić 34 10 9 15 42-49 29 1991/92 13.Sutjeska Nikšić 33 11 6 16 40-47 23 [-5] NB: drawn matches were decided by penalties, with only the shoot-out winners obtaining a point Cup 1965: finalists: Budućnost Titograd (1-2 vs Dinamo Zagreb) 1977: finalists: Budućnost Titograd (0-2 aet vs Hajduk Split)
Since Montenegro started its first independent league in 2006/07,
Budućnost Podgorica won 6 league titles and 5 cups,
Sutjeksa Nikšić 5 league titles and 2 cups,
Rudar Pljevlja, the only Montenegrin club
to have reached the quarterfinals of the Serbo-Montenegrin cup
on two separate occasions, 2 league titles and 4 cups,
Mogren Budva 2 league titles and 1 cup,
Mladost Podgorica 1 league title and 2 cups, and Dečić Tuzi
and Zeta Golubovci (the Montenegrin club with the best ever final
placing in the Serbo-Montenegrin league when they finished 3rd
in 2004/05) both won 1 league title;
in addition, Čelik Nikšić, Lovćen Cetinje
and OFK Petrovac all won the cup once.
All seven Montenegrin clubs who ever played in the Serbo-Montenegrin
league played at the first Montenegrin level in the inaugural 2006/07
season; three of these, Budućnost and Sutjeska
have never yet played outside of the Montenegrin top level; Zeta
were first relegated at the end of the 2021/22 season and Rudar at the
end of the 2023/24 season.
Apart from the seven clubs listed below, fifteen other clubs from Montenegro played at the second level in the Serbo-Montenegrin league structure between 1992 and 2006: Čelik Nikšić, Mladost Podgorica, Bokelj Kotor, Lovćen Cetinje, Mornar Bar, Iskra Danilovgrad, OFK Petrovac, Berane, Grbalj Radanovići, Ibar Rožaje, Zabjelo Podgorica, Dečić Tuzi, OFK Igalo, Jezero Plav and Zora Spuž.
Championship NB: the 3 seasons from 1993/94 to 1995/96 had 2 10-team divisions, 1/A and 1/B, with the bottom-4 of the first after the autumn season being exchanged with the top-4 of the second, with bonus points regulating the starting positions for the spring season in which the championship was decided; only participations in the 1/A division are considered top level appearances here. Budućnost Podgorica (9.5 top level seasons) 1992/93 10.Budućnost Podgorica 36 14 8 14 44-48 36 1993 aut 6.Budućnost Podgorica 18 6 6 6 17-26 18 1994 spr 7.Budućnost Podgorica 18 7 2 9 21-33 23 1995 aut10.Budućnost Podgorica 18 2 3 13 14-40 9 1996/97 10.Budućnost Podgorica 33 11 6 16 26-44 39 1997/98 8.Budućnost Podgorica 33 8 9 16 27-53 33 1998/99 14.Budućnost Podgorica 24 7 5 12 28-42 26 1999/00 12.Budućnost Podgorica 40 15 7 18 45-45 52 2000/01 15.Budućnost Podgorica 34 11 5 18 29-48 38 2004/05 6.Budućnost Podgorica 30 12 5 13 37-37 41 2005/06 14.Budućnost Podgorica 30 6 10 14 24-43 25 [-3] Sutjeska Nikšić (7 top level seasons) 1992/93 16.Sutjeska Nikšić 36 11 7 18 46-67 29 1999/00 5.Sutjeska Nikšić 40 17 9 14 50-50 60 2000/01 7.Sutjeska Nikšić 34 14 4 16 52-64 46 2001/02 11.Sutjeska Nikšić 34 14 4 16 32-45 46 2002/03 4.Sutjeska Nikšić 34 19 5 10 43-32 62 2003/04 8.Sutjeska Nikšić 30 12 4 14 38-36 40 2004/05 15.Sutjeska Nikšić 30 5 7 18 21-48 22 Zeta Golubovci (6 top level seasons) 2000/01 13.Zeta Golubovci 34 11 9 14 38-50 42 2001/02 5.Zeta Golubovci 34 15 7 12 48-50 52 2002/03 8.Zeta Golubovci 34 15 6 13 51-43 51 2003/04 11.Zeta Golubovci 30 10 6 14 38-41 36 2004/05 3.Zeta Golubovci 30 18 5 7 52-30 59 2005/06 5.Zeta Golubovci 30 14 5 11 42-36 47 Mogren Budva (4 top level seasons) 1992/93 13.Mogren Budva 36 12 7 17 46-52 31 1998/99 15.Mogren Budva 24 4 8 12 18-42 20 1999/00 19.Mogren Budva 40 13 5 22 40-70 44 2002/03 16.Mogren Budva 34 5 6 23 33-76 21 Rudar Pljevlja (2.5 top level seasons) 1994 aut 9.Rudar Pljevlja 18 2 6 10 12-28 10 2001/02 7.Rudar Pljevlja 34 13 8 13 35-33 47 2002/03 17.Rudar Pljevlja 34 4 6 24 19-62 18 Kom Podgorica (1 top level season) 2003/04 16.Kom Podgorica 30 4 2 24 21-67 14 Jedinstvo Bijelo Polje (1 top level season) 2005/06 16.Jedinstvo Bijelo Polje 30 3 2 25 18-72 11 Cup No Montenegrin team ever reached the semifinals of the cup tournament between 1992/93 and 2005/06. 1993: quarterf.: Budućnost Podgorica (1-1, 2-2 vs Zastava Kragujevac) 1993: quarterf.: Sutjeska Nikšić (2-1, 0-2 vs Crvena zvezda Beograd) 1995: quarterf.: Rudar Pljevlja (3-3, 0-1 vs Bečej) 2000: quarterf.: Čelik Nikšić (0-5 vs Zemun) 2001: quarterf.: Zeta Golubovci (1-3 vs Mladost Apatin) 2003: quarterf.: Rudar Pljevlja (1-2 vs Sartid Smederevo)
For honours of Serbian clubs since the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia, see the next section. Pre-war BSK Beograd, losing semifinalists of the 1939 and 1940 Mitropa-Cups, were dissolved in 1945. A new club, Metalac Beograd, was created, which was renamed BSK Beograd in 1950, OSD Beograd in 1957 and OFK Beograd in 1959. Jugoslavija Beograd were dissolved in 1943.
Note that some clubs from towns currently in Serbia (Subotica in the Vojvodina and Zemun) played in the war-time Kroatian league structure, while a club from Novi Sad, the capital of the Vojvodina, spent some seasons in the Hungarian league.
Championship Crvena zvezda Beograd (19 championships) 1951, 1953, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992 NB: in May 2019 the FA of Serbia also recognised a title won in 1946 in a regional qualification tournament for the national championship (which eventually was cancelled). Partizan Beograd (11 championships) 1947, 1949, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1976, 1978, 1983, 1986, 1987 NB: Partizan won the 1986 and 1987 titles after lengthy legal procedures; originally, Crvena zvezda had been declared 1986 champions and Vardar Skopje 1987 champions, and those two clubs participated in the UEFA Champions Cups of 1986/87 and 1987/88 respectively. BSK Beograd (5 championships) 1931, 1933, 1935, 1936, 1939 Vojvodina Novi Sad (2 championships) 1966, 1989 Jugoslavija Beograd (2 championships) 1924, 1925 Cup Crvena zvezda Beograd (12 cups) 1948, 1949, 1950, 1958, 1959, 1964, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1982, 1985, 1990 Partizan Beograd (6 cups) 1947, 1952, 1954, 1957, 1989, 1992 OFK Beograd (4 cups, includes BSK) 1953, 1955, 1962, 1966 NB: first two cups won as BSK
Given the dominance of Serbian clubs in the Serbo-Montenegrin league, we decline making a distinction between that set-up from 1992 to 2006 and the current separate Serbian league started in 2006/07 (likewise we refrain from distinguishing between (the league structures of) West Germany and the current Germany, following UEFA and FIFA in this). Below we just list all Serbian clubs to win domestic honours from the 1992/93 season onwards.
Championship Partizan Beograd (16 championships) 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017 Crvena zvezda Beograd (15 championships) 1995, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Obilić (1 championship) 1998 Cup Crvena zvezda Beograd (16 cups) 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Partizan Beograd (10 cups) 1994, 1998, 2001, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 Vojvodina Novi Sad (2 cups) 2014, 2020 Sartid Smederevo (1 cup) [now called Smederevo] 2003 Železnik Beograd (1 cup) 2005 Jagodina (1 cup) 2013
Olimpija Ljubljana (called Odred from 1948 to 1961)
won the first four championships of independent
Slovenia and also collected 4 cups; however, at the end of the 2004/05
season they were forcibly relegated to the amateur leagues and the
club as such was dissolved. A new club called NK Bežigrad, named
after the stadium and district in which Olimpija played, was then
established; they reached the third Slovenian league in 2007/08,
under the name of Olimpija Bežigrad, playing
in the western group (3. SNL - zahod),
meeting Izola Argeta among others. At the
end of the season, they were promoted, and after playing only one
season (2008/09) in the second level under the old name of Olimpija
Ljubljana they earned promotion to the top flight. In 2015/16 they
won the Slovenian league for the first time in this new incarnation,
in 2017/18 for the second time and in 2022/23 for the third; they
have also won 4 cups.
Maribor have won 16 Slovenian championships and 9 cups, both records.
Ilirija Ljubljana and Primorje Ljubljana merged in 1936 to
form (NK) Ljubljana (different from SŠK Ljubljana below,
a club founded 1925 and dissolved 1940); the merger club
went through a long sequence of name chances and may or may
not be related to current Interblock Ljubljana.
Nafta Lendava, from a town occupied by Hungary
during World War II, have not won any honours in independent Slovenia
but occasionally played at the top level and lost the 2019/20 cup final.
For the particular case of a club from the city of Trieste/Trst, which partially belonged to Slovenia shortly after World War II, competing in Yugoslavia, see the section on moving borders.
Championship Championships in knock-out style 1923: quarterf.: Ilirija Ljubljana (1-2 vs Građanski Zagreb) 1924: quarterf.: Ilirija Ljubljana (1-3 vs SAŠK Sarajevo) 1925: quarterf.: Ilirija Ljubljana (0-3 vs Bačka Subotica) 1926: quarterf.: Ilirija Ljubljana (1-7 vs Građanski Zagreb) 1936: semifinal: SŠK Ljubljana (1-3, 1-3 vs BSK Beograd) Championships in league style Olimpija Ljubljana (includes Odred Ljubljana) Top-10 finishes (in 22 top level seasons) 1965/66 8.Olimpija Ljubljana 30 11 7 12 43-47 29 1970/71 7.Olimpija Ljubljana 34 13 10 11 47-35 36 1971/72 9.Olimpija Ljubljana 34 13 5 16 46-51 31 1973/74 10.Olimpija Ljubljana 34 11 10 13 36-42 32 1977/78 10.Olimpija Ljubljana 34 13 6 15 44-44 32 1981/82 9.Olimpija Ljubljana 34 9 15 10 39-38 33 1982/83 7.Olimpija Ljubljana 34 11 13 10 33-31 35 1989/90 8.Olimpija Ljubljana 34 14 6 14 49-40 30 [-4] NB: drawn matches were decided by penalties, with only the shoot-out winners obtaining a point Maribor (5 top level seasons) 1967/68 12.Maribor 30 8 11 11 38-53 27 1968/69 16.Maribor 34 7 14 13 33-57 28 1969/70 10.Maribor 34 13 7 14 40-51 33 1970/71 13.Maribor 34 9 11 14 33-48 29 1971/72 18.Maribor 34 3 14 17 24-61 20 SŠK Ljubljana (3 top level seasons) 1936/37 8.SŠK Ljubljana 18 6 3 9 21-40 15 1937/38 9.SŠK Ljubljana 18 3 5 10 24-42 11 1938/39 9.SŠK Ljubljana 22 7 4 11 23-41 18 Primorje Ljubljana (2 top level seasons) 1932/33 8.Primorje Ljubljana 20 7 3 10 39-47 17 1934/35 9.Primorje Ljubljana 18 4 5 9 21-43 13 Ilirija Ljubljana (1 top level season) 1927 6.Ilirija Ljubljana 5 1 1 3 5- 9 3 Nafta Lendava (1 top level season) 1946/47 14.Nafta Lendava 26 3 0 23 13-88 6 Cup 1970: finalists: Olimpija Ljubljana (2-2, 0-1 aet vs Crvena zvezda Beograd)
Bophuthatswana | Ciskei | Transkei | Venda
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, the South African apartheid regime declared four (of ten) bantustans (homelands) independent (a move not recognised by any other country, but which caused the inhabitants to lose their South African citizenship). This nominal independence lasted until the first free elections in South Africa, early 1994. The four areas involved were Transkei (capital Umtata, nowadays called Mthatha, nominally independent since 1976), Bophuthatswana (capital Mmabatho, nowadays merged with neighbouring Mafikeng, misspelled by the British as Mafeking, nominally independent since 1977), Venda (capital Thohoyandou, nominally independent since 1979) and Ciskei (capital Bisho, nominally independent since 1981). Together these four are currently known as "TBVC" (after their initial letters). The six other homelands, Gazankulu, KaNgwane, KwaNdebele, KwaZulu, Lebowa and QwaQwa, were never 'granted' this nominal independence.
Bophuthatswana was the only homeland to set up an independent football structure and to attempt to obtain independent FIFA membership, creating a football assocation (FABO) and league (BOPSOL). The latter, which ran from 1983 to 1996, included GaRankuwa United (played at the second level in South Africa in 2006/07 and 2007/08, when they were relegated back to the third level) and Lehurutshe Birds United (now at the third level). Other BOPSOL clubs were Danville Celtics (from Mafikeng/Mafeking), Itsoseng Sundowns, Lincoln City and Mmabatho Kicks. Unfortunately no details on champions and cup winners within the Bophuthatswana football structure are available, nor is it not known whether any clubs from Bophuthatswana played in the South African football structure during the homeland's nominal independency from 1977 to 1994. Lucas Radebe started his career in the BOPSOL.
Clubs from Ciskei played in the South African football structure during the homeland's nominal independency from 1981 to 1994.
Umtata Bucks were founded in 1957 by
a former official of the Bush Bucks club from Durban who had moved to the area.
They played at the South African top level (NSL)
for six seasons during Transkei's nominal independency from 1976 to
1994, managing 4 finishes in the top-7, and winning one League Cup, in 1993.
After the end of Transkei's nominal independence, the club were renamed
Umtata Bush Bucks and won one more League Cup
(in 1996). They remained at the top level (renamed PSL), moving to
East London (outside of the former homeland of Transkei) in 2000,
until suffering relegation at the end of the 2002/03 season.
They returned after only one season, but were relegated again at the
end of 2005/06 season and subsequently dissolved, their place at the
second level being taken by a new club called Western Province United,
based in Cape Town.
Championship (NSL) 1988 17.Umtata Bucks 34 8 10 16 27-48 26 1990 7.Umtata Bucks 34 14 9 11 39-42 37 1991 4.Umtata Bucks 34 17 10 7 51-28 44 1992 17.Umtata Bucks 42 12 14 16 33-42 38 1993 5.Umtata Bucks 38 15 12 11 51-43 42 1994 3.Umtata Bucks 34 18 5 11 51-32 41 League Cup 1993: winners: Umtata Bucks (3-1 vs Cape Town Santos)
Clubs from Venda played in the South African football structure during the homeland's nominal independency from 1979 to 1994. In 1983, Black Leopards were founded in the capital Thohoyandou. They had reached the second South African level by 1996, and won their section (the Northern Stream) in 1996/97, but finished fourth and bottom in the promotion playoff against the three other Stream winners, missing out on one of the two promotion spots. They eventually were promoted to the PSL in 2001 by winning the Inland Stream of the second level (which by then had been reduced to two groups). Black Leopards were part of the PSL until 2008, when they were relegated; in their seven seasons at the top level, they twice finished eighth (2001/02 and 2003/04). They regained top flight status for the 2011/12 season, reaching the cup final against champions Orlando Pirates in the 2010/11 season as well. They were relegated again in 2013 and returned to the top flight in 2018. Their popularity was underlined by the fact that they participated in four consecutive Telkom Charity Cups from 2002 to 2005; this is an invitational 4-team tournament whose participants are decided by popular vote. In their first participation in 2002, they lost the final to Kaizer Chiefs on a penalty shoot-out.
Sudan obtained independence in 1956, comprising about two and a half million square kilometres, the geographically largest country in Africa. After more than half a century of conflict and war, interrupted by a decade (1972-1983) of peace, the southernmost part of the country, with about a quarter of its surface, became independent as South Sudan in July 2011. As in the comparable cases of Ethiopia/Eritrea and Tanzania (Mainland)/Zanzibar, we only highlight the performances of the clubs from the 'secessionist' part of the country in the overall structure, because of the (in this case fairly absolute) dominance of the clubs from the 'remaining' entity.
It is not known whether clubs from South Sudan ever entered the Sudanese top level, though it is not unlikely this happened in the seventies or early eighties, in between the first and second Sudanese civil wars. According to a wikipedia article Juba FC played in the Sudanese championship in the early nineties. In any case, clubs from South Sudan played in second level regional leagues, of which Sudan had and has many, with the regional champions entering promotion playoffs. In 2009, a club from the South Sudanese capital Juba, Al-Malikiya, reached the cup semifinals, only to be defeated 2-13 on aggregate by Al-Merreikh, one of the two Omdurman powerhouses. At the time it was reported that it was "the first time in many years that a team from Juba has reached this level of the competition". No earlier instances are known, but little information on league and cup competitions in Sudan prior to 2000 is available. Clubs from South Sudan to have existed before the 2011 secession include Juba FC (founded as Youth of Juba), Malakia (cup winners of South Sudan in 2012 and 2014), Hilal (champions of South Sudan in 2018), Atlabara (founded as Africana, and champions of South Sudan in 2013, 2015 and 2019), Kator, Munuki, Ever Green and Gudele (all from Juba), Al-Salam (from Wau; they were champions of South Sudan in 2012 and 2017 and won the cup in 2016 and 2017), Marikh, Aweil Stars, Al-Salaam, Ayat Stars and Islah (all from Aweil), Young Stars (from Torit), Koryom (from Bor), Wanyjok FC (from Wanyjok) and Holy Family (from Rumbek).
Cup 2009: semifinal: Al-Malikiya (Juba) (2-4, 0-9 vs Al-Merreikh (Omdurman))
Tanganyika gained independence in 1961, Zanzibar in 1963. In 1964 the two joined to form Tanzania. Since at least 1982 (but possibly earlier), the best teams from both regions played for the national championship in the so-called 'Union League' (Ligi Kuu ya Muungano), usually comprising 4 or 6 clubs, half from both areas. This competition was dominated by teams from the 'Mainland' (Tanzania Bara – the term Tanganyika has gotten out of usage), in particular the two giants from the capital Dar es Salaam, Simba and Young Africans (popularly known as Yanga). Only three times (from over 20 tries), a Zanzibar club was crowned champions of the Union League. In 2004, Zanzibar obtained independent membership of CAF, the African football confederation, though FIFA later refused it full membership. The Union League has not been held since 2003, when it wasn't finished due to a legal farce initiated by Yanga. (There was talk to organise one in April 2007, between the top-2 clubs of both CAF members in the 2006 season, but this never happened.) Zanzibar clubs have entered the CAF club competitions independently since 2005, so that we consider its champions since 2004 as 'independent'. Due to the dominance of the Mainland clubs in the overall championship, we do not discuss their performance separately but concentrate on the Zanzibar clubs.
Note that both the championship and cup tournaments tended to be
decided in a playoff (Union League (Ligi Kuu ya Muungano)
for the championship, Nyerere Cup for the knock-out competition)
between a few (2 to 4) teams from both the
Mainland and Zanzibar (i.e. Unguja and Pemba), after both areas
had held their own independent league and cup competitions.
Due to this (and the fact that complete data are not available), we
only list those Zanzibar teams who either won the Union League or
Nyerere Cup, and not the league runners-up or losing finalists.
Among the successful teams listed below, KMKM won the 'independent'
Zanzibar championship 2004, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023, and
Polisi the editions of 2005 and 2006, while Miembeni were Zanzibar
champions 2007 and 2008.
Championship 1984 1.KMKM 6 4 0 2 8- 5 8 1989 1.Malindi SC 1992 1.Malindi SC Cup 1974: winners: JKU 1977: winners: KMKM 1982: winners: KMKM 1983: winners: KMKM 1985: winners: Miembeni SC 1986: winners: Miembeni SC 1987: winners: Miembeni SC 1990: winners: Small Simba SC 1993: winners: Malindi SC 2001: winners: Polisi (Zanzibar) (2-0 vs Young Africans) NB: JKU denotes Jeshi la Kujenga Uchumi; KMKM denotes Kikosi Maalum cha Kuzuia Magendo
Shortly after its independence, the formerly British colony of
India was split (in 1948) into India and Pakistan. (Nothing is
known about performances by clubs from cities currently in
Pakistan or Bangladesh in the Indian national football tournaments
of the time.)
Pakistan consisted of two regions, separated by India; at the end
of 1971, Bangladesh (formerly known as East Pakistan) gained
independence.
Until the secession of Bangladesh, the capital of East Pakistan,
Dacca (currently spelled Dhaka) hosted the national championship
of Pakistan 3 times (in 1952, 1957 and 1962), as did the currently
Bangladeshi cities of Jessore (1968) and Comilla (1969/70).
On 4 occasions the tournament was won by a team from current Bangladesh.
As the teams from (West) Pakistan dominated football in the country
(in total, 20 championships were contested between 1948 and 1971),
no separate mention is made of their successes.
Note that Pakistan bought the harbour city of Gwadar (for
3 million pounds) from the Sultan of Oman in 1958; as no data on
Omani football prior to 1972 are available, it is unknown
whether any clubs from Gwadar (such as currently existing
Gwadar Port Authority) played there.
Pakistan and India have a long standing
conflict on the Jammu and Kashmir region – teams from the part
currently controlled by Pakistan occasionally enter Pakistani
tournaments, but it is not known whether there ever were football
competitions covering the entire region.
Championship 1957 2.East Pakistan White 1959 2.East Pakistan 1960 1.East Pakistan 1961/62 1.Dacca 1962 1.Dacca 1969/70 1.Chittagong Cup There was no national cup tournament.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the current state of
Malaysia was a mixture of nominally independent protectorates and
colonial states. The Straits Settlements, consisting of
Malacca, Dinding, Penang and Singapore (which at the time included
Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands) were a British colony,
which also included the island of Labuan (off the coast of Borneo,
or Kalimantan as it is known in Indonesian) as a separate
settlement from 1912 on. The remainder of current Malaysia was
divided into the protectorate of the Federated Malay States (Selangor,
Perak, Neg(e)ri Sembilan and Pahang) and five other Malay states
(also under British protectorate but with slightly more autonomy):
Johor(e), Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis and T(e)rengganu. Apart from
Singapore and Labuan, all these states formed the Malayan Union
in 1946. Note that the two currently Malaysian states on Borneo,
Sabah (which included Labuan since the end of World War II) and
Sarawak, then together known as British North Borneo, only joined
the Federation of Malaya (as the Malayan Union was called since 1948;
it had obtained full independence in 1957) in 1963 (as did Singapore);
at the occasion, the state was renamed Malaysia. Finally, in 1965,
Singapore left the Federation and Malaysia obtained its current shape.
Brunei (which lies in between Sarawak (which had belonged to the
sultan of Brunei until 1888) and Sabah) never belonged to Malaysia
(it was a British protectorate though), but teams from Brunei used to
enter the Malaysian football structure as a
matter of course, as did those from Singapore until 1995.
Due to the continuity of the participation of the Singapore FA until 1995,
its relevant achievements are all included in the section below,
whereas the history of Lions XII (since 2012) is included in the corresponding
section on roving clubs.
Competitions in Malaysia (both the traditional cup tournament
(Malaya Cup, first played 1921 and later (since 1967) renamed
Piala Malaysia) and the league, which was not established
until 1982) were traditionally played by representations of the
regional FAs; in addition several 'service' teams (Tentera, an
Army/Navy combination, Combined Services, Prisons) regularly entered.
The first club teams (apart from the occasional participation of
Malaysia's olympic team) to enter the top division were Johor FC and
NS Chempaka, both making their first appearance in 2002. Johor FC had
made their debut appearance in the Piala Malaysia in 2000,
presumably as the first ever club team to enter the (first round of the)
tournament. So, wherever "Singapore" are mentioned below, this refers
to the local federation (currently SFA, formerly SAFA) and not a
'proper' club team.
The Singapore FA selection was barred from entering the Malaysian
competitions in 1995; in 2012, a Singapore youth selection, called
Lions XII, was admitted to the Malaysian Super League (in return,
the Malaysian youth team, Harimau Muda, entered the
S-League) and
finished runners-up as well as reaching the semifinals of the
Piala Malaysia. They went one better in 2013 and won the
league. Two years later, they added the FA Cup, and then were
disbanded by the FA of Singapore.
See the section on roving clubs.
The Malaya Cup traditionally was organised in a northern section,
consisting of Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor until World War II,
and a southern section, consisting of Johore, Malacca, Negri
Sembilan and Singapore until World War II. In addition, British
military sides entered, mostly based in Singapore (the only
exception being the Burma Rifles, 1935 entrants, who were based
in Taiping, Perak). The S.A.F.A. (Singapore Amateur Football
Association) side invariably won the southern section of the
tournament in the 21 pre-war editions (between 1921 and 1941), never
losing a single match (taken all editions together, they played 69
qualifying matches in the southern section, winning 60 and drawing 9
while outscoring their opponents 284 to 58), thus reaching a world
record 21 consecutive finals (which was equalled by FC Vaduz
in 2015 and bettered in 2016). Of those 21 pre-war finals, they
won 12, lost 7 and drew 2 (in 1928 and 1929, both against Selangor,
sharing the cup).
In addition, one Singapore-based military team deserves a mention
as losing Malaya Cup finalists: Army/Navy in 1949. Before
World War II, a number of Singapore-based military sides finished
runners-up in the southern section behind the S.A.F.A. selection:
Malaya Command in 1932 (the first year a military side entered
the competition) and 1933, Combined Services in the five
consecutive editions from 1935 to 1939, Army in 1940 and
Royal Air Force in 1941. Malaya Command are also noteworthy for
winning the Philippines championship in 1935.
Championship Singapore FA (2 championships) 1985, 1994 NB: Singapore were barred from entering the Malaysian competitions in 1995, after having won the 1994 league-and-cup double; they then entered the 1995 Singapore Premier League (as Singapore Lions) and won it. Cup (Malaya Cup/Piala Malaysia) Singapore FA (24 cups, 2 of these shared) 1921, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1928*, 1929*, 1930, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1955, 1960, 1964, 1965, 1977, 1980, 1994 NB: Singapore shared the 1928 and 1929 cups with Selangor after drawing both finals 2-2 aet; between 1921 and 1946 Singapore was part of the Straits Settlements and thus a British colony; only from 1963 to 1965 Singapore was a 'normal' member state of independent Malaysia. Cup (FAM Cup) Singapore FA (2 cups) 1963, 1967 NB: this secondary cup tournament was the first to be played for by club teams, since 1974; from 1952 to 1973 it also was reserved for regional FA selections.
Like Singapore and Penang, Malacca was part of the Straits Settlements and thus a British colony before World War II (unlike, nominally, the Federated and Unfederated States of Malaya). Only in 1946 Malacca joined the Malayan Union (later Federation of Malaya and Malaysia) as a 'normal' member state (known as Melaka in Malaysian). The Malacca FA team never reached the Malaya Cup final in the relevant period, never finishing better than runners-up behind Singapore in the southern section of the tournament.
Like Singapore and Malacca, Penang was part of the Straits Settlements and thus a British colony before World War II (unlike, nominally, the Federated and Unfederated States of Malaya). Only in 1946 Penang joined the Malayan Union (later Federation of Malaya and Malaysia) as a 'normal' member state (known as Pulau Pinang in Malaysian). The Penang FA team twice won the northern section of the tournament in the relevant period, thus reaching the Malaya Cup final.
Cup (Malaya Cup) 1934: finalists: Penang (1-2 vs Singapore) 1941: finalists: Penang (1-3 vs Singapore)
Unfortunately, few data are available on any common Korean football competition prior to the Korean War in the early 1950s. In addition, information on North Korean football is very sparse. Additional data is very much welcomed.
The first nationwide tournament on the peninsula was the
All Joseon Football Championship, created in 1921, which
included up to four different categories ('middle', 'youth',
'elementary' and 'professional'; from 1934 on a 'general'
category was introduced, replacing 'youth'), though not all
were played for each season. Participants were school sides.
Winners from cities currently in North Korea included
Pyeongyang Athletic (winners of the 'youth' category in
1922 (the first of the two tournaments held that year)),
Pyeongyang Virtue School (winners of the 'elementary' category
in the years 1925, 1926 and 1927) and Pyeongyang FC (winners
of the 'general' category in 1934). Other winners of the
main category were Muo FC from Pyeongyang in 1922 and 1926,
Soongsil College from Pyeongyang in 1931, Chongjin FC in 1932
and 1935, and Hamhung FC in 1938; Hamhung and Chongjin are
both currently in North Korea. Pyeongyang High School were
runners-up in the 'middle' category 1924. The tournament
was discontinued after 1940.
A number of North Korean champions since 1985 are known
(with April 25 and Locomotive (also known as Kigwancha)
winning most championships), but none
prior to that period. It is unknown whether any North Korean
teams entered the Amateur Adult Football Conference, started in 1946
and dominated by army units, a
number of universities and a few company and factory teams.
See the section on South Korean clubs
for more information on the finalists of this competition prior
to 1950.
South Korea formed a professional league in 1983. Prior to that, the main nationwide football competition was the Amateur Adult Football Conference (AAFC), started in 1946 and dominated by army units, a number of universities and a few company and factory teams. (See also the remarks on the All Joseon Football Championship for school teams in the section on North Korea above.) It is unclear whether the early editions just after World War II also had participants from the current North Korea; among the AAFC finalists prior to to 1950, Songkyunkwan University (runners-up in 1947 and 1948) won the same tournament in 1987, and Yonhee University (winners in 1948 and runners-up in 1949; also record winners of the All Joseon Football Championship with three titles in 1927, 1928 and 1930) won it as Yonsei University (following a 1957 merger between two academic institutions) in 1984 and finished runners-up in 1974 and 1987. Jo-il Brewery (winners in 1946 and 1947) and Joseon Dockyard (winners in 1949) reached the final of the South Korean Presidents Cup after the war (Joseon Dockyard finishing runners-up in 1952, 1953 and 1954, Jo-il Brewery (from Incheon) winning in 1954). In this competition, also Songkyunkwan University (runners-up 1974 and 1985) and Yonsei University (winners 1980 and 1989 and runners-up 1969 and 1997) reached the final. Only College of Commerce, runners-up in 1946, did not reach the final of either competition since the Korean War.
Information about football in both North Vietnam and South Vietnam prior to their unification is very incomplete. The first common competition was not held until 1980, a few years after political unification. Below, all known data on championship winning sides in both North and South Vietnam are listed, together with the successes (if any) of the relevant clubs since unification. Additional data is very much welcomed.
Cau Lac Bo Quan Doi (Ha Noi) [also known as Army Sports Club] won 10 championships in North Vietnam, their last in 1978; won 5 championships in Vietnam, in 1981/82, 1982/83, 1987, 1990, and 1998, the last under their new name The Cong; reached and lost two cup finals in Vietnam, in 1992 and 2004 (the last as The Cong) Quan Khu Thu Do won the last ever championship in North Vietnam 1979; were runners-up in Vietnam 1981/82
Hai Quan (Saigon) [also known as Customs] won the 1966 championship in South Vietnam; won 1 championship in Vietnam, in 1991; won 2 cups in Vietnam, in 1996 and 1997; lost the 1998 cup final Cong An (Saigon) [also known as Police] won the 1967 championship in South Vietnam; won 1 championship in Vietnam, in 1995; won 2 cups in Vietnam, in 1998 and 2001; lost the 2000 cup final Cang Sai Gon (Saigon) [also known as Port Saigon] won the 1977 championship in South Vietnam; won 4 championships in Vietnam, in 1984, 1993/94, 1997, and 2001/02; won 2 cups in Vietnam, in 1992 and 2000; lost the Vietnam cup finals in 1994, 1996 and 1997 Quan Doi (Army) won championships in South Vietnam (years unknown); did not win honours in Vietnam Quan Thue (Airport Customs) won championships in South Vietnam (years unknown); did not win honours in Vietnam
In 1990, North Yemen (official name since 1962: the Yemen Arab Republic), which had been part of the Ottoman Empire until 1918, and South Yemen (official name since 1970: People's Democratic Republic of Yemen), which had been under British rule until 1967, unified. Below, clubs from both regions which have won all-Yemen honours since 1990 are listed (and additional data are given where known). Note that the city of Aden was governed as part of British India until 1937 before obtaining a separate status as the 'Colony of Aden'; the hinterland of the city was known as 'Aden Protectorate'. In 1962 a British-controlled 'Federation of South Arabia' (including Aden) was formed, with several Emirates refusing to join this federation uniting in the 'Protectorate of South Arabia'. In 1967, South Yemen became independent, with Aden as capital.
The main cities in former North Yemen are Sanaa, Taizz, Hudaida and Ibb. Clubs from Sanaa (the capital of unified Yemen) have dominated the league championship, but clubs from the other towns have won occasional honours as well. Among the various cup tournaments, we only consider the President Cup, the main competition, held since 1995.
Al-Ahli (Sanaa) won 7 championships in Yemen, in 1991/92, 1993/94, 1998/99, 1999/00, 2000/01, 2007 and 2023/24; won at least 4 championships in North Yemen, in 1980/81, 1982/83, 1983/84 and 1987/88; won 3 President Cups in Yemen, in 2001, 2003/04 and 2009; won at least 4 cups in North Yemen, in 1979/80, 1981/82, 1982/83, 1983/84 Al-Wahda (Sanaa) won 4 championships in Yemen, in 1994/95, 1996/97, 1997/98 and 2002; won at least 1 championship in North Yemen, in 1978/79: won at least 1 cup in North Yemen, in 1977/78 Al-Sha'ab (Ibb) won 3 championships in Yemen, in 2002/03, 2003/04 and 2011/12; won 2 President Cups in Yemen, in 2001/02 and 2002/03; it is unknown whether they won any honours in North Yemen Al-Saqr (Taizz) won 3 championships in Yemen, in 2006, 2009/10 and 2013/14; won 1 President Cup in Yemen, in 2014; it is unknown whether they won any honours in North Yemen Al-Hilal (Hudaida) won 2 championships in Yemen, in 2007/08 and 2008/09; won 2 President Cups in Yemen, in 2005 and 2008; it is unknown whether they won any honours in North Yemen Al-Yarmouk (Sanaa) won 1 championship in Yemen, in 2013; won at least 2 championships in North Yemen, in 1988/89 and 1989/90 Al-Ahli (Hudaida) won 1 President Cup in Yemen, in 1995/96; it is unknown whether they won any honours in North Yemen Al-Ittihad (Ibb) won 1 President Cup in Yemen, in 1998; it is unknown whether they won any honours in North Yemen Al-Ahli (Taizz) won 1 President Cup in Yemen, in 2012; it is unknown whether they won any honours in North Yemen Al-Shorta (Sanaa) won at least 1 championship in North Yemen, in 1985/86; did not win honours in Yemen Al-Sha'ab (Sanaa) won at least 1 championship (1981) in North Yemen; won at least 1 cup (1980/81) in North Yemen; did not win honours in Yemen Al-Zuhra (Sanaa) won at least 1 championship (1979/80) in North Yemen; won at least 1 cup (1978/79) in North Yemen; did not win honours in Yemen
The main cities in former South Yemen are Aden and Mukalla; clubs from both towns have won occasional honours. Among the various cup tournaments, we only consider the President's Cup, the main competition, held since 1995. Nothing is known about separate competitions in Aden during the period it was part of British India (until 1937) or its separate colonial status (from 1937 to 1962); however, local side Al-Tilal was founded in 1905 and may therefore have played in such competitions.
Al-Tilal (Aden) won at least 6 championships in South Yemen, in 1970/71, 1976/77, 1979/80, 1981/82, 1982/83 and 1986/87; won 2 championships in Yemen, in 1990/91 and 2005; won 2 President Cups in Yemen, in 2007 and 2010; Al-Wahda (Aden) won at least 3 championships in South Yemen, in 1975/76, 1987/88 and 1988/89; won at least 1 cup (1983/84) in South Yemen; won 1 President Cup in Yemen, in 2017 Al-Sha'ab Hadramaut (Mukalla) won 1 championship in Yemen, in 2019/20; won 2 President Cups in Yemen, in 2000 and 2006; it is unknown whether they won any honours in South Yemen Fahman (Mudiyah) won 1 championship in Yemen, in 2021; it is unknown whether they won any honours in South Yemen Al-Shorta (Aden) won at least 1 championship (1983/84) in South Yemen; did not win honours in Yemen Al-Shula (Aden) won at least 1 championship (1989/90) in South Yemen; did not win honours in Yemen
Between 1958 and 1961, Egypt and Syria formed the "United Arab Republic" (which also included the former North Yemen). During this period, one championship was contested, in the spring of 1961, between the cup finalists of both Egypt and Syria. Al-Ahly from Cairo defeated their namesakes from Damascus 4-1 in the final, and are sometimes considered the first ever Syrian cup winners.
The territory now divided among Israel, the West Bank,
the Gaza Strip and Jordan was captured by the United
Kingdom from the Ottoman Empire in World War I. In 1923,
the area became known as the Mandate of Palestine, after
the League of Nations mandated the UK
to control the territory. In 1946, the part east of
Jordan river became the Kingdom of Transjordan (nowadays
commonly known as Jordan).
The remaining part of the former British Mandate of
Palestine, to which we will refer to as "British Palestine"
below, was partitioned in May 1948 into a Jewish State (hereafter
referred to as Israel), an Arab State and Jerusalem, an
enclave to be administered internationally, following a vote
in the General Assembly of the United Nations in November 1947.
A war between Arab countries (Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and
Iraq) and Israel followed, which
resulted in Egypt taking the Gaza Strip, Jordan
the West Bank, and a mass exodus of Palestinians fleeing
from the area now known as Israel. Jordan annexed the
West Bank in 1950, but lost the territory to Israel in
the 1967 Six-Day War (after which Israel also occupied the Gaza
Strip).
In 1993, an autonomous "Palestinian Authority" was
established, which currently governs the Gaza Strip as
well as the part of the West Bank not yet colonised by Israeli
settlers; East Jerusalem, which was annexed by Israel
rather than occupied, also does not belong to the area
governed by the Palestinian Authority.
Below, the 1948/49 partition following the Arab-Israeli war (or Al-Nakba, the Catastrophe, as it is known to the Palestinians) is taken to define the borders between "Israel" and "Palestine" (so the latter consists of the West Bank including East Jerusalem as well as the Gaza Strip), in spite of the fact that any future Palestinian state (if the USA will ever force Israel to allow one) is unlikely to consist of this territory, given the ongoing Jewish colonisation of the West Bank, in particular the area surrounding East Jerusalem as well as the Jordan valley, and the construction (on occupied territory) of a 'protection' wall, both apparently aimed at splitting the 'Palestine' area into a number of bantustans. (For instance, the wall divides the Arab East Jerusalem district Jabal Mukabar, whose football team won the 2009/10 Palestinian West Bank Division A, into two parts.)
Using the above definitions for British Palestine, Israel and Palestine, we distinguish three periods since the first World War: the British Mandate (British Palestine) encompassing both current Israel and the currently occupied territories (Palestine) until 1948 (as well as Jordan until 1947); the Jordan occupation (and subsequent annexation) of the West Bank and the Egyptian occupation of the Gaza Strip between 1948 and 1967; and the Israeli occupation of both areas since 1967. So, there are sections on: Israeli clubs in British Palestine until 1948, Jordan clubs in British Palestine until 1947, Palestinian clubs in British Palestine until 1948, Palestinian clubs in Jordan 1948-1967, Palestinian clubs in Egypt 1948-1967, and Palestinian clubs in Israel since 1967.
The participation of a Greek air force side in the 1942 cup tournament is discussed in the section on roving clubs.
Note that the usage of "Israeli" in the section heading is anachronistic; it is meant to refer to the current territory of the state Israel; contemporary usage would have been "Hebrew" or "Jewish".
The Palestine FA (which later turned into the current
Israeli FA) was established in 1928 and obtained
FIFA membership in 1929. In spite of the fact that Arabs
formed about three quarters of the population of British
Palestine at the time, they had no influence in
the PFA. Of the 15 people on the initial PFA Board, only 1
was Arab (representing Jerusalem club Nadi Islami Al-Riyadhi,
the Islamic Sports Club), and he only attended the first
meeting of the board (if the relevant notes have not been
falsified, as suggested in [Bli 19]).
Since then, no Arab ever participated in a PFA board meeting.
(A similar situation occurred in the Palestine Olympic Committee
formed in 1933, which at the time was controlled exclusively by
the Maccabi sports organisation.)
The league organised by the PFA supposedly consisted of 69 teams
divided over 3 divisions, of which 11 were Arab, none in the 10-team
first division (5 in the 20-team second division and 6 at the third
level), as stated in a PFA report submitted to FIFA as part of its
membership application, but those numbers (and indeed the entire
league system) were an invention by PFA founder Yosef Yekutieli
(who needed to show his organisation catered for all nationalities,
which it did not – the approval of the FIFA membership of
the PFA was based on deliberate misinformation), as made clear
in [Bli 19].
The PFA did not stage a league until the 1931/32 season and
it did not include any Arab clubs. In fact, only one
local league in Jerusalem (the Al-Zahra league),
which predated the PFA, included both Arab and Jewish clubs.
The British Palestine team participating
in the 1934 World Cup qualifiers (which lost to Egypt)
did not contain any Arab players;
likewise the team entering the 1938 World Cup qualifiers
(and losing to Greece) was exclusively Jewish, it being boycotted
by Arab Palestinians (both muslim and christian) and other
ethnic groups. In 1931 a rival organisation
was formed by Arabs, but it failed to obtain membership of FIFA.
As Jewish clubs dominated football in British Palestine,
we only list the honours won by the relevant clubs (as in
comparable cases in other parts of the world). All 9
championships between 1932 and 1947 in British Palestine
were won by currently Jewish clubs, with the exception of
the 1932 championship, which went to the British Police club.
Likewise, 14 of the 15 cup tournaments (as currently recognised by
the Israeli FA; there also were 6 tournaments from 1922 to 1927,
all won by British clubs, and 2 war cups in 1943 and 1944/45, the
first of which also won by a British club) were won by Jewish
clubs, with the only exception again being the British Police
in 1932, who were leading the final 1-0 when opponents
Hapoel Haifa walked off; in addition, the 1930 losing finalists
were the British Army 48th Troop. The (inaugural) 1928 cup, in which
one Arab club (Carmel Haifa), one British team from the
Gaza Strip and another British team from Amman
(now in Jordan) entered, was
shared as winners Hapoel Tel-Aviv had fielded an ineligible player.
Since 1948, Maccabi Tel-Aviv have won 20 more Israeli league
championships and 18 cups; Hapoel Tel-Aviv won 8 more league
titles and 10 cups; Maccabi Petah-Tikva won the 1952 and 2024 cups but
no further honours; and Beitar Tel-Aviv and Maccabi Hashmonai
Jerusalem won no more honours (but Beitar Tel-Aviv reached and
lost the 1977 cup final).
Championship Maccabi Tel-Aviv (4 championships) 1935/36, 1936/37, 1941/42, 1946/47 Hapoel Tel-Aviv (3 championships) 1933/34, 1939/40, 1943/44 NB: the 1934/35 league was abandoned with Hapoel Tel-Aviv leading the standings; they were not declared champions by the PFA at the time; only regional championships were played in 1938 and 1939; the Tel-Aviv league was won by Hapoel Tel-Aviv in the fall seasons of 1938 and 1939, and by Maccabi Tel-Aviv in the spring season of 1939, but these titles were deemed unofficial after research in 2002 (which also discovered that Maccabi rather than Hapoel won the 1936/37 league). Cup Maccabi Tel-Aviv (6 cups) 1929, 1930, 1933, 1941, 1946, 1947 Hapoel (Allenby) Tel-Aviv (6 cups, of which 1 shared) 1928 (shared), 1934, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1944/45 Beitar Tel-Aviv (2 cups) 1940, 1942 Maccabi Petah-Tikva (1 cup) 1935 Maccabi Hashmonai Jerusalem (1 cup, shared) 1928 (shared; they lost the final 0-2 to Hapoel Allenby Tel-Aviv who had fielded an ineligible player)
The first cup tournaments organised by the PFA included RAF Amman, a British air force team based in the current capital of Jordan. They entered three times, in 1928, 1929 and 1930, but always fell at the first hurdle, in the round preceding the quarterfinal stage.
The first official cup tournament organised by the PFA in 1928 included Flying Gaza, a British air force team based in Gaza. The team reached the semifinals, in which they lost 0-1 to Hapoel Allenby Tel-Aviv.
No Arab clubs played in the PFA league structure when it was set up in the early thirties, and no information is available on clubs from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank to play in the PFA league. The Arabs instead founded a rival organisation, the Arab Palestinian Sports Federation (APSF), in 1931. This organised several competitions from 1933 to 1938 (when the British shut it down), about which next to nothing is known; several teams from the current Gaza Strip and West Bank entered but nothing is known about their performances (the relevant archives were lost during the 1948 Nakba).
During the war, the PFA organised, for the first time ever, nationwide league and cup tournaments in which Arab clubs could enter. Jaffa side Al-Qawmi (a temporary name for Islamic SC) finished mid-table in the Tel-Aviv zone of the 1942 league, and five Arab sides entered the Palestine Cup that season, with Islamic SC and Tirsana (both from Haifa) eliminated in the first round, while Al-Qawmi and De La Salle College from Jerusalem lost in the second. Shabab Al-Arab of Haifa reached the quarterfinals thanks to defeating Mander's Army, a British army side, where they lost 4-7 to Maccabi Tel-Aviv, who fielded four ineligible players. Their protest was only partially successful: while Maccabi Tel-Aviv were disqualified from the tournament, the original result was upheld and Maccabi Haifa obtained a bye in the semifinals. In 1943, five Arab clubs joined the PFA league, which was eventually abandoned.
In 1944, the APSF was reestablished (as PSF, the Palestine Sports Federation) and organised a league, starting with 25 clubs, growing to 65 in 1947. The first league winners, in 1945, were Nadi Islami Jafa (from Jaffa), beating Al-Orthodox from Jerusalem in the final; the 1946 and 1947 titles both went to Shabab Al-Arab from Haifa. No further data are known, apart from a number of participating clubs (including the three mentioned): in Al-Quds (Jerusalem): Nadi Al-Ahly (National), Al-Dajani Club, Al-Orthodox and Jamia Al-Shaban Al-Masihe (Young Men's Christian Association, YMCA); in Jafa (Jaffa): Nadi Islami Jafa (Jafa Islamic Club) and Al-Orthodox; and in Hayfa (Haifa): Nadi Islami Hayfa (Haifa Islamic Club), Nadi Shabab Al-Arab (Arab Youth Club), Nadi Al-Tersana (Arsenal) and Homenetmen (an Armenian club). Teams were also formed in other cities, such as Ghazzah (Gaza) (Nadi Gaza Al-Riyadhi (founded 1934), Al-Arabi (founded 1938) and Al-Orthodox (founded 1944)) and Al-Nasreh (Nadi Al-Nahda (Renaissance Club)). Other member clubs existed in Nablus, Tulkarm (both on the West Bank (as per current usage; pre-1948 'West Bank' denoted the entire area between Mediterranean and Jordan river)), Akko (Acre) and Beir Al-Saba (Beersheba).
The Comoros archipelago consists of four main islands: Ngazidja (known as Grande Comore in French), Nzwani (Anjouan in French), Mwali (Mohéli in French) and Mahoré (Mayotte in French). It was a French colony until 1975, when three of the four declared their independence as the Udzima wa komori (Union des Comores); the fourth island, Mayotte, opted to remain part of the French state as an overseas department. Prior to this split, various domestic tournaments were organised on the Comoros involving clubs or representations from Mayotte.
Between 1970 and 1973 a tournament between the champions of the various islands was organised by the sports ministry of the Comoros. No results or winners are known, but participants from Mayotte in this tournament included Rafale and Soleil de Labattoir.
The Dutch colony in the Caribbean, the Netherlands Antilles, consisted of six islands, three near the coast of Venezuela, the Benedenwindse Eilanden (Leeward Islands) of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao, and three near the Atlantic Ocean, the Bovenwindse Eilanden (Windward Islands) of Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten (the latter island 'shared' with France). The clubs from the Bovenwindse Eilanden never participated in the overall championship playoffs, but the three Benedenwindse Eilanden organised the Kopa Antiano. The first edition was played in 1960 between the champions and runners-up of both Curaçao and Aruba, and the champions of Bonaire joined from 1972 onwards; Aruban clubs ceased to enter when the island of Aruba obtained a status aparte in 1986 (it now also has separate membership of CONCACAF and FIFA). Afterwards, the tournament was played between clubs from Bonaire and Curaçao only. The Kopa Antiano has been dominated by clubs from Curaçao, the largest island in both surface area and population, but two Aruban clubs have won the title. As the colony was reorganised in 2010, with Curaçao and Sint Maarten obtaining a similar status aparte as Aruba and the other three islands obtaining a municipal status (becoming an 'ordinary' Dutch gemeente), implying the end of the Kopa Antiano, we also list the best performances of Bonaire clubs in the tournament. None of them ever won the championship, but two clubs finished runners-up on (in total) eight occasions.
Clubs from Aruba entered the Kopa Antiano up to and including
the 1985 edition, winning on two occasions and finishing runners-up
on eight (including the 1942 edition organised by the N.A.V.B., a
shortlived (1941-1946) predecessor of the N.A.V.U. founded in 1958).
All three clubs mentioned below have won titles on Aruba since the
introduction of the status aparte in 1986: Estrella eight (1988,
1989, 1990, 1992, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2006), R.C.A. (Racing Club Aruba)
eleven (1986, 1987, 1991, 1994, 2002, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2019) and
Dakota three (1995, 2018 and 2022). In addition, R.C.A. won five editions of
the domestic cup competition (Copa Betico Croes) held since 2005, and Dakota and
Estrella both two.
Those three clubs also won all titles on Aruba between 1960
and 1985, with the exception of 1975 (champions Bubali) and
1984 (champions San Luis Deportivo).
Note that Estrella were runners-up in Aruba (behind Dakota)
when they won the Kopa Antiano in 1970 (after a playoff
against Dakota); other Aruban runners-up which entered the
Antillian playoffs in the past are (apart from Estrella, R.C.A.,
Dakota, Bubali and San Luis Deportivo who all entered as
champions as well) S.C.A. and Tropical.
None of these clubs (apart from Estrella, R.C.A. and Dakota as
mentioned) won Aruban championships or cups since 1986.
An attempt to revive the three-way tournament was made with the
ABC Cup,
held on Aruba on two occasions between the champions of the three islands and the
runners-up of hosts Aruba, in November 1992 (winners Sithoc from Curaçao)
and in November 1993 (winners Riverplate from Aruba).
In February 2002 and March 2003 a friendly tournament, the
Copa Amistad, was contested on Aruba between the top
two teams from Aruba and Curaçao (Bonaire teams did not
enter); R.C.A. won this tournament in 2002.
The latest attempt to resurrect a championship of the three islands
is the Kopa ABC, first
held in 2018.
Kopa Antiano 1942: runners-up:R.C.A. (Oranjestad) 1961: runners-up:R.C.A. (Oranjestad) 1962: runners-up:Dakota (Oranjestad) 1965: winners: R.C.A. (Oranjestad) 1968: runners-up:Estrella (Santa Cruz) 1969: runners-up:Estrella (Santa Cruz) 1970: winners: Estrella (Santa Cruz) 1970: runners-up:Dakota (Oranjestad) 1977: runners-up:R.C.A. (Oranjestad) 1983: runners-up:Dakota (Oranjestad)
No Bonaire club won the championship, but two clubs finished runners-up on (in total) eight occasions. In addition, Juventus were on course to win the 1976/77 edition (they had secured a championship playoff against Jong Colombia) before being excluded following a controversy over an allegedly improperly registered player. Real Rincon won the inaugural edition of the Kopa ABC in 2018.
Kopa Antiano 1974: runners-up:Real Rincon 1985: finalists: Juventus (1-2, 2-3 vs Undeba) 1988: finalists: Juventus (2-4, 2-3 vs Jong Colombia) 1992: finalists: Juventus (1-1, 1-2 aet vs Sithoc) 1996: finalists: Real Rincon (1-1, 0-2 vs Undeba) 2000: finalists: Juventus (0-3 vs Jong Colombia) 2008: finalists: Juventus (0-1 vs Centro Barber) 2010: finalists: Real Rincon (0-2 vs Centro Barber) NB: the 1996 Kopa Antiano playoff was played early 1997, the 2000 edition in April 2001; the 2010 edition was the last.
French Northern Africa | French Western Africa | French Equatorial Africa | Italian East Africa | North and South Rhodesia | Stanley Pool
During the colonial era, various currently independent regions
shared a 'domestic' football competition. Above, a few examples
are given (and discussed in more detail below), with no pretence
of completeness.
For instance, the current states of Burundi and Rwanda were 'united'
as a Belgian mandate area ('Ruanda-Urundi') between 1946 and 1962.
However, next to nothing is known about organised football in the area
prior to the independence of both countries in 1962.
Two clubs from Urundi (Wairless d'Usumbara, from current Bujumbura,
and Sporting Maniema, from Bukavu, now in Congo-Kinshasa) entered the
championship of the Belgian Congo in 1959,
which was not finished. See also the section on Usumbara
clubs in Kivu province (in the then Belgian Congo).
During the civil war in former Zaire, in 2001, a team representing the
Rwandan Army entered a regional championship in the city of
Kongolo, in Eastern Katanga.
This team presumably was not identical to Rwandan top club and army
side APR.
Likewise, after the collapse of the Somalian state in 1991,
its northern region (Somaliland) became de facto independent
and now organises its own football competitions in the area;
previously clubs from the area (which was a British colony until
World War II, while the remainder of Somalia was Italian; the two
only united in 1960) presumably entered the Somalian football
structure but no data are available on that.
Between 1967 and 1970, part of Nigeria seceded as Biafra, a move
recognised by parts of the so-called 'international community'
(in particular, the states of Gabon, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Tanzania
and Zambia).
Whether any football was played in the region during those 3 years
is not known. Many of the strongest football teams in Nigeria are
from cities in this region, such as its capital Enugu (Enugu
Rangers, Nigerian champions on 8 occasions, also cup winners 6
times, 1977 winners of the African Cup Winners Cup, and losing
finalists in the 1975 African Champions Cup; this club was founded
in 1970, after the Biafran War, and were flag bearers of the
Biafran Freedom Fighters), Aba (Enyimba, also 8 championships,
4 cups, and 2 wins in the African Champions League), Calabar
(Calabar Rovers, 1 cup win), Onitsha (Jasper United, without
domestic honours), Owerri (Iwuanyanwu Nationale, now renamed
Heartland, 5 championships, 3 cups, and losing finalists in the
African Champions Cup in 1988 against ES Sétif, then in the
second Algerian division),
Port Harcourt (Dolphin, formerly Eagle Cement, 2 championships,
3 cups, and losing finalists of the 2005 CAF Confederation Cup; now
defunct Port Harcourt FC, 3 cups; and Sharks, without domestic
honours) and Yenagoa (Bayelsa United, 1 championship).
The currently western provinces of Cameroon, including cities
such as Bamenda, Buéa, Kumba, Kumbo,
Limbe (founded as Victoria) and Tiko, were
part of British Cameroon between 1919 and 1961, which belonged to
Nigeria. Nothing is known about the participation of clubs
from the region in the Nigerian football structure. In Cameroon,
P&T Social Club
from Buéa lost the cup final in 1964; PWD Bamenda reached and
lost two cup finals (1967 and 1979) before winning the trophy
in 2021, while Mount Cameroon from
Buéa won the 2002 edition (2-1 against Sable de Batié). Various
clubs from the region, including PWD Bamenda, Mount Cameroon,
Kumbo Strikers, Tiko United, and Victoria United from Limbe,
played one or more seasons in the Cameroon top division.
Tiko United won the 2008/09 championship of Cameroon,
PWD Bamenda emulated them in 2019/20.
French Northern Africa consisted (roughly) of the area of the current states Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. During colonial times, this area was divided into 5 regions, Alger, Constantine, Maroc, Oran and Tunis. These 5 areas had regional football championships and cup tournaments, with the best teams entering an overall competition; for further details see the sections on the North African Champions Cup and the North African Cup. Also note the section on clubs from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia playing in the French cup.
French Western Africa consisted (roughly) of the area of the
current states Benin (then Dahomey), Burkina Faso (then
Haute-Volta), Guinea (Guinée), Ivory Coast
(Côte d'Ivoire), Mali (then Soudan), Mauritania
(Mauritanie), Niger and Senegal (Sénégal).
These areas had regional football championships and cup tournaments,
with the best teams entering an overall competition created in 1947;
teams from Mauritania did not enter, but teams from Togo (although
official not part of French Western Africa) entered the later editions;
for further details see the section on the
Coupe d'Afrique Occidentale Française.
Renaissance Elmina from Niamey in Niger reportedly registered with the
league of Dakar in Senegal in 1951.
French Equatorial Africa consisted (roughly) of the area of the current states Congo(-Brazzaville) (then Moyen-Congo), Central Africa (then Oubangui-Chari), Chad (Tchad) and Gabon. These areas had regional football championships and cup tournaments; in 1958/59 a competition was organised for their champions; for further details see the section on the Coupe d'Afrique Equatoriale Française.
Italian East Africa (Africa Orientale Italiana) combined the current states of Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia between 1936 and 1941. An Italian wikipedia page claims that Addis Abeba club Saint George were champions of this entity in 1938 and 1939, finished 5th in the 1937 championship and 6th in 1940, and additionally won the cup in 1938. On the other hand, according to another Italian wikipedia page, only provincial championships were held during the period in question (with Ethiopia itself being separated in five such provinces, one of them being Eritrea).
Between 1962 and 1965, the winners of the Castle Cups in North Rhodesia (now Zambia) and South Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) played off for the Inter-Rhodesia Castle Cup. Note that between 1953 and 1963, these two regions formed the Central African Federation together with Nyasaland (the modern state of Malawi).
In 1961, a professional league comprising clubs from all three regions (among which Nyasa United from Blantyre (now in Malawi), City of Lusaka from current Zambia and Salisbury United from current Harare, Zimbabwe), was organised, but it was aborted after a few matches.
In addition, it should be noted that Rhodesia entered the South African Currie Cup for provincial selections on various occasions since 1908, winning it in 1959. The team presumably was dominated by players from Salisbury (now Harare) and Bulawayo, both in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). In 1960, four Rhodesian club teams entered the Castle Cup tournament in South Africa.
The cities of Brazzaville (in the Republic of Congo, formerly a French colony and often referred to as Congo-Brazzaville in this archive) and Léopoldville (currently called Kinshasa and the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly a Belgian colony and often referred to as Congo-Kinshasa in this archive) are on opposite sides of a lake in the Congo River, called Stanley Pool in colonial times (its current name is Malebo Pool). The clubs of these two capital cities formed the Fédération de Football Association du Pool, which organised common championships and cup tournaments during the colonial era. For further details see the sections on the Stanley Pool Championship and the Stanley Pool Cup.
Likewise the Coupe du Bas Congo 1935 was contested by clubs from Matadi, Boma and São Salvador do Congo; the last of these three towns, currently called M'banza Kongo, lies in Angola; cf. Bas-Congo 1935.
Austria | Poland | Germany | Finland | Hungary | Armenia | Yugoslavia | Italy | Netherlands
The Austrian part of the Habsburg Empire contained regions now in the Czech Republic (Bohemia and Moravia), Poland (Galicia), Ukraine (Galicia and Bukovina) and Romania (Bukovina).
The Österreichische Fußball-Verband (founded in 1904 as successor of the Österreichische Fußball-Union) awarded first class status to a number of clubs from Bohemia (mostly from Prague, one from Teplice/Teplitz) and one from current Poland (Cracow). This had mostly prestige value as no organised top level league competition existed outside of Vienna (and even there only intermittently: the Tagblatt-Pokal from 1900 to 1903 and the official league from 1911 onwards). A number of Czech clubs entered the Challenge Cup, held from 1897 to 1911, a competition open to all clubs from the Habsburg Empire but with origin and centre in Vienna.
Czech Republic | Italy | Poland | Slovenia | Ukraine
The following Czech clubs enjoyed
first class
status as
granted by the Österreichische Fußball-Verband:
Deutscher FC Prag (since 1904; see also their earlier
adventure in Germany), Sparta Praha
(1904-1906), Slavia Praha (1905-1906) and Teplitzer FK
(since 1909). Note that Sparta and Slavia joined the
Ceský Svaz Fotballový (CSF) in 1906.
DFC Prag won the championship of German clubs in Bohemia on all
three occasions (1912/13, 1913/14 and 1917) it was contested,
while DSV Troppau won the championship of German clubs in Moravia
and Silesia in all three seasons (1912, 1913 and 1914)
it was held, defeating DSV Bielitz in the two-legged finals in
all three years.
In 1914, a number of Bohemian clubs joined the rebel federation FUAN (Football Union of Austrian Nations) set up by Vienna after their relegation from the top flight. However, none of them entered the FUAN league in its inaugural season, 1915.
Note that during World War II some Czech clubs entered the Austrian league structure, which itself was part of the German league structure at the time. See the section on Czech clubs in the German football structure.
City name correspondences: German Czech Prag Praha Teplitz Teplice Troppau Opava Challenge Cup 1901: finalists: SK Slavia Praha (0-1 vs Wiener AC) 1901: semifinal: ČAFC Vinohrady (1-13 vs SK Slavia Praha) 1902: semifinal: SK Slavia Praha (3-4 aet vs Vienna Cricket FC) 1903: finalists: ČAFC Vinohrady (scratched vs Wiener AC)
Part of northern Italy belonged to the Habsburg Empire until after the end of World War I, in particular Südtirol and the Trentino, of which the first was mostly German speaking and the second predominantly Italian speaking.
The first football club in Südtirol was FC Rapid Bozen, founded in 1907
(and merged into FC Bozen in 1962), who were followed by FK Meran in 1910,
founded out of the football section (formed 1901) of the local Turnverein,
which had been founded in 1886 (likewise, TV Brixen had formed a football
section in 1905), FC Sterzing in 1912, and SC Bruneck in 1918.
FK Meran were renamed Sportclub Meran in 1912 and took the colours (white-black) from
the Wiener Sportclub.
As there was no Tyrolian championship at the time, the Meran club only
played friendly matches, mostly against teams from Bavaria and (northern) Tyrolia.
Because of its success in these matches, SC Meran applied to be recognised as
Tiroler Meister, but this was rejected by the
Deutsch-Alpenländische Fußballverband. In 1920, the clubs in southern
Tyrolia founded the Deutsch-Südtiroler Fußballverband, which organised
regional competitions involving clubs from Bozen, Meran, Bruneck and Sterzing;
its 1920 championship was won by FC Rapid Bozen.
In October 1920, Italy annexed South Tyrol and contacts with the north
were stopped. The (German speaking) clubs from the region were Italianised or
forbidden under the fascist regime; SC Meran were dissolved in 1928 before being
refounded in December 1945.
In the Trentino, the first football club was founded 1905 in Riva as Società Sportiva Benacense, later renamed Unione Sportiva Benacense 1905. In Trento, football first started being played at the sport clubs Unione Ginnastica (founded 1919) and Polisportiva Sport Pedestre (founded 1912), which merged in 1921. However, there appears to have been no notable activity outside of the region.
Note that also Trieste belonged to the Habsburg Empire until 1918, but local sides such as Ponziana only played at local level.
City name correspondences: German Italian Slovenian Croatian Bozen Bolzano Brixen Bressanone Bruneck Brunico Meran Merano Sterzing Vipiteno Trient Trento Triest Trieste Trst Trst
In the region of Galicia, nowadays divided between Poland and the Ukraine, a football organisation, the Galician Football Union, was founded on June 25, 1911, and became an autonomous member of the Austrian football federation on September 3, 1911.
In the same year, Cracovia from Kraków obtained first class status from the Österreichische Fußball-Verband.
In 1913, a first Galician championship authorised by the Austrian football federation was organised with four clubs, 2 from Kraków and 2 from Lwów; the two Kraków clubs finished first and second.
In the Austrian part of Silesia, the Bielitzer Fussball Klub (BFK) was founded in September 1907, and renamed Bielitz-Bialaer Sportverein (BBSV) in March 1911. In July 1920, Bielitz/Bielsko became Polish and the BBSV played the Polish national side in an unofficial match in 1921. The club was renamed Bielsko-Bialskie Towarzystwo Sportowe (BBTS) in 1935 and dissolved in September 1939 by the German occupiers. It is not clear how this club was related to DSV Bielitz, who reached the final of the championship of German clubs in Moravia and Silesia in all three seasons (1912, 1913 and 1914) it was played, but lost to DSV Troppau on all three occasions.
City name correspondences: German Polish Ukrainian Bielitz Bielsko Krakau Kraków Krakiv Galician Championship 1913 1.Cracovia Kraków 1913 2.Wisla Kraków
In the 1912/13 season, a club from Cilli (now Celje) entered the first ever league organised by the Deutsch-Alpenländischer Fußballverband, which comprised 4 clubs from Graz and the Deutscher Athletik-Sportklub (known as DAC) from Cilli, which finished fifth and last with 1 win from 8 matches. It is not known whether the club also entered in 1913/14. Clubs from Cilli and Marburg also entered the Grazer Herbstmesse-Pokal in 1911 and 1913, a Styrian knock-out tournament played between 1906 and 1925 which also saw clubs from other Austrian regions (Wien, Niederösterreich and Kärnten) enter occasionally. In 1911, DAC (founded as Deutscher Athletiksportklub Eiche in 1906 and renamed Deutscher Athletik-Sportklub two years later) reached the final of the competition, in which they lost 0-5 to Grazer AK.
Note that three clubs from Maribor (then Marburg) and Trbovlje (then Trifail) played in the southern group of the Gauliga Steiermark in the 1943/44 season, when the Austrian league structure itself was part of the German league structure; in addition, clubs from Aßling, Krainburg, Veldes and Cilli entered the Carinthian league structure during one or more war seasons; see the section on Slovenian clubs in the German football structure.
City name correspondences: German Slovenian Aßling Jesenice Cilli Celje Krainburg Kranj Marburg Maribor Trifail Trbovlje Veldes Bled
In the region of Galicia, nowadays divided
between Poland and the Ukraine, a
football organisation, the Galician
Football Union, was founded on June 25, 1911, and became an
autonomous member of the Austrian football federation on
September 3, 1911. In 1913, the club ST Ukraine from Lwów
(ST = Sportivne Tovaristvo or sports comrades) joined the
Austrian football federation; in the same year a first Galician
championship authorised by the Austrian football federation
was organised with four clubs, 2 from Kraków and 2 from Lwów.
A championship of the Bukovina (nowadays divided between Romania
and the Ukraine) was already played in 1908. In that same year,
the football club Rewera was founded in the town of Stanisławów
(now Ivano-Frankivsk, then known in Ukrainian as Stanyslaviv and
in German as Stanislau), but no information on its activities
during the Habsburg era is available; during the interbellum
it played at the second league level in Poland.
The two Lwów clubs finished third and fourth in the Galician
championship of 1913. The first ever Bukovina championship in 1908
was won by a club from Czernowitz, which had been founded in 1903.
After World War I, Galicia, including its currently Ukrainian cities,
came to Poland, and the Bukovina, including
the capital Czernowitz which is now in the Ukraine,
to Romania.
City name correspondences: German Ukrainian Polish Romanian Czernowitz Chernivtsy Czerniowce Cernăuți Lemberg Lviv Lwów Liov Stanislau Stanyslaviv Stanisławów Stanislău Galician Championship 1913 3.Pogoń Lwów 1913 4.Czarny Lwów Bukovina Championship 1908 1.Deutscher Fußball Klub Czernowitz
When Poland was recreated after the first World War, it obtained various regions east of its current borders, which now lie in Lithuania (mainly the region around the current capital Vilnius, Wilno in Polish), Belarus (including cities such as Brest/Brześć, Hrodna/Grodno and Pinsk/Pińsk) and the Ukraine (including cities such as Lviv/Lwów/Lemberg, Lutsk/Łuck, Rivne/Równe and Ivano-Frankivsk/Stanisławów). In particular the clubs from Lwów played an important role in Polish football: when the first 'nationwide' Polish league was created in 1927, 3 of its 14 participants came from Lwów, as many as Warszawa (Warsaw) had, and more than for instance Kraków and Łódź (both 2). Before, Pogoń Lwów had won four consecutive Polish championships (1922 to 1926; no championship was organised in 1924 due to preparations for the Olympic Games in Paris) and Sparta Lwów had reached the first Polish cup final in 1926 (the only cup tournament organised in Poland prior to 1950).
No clubs from current Belarus reached the first division of the Polish league (or the latter stages of the national championship playoffs in the early seasons in which no national league was organised). One club reached the final stage (last 4) of the second division promotion playoffs, on two occasions: 82 pp Brześć in 1930 (they finished third; the playoff was won by Lechia Lwów who were promoted) and 1931 (when they lost 1-4, 1-3 to 22 pp Siedlce in the semifinals). Other clubs from the region to have entered the regional playoffs of the second division (played in 4 groups of 3 or 4 clubs each) are: 4 dspanc. Brześć, WKS Brześć, Ruch Brześć and Pogoń Brześć; Cresovia Grodno, WKS Grodno and 76 pp Grodno; and Kotwica Pińsk and KPW Ognisko Pińsk.
As an aside, note that the Polish region around Białystok (Belastok in Belarussian, Belostok in Russian) was occupied by the Soviet Union from 1939 to 1944 and as such part of the Belarussian Soviet Socialist Republic. No information on football activities during this period is available.
City name correspondences: Polish Belarussian Russian Brześć Brest Brest Grodno Hrodna Grodno Pińsk Pinsk Pinsk Championship No club from the region played in the Polish national championship.
Five clubs based in Wilno, currently as Vilnius the capital of Lithuania, played one season at the Polish top level. Two other clubs from the city reached the regional playoffs of the second division (played in 4 groups of 3 or 4 clubs each): Ognisko Wilno and Makkabi Wilno.
City name correspondence: Polish Lithuanian Wilno Vilnius Championship Strzelec Wilno (1 top level season (played in 2 groups)) 1922 4.Strzelec Wilno 6 1 0 5 9-33 2 [northern group] Lauda Wilno (1 top level season (played in 2 groups)) 1923 3.Lauda Wilno 6 1 1 4 4-26 3 [eastern group] Pogoń Wilno (1 top level season (played in 3 groups)) 1925 2.Pogoń Wilno 4 1 0 3 5-11 2 [eastern group] 1 pp. leg. Wilno (1 top level season (played in 3 groups)) 1926 3.1 pp. leg. Wilno 4 0 0 4 2-27 0 [northern group] Śmigły Wilno (1 top level season) 1938 10.Śmigły Wilno 18 5 1 12 29-50 11
Clubs from towns and cities currently in the Ukraine played an important role in Polish football before the second World War. Before the introduction of a nationwide league in 1927 (an initial 5-team league was also played in 1921), Pogoń Lwów won 4 national championships; 4 different clubs from Lwów played one or more seasons in the first division (Pogoń entering each and every one of them), and a fifth reached the final of the only Polish cup tournament held prior to 1950. Various clubs from other towns reached the later stages of the second level promotion playoffs: Sokół Równe, WKS Hallerczyk Równe and Hasmonea Równe; Policyjny KS Łuck (who reached the final 4-team playoff in 1938, finishing fourth and last); Junak Drohobycz (who reached the final 4-team playoff in 1939, which was abandoned after 2 from 6 rounds due to the war); Rewera Stanisławów (who reached the second level semifinals in 1934, losing 0-5, 1-0 to Śląsk Świętochłowice; the club had been founded in 1908, when its home town was part of the (Austrian part of the) Habsburg Empire) and Strzelec Górka Stanisławów; Pogoń Stryj; and Strzelec Janowa Dolina, from a basalt mining village on the Horyń/Horyn river near Kostopol/Kostopil, destroyed by Ukrainian nationalists in April 1943.
City name correspondences: Polish Ukrainian German Russian Drohobycz Drohobych Drogobych Łuck Lutsk Lwów Lviv Lemberg Lvov Równe Rivne Rovno Stanisławów Ivano-Frankivsk (since 1962) Stryj Stryj Stryy Championship Pogoń Lwów (18 top level seasons (all held before World War II)) 1921 4.Pogoń Lwów 8 3 0 5 19-13 6 1922 1.Pogoń Lwów 8 6 1 1 42-12 13 [group and playoff] 1923 1.Pogoń Lwów 9 8 0 1 48- 6 16 [group and playoff] NB: includes third leg (playoff) of final against Wisła Kraków, which Pogoń won 2-1 after extra time 1925 1.Pogoń Lwów 8 7 1 0 20- 4 15 [both group stages] 1926 1.Pogoń Lwów 8 6 2 0 37- 7 14 [both group stages] 1927 4.Pogoń Lwów 26 13 3 10 85-42 29 1928 6.Pogoń Lwów 28 14 3 11 61-55 31 1929 9.Pogoń Lwów 24 7 5 12 43-48 19 1930 7.Pogoń Lwów 22 4 11 7 34-36 19 1931 4.Pogoń Lwów 22 11 6 5 47-33 29 1932 2.Pogoń Lwów 22 13 2 7 32-24 28 1933 2.Pogoń Lwów 20 12 4 4 48-20 28 [both group stages] 1934 6.Pogoń Lwów 22 12 0 10 41-38 24 1935 2.Pogoń Lwów 20 11 3 6 55-31 25 1936 6.Pogoń Lwów 18 9 1 8 36-29 19 1937 6.Pogoń Lwów 18 6 3 7 19-23 15 1938 5.Pogoń Lwów 18 9 1 8 23-26 19 1939 3.Pogoń Lwów 13 7 2 4 27-22 16 NB: league abandoned due to start World War II Czarni Lwów (7 top level seasons) 1927 9.Czarni Lwów 26 11 2 13 45-50 24 1928 8.Czarni Lwów 28 13 3 12 54-51 29 1929 11.Czarni Lwów 24 7 4 13 59-63 18 1930 9.Czarni Lwów 22 5 9 8 25-40 19 1931 10.Czarni Lwów 22 7 2 13 28-50 16 1932 11.Czarni Lwów 22 6 4 12 24-39 16 1933 11.Czarni Lwów 20 8 3 9 30-33 16 [both group stages] Hasmonea Lwów (2 top level seasons) 1927 11.Hasmonea Lwów 26 8 7 11 55-78 24 1928 13.Hasmonea Lwów 28 6 3 19 43-71 15 Lechia Lwów (1 top level season) 1931 12.Lechia Lwów 22 5 1 16 23-66 11 Cup 1926: finalists: Sparta Lwów (1-2 vs Wisła Kraków) quarterf:: Sokół Równe (0-4 vs Sparta Lwów)
Denmark | France | Lithuania | Poland | Russia
The region just north of the current Danish-German border, Nordschleswig (in German) or Sønderjylland (in Danish), belonged to the German Reich until 1920. The main towns in the region are Aabenraa (also written Åbenrå – this is the correct spelling since 1948 but locally the old spelling is preferred; the German name is Apenrade), Haderslev (Hadersleben), Ribe (Ripen), Sønderborg (Sonderburg) and Tønder (Tondern).
No clubs from the region participated in the later stages of the German championship tournaments, but regional championships were held; SC Nordmark Hadersleben played in the eastern group of the Schleswig league in the 1906/07 season. Other clubs to have been founded when the region belonged to Germany include: Svensk Gymnastikforening (in Haderslev, 1891), Haderslev Fodsports Club (in the summer of 1901), Haderslev FK (July 14, 1906; possibly as Haderslebener Fußball Club), Toftlund Idrætsforening (June 7, 1908), Ribe BK (May 17, 1917; they reached the second round of the Danish Cup 1960/61) and Sønderborg BK (1919; they reached the second round of the Danish Cup 1957/58, 1962/63 and 1978/79 before merging with UI Ulkebøl into UIU/Sønderborg (reached the second round of the Danish Cup 1990/91) and then with Ulkebøl BK into SUB Sønderborg (reached the third round of the Danish Cup in 1991/92)). Aabenraa BK (reached the 1/8 finals of the Danish Cup 1964/65, 1971/72 and 1988/89) and Tønder SF (reached the third round, then the last before the 1/8 finals, of the Danish Cup 1971/72) were founded in 1920, the year the region became Danish (though football is reported to have been played in Tønder as early as 1865).
Haderslev FK won the regional championship of Sønderjylland in 1908 (with an 11-1 win over Sønderborg; this club possibly was a forerunner of Sønderborg BK, now SUB Sønderborg) and 1910 (beating Skarve IF in the final). Haderslev FK reached the 1/8 finals (round of 16) of the Danish Cup in 1955/56 and won their first ever promotion to the Danish first division (Superligaen) in 2000; during the winter break of their first season in the top flight, 2000/01, the club changed name to HFK Sønderjylland (technically, a 'superstructure' was formed and Haderslev FK resumed playing at amateur level). HFK Sønderjylland were relegated in 2001 but returned to the top flight in 2005/06, now playing as SønderjyskE (name change in 2003; this club reached the 1/8 finals of the Danish Cup in 2004/05, 2006/07 and 2007/08), and again suffering immediate relegation; they were promoted again at the end of the 2007/08 season. They achieved their best ever league finish in 2015/16 as runners-up behind FC København.
Until the end of the first World War, the Elsaß (Alsace)
and Lothringen (Lorraine) regions were German, and
clubs from there played in the southern
German Verband süddeutscher Fußballvereine.
Until 1903, only a regional championship was played, and the
Straßburger FV
won it twice around the turn of the century.
Afterwards, the southern German champions qualified for the
German championship, but no club from the region managed to do so,
and so none ever qualified for the German championship playoffs.
Below, clubs reaching the final stage of the southern German
championship are listed, such as FC Mülhausen 93 who did so in 1904/05
after topping the A-Klasse Oberrhein ahead of Freiburger FC
and Straßburger FV. Other clubs from the Elsaß
who joined the Verband süddeutscher Fußballvereine
included: FK Frankonia Straßburg, ASC Straßburg, FC Germania Mühlhausen,
FK Mars Bischheim, FC Schlettstadt and Hagenauer FV (who
played in the A-Klasse Oberrhein 1907/08 with Freiburger FC
and Straßburger FC Donar).
In addition, member clubs from Lothringen included:
FC Metis Metz (since 1907), Metzer SpVgg (merged 1912 with Metis
into Sportvereinigung Metz), FV Diedenhofen, FK Viktoria Redingen
and FV Orne 1909 Rombach. Presumably also contemporary clubs
from Forbach (FC Phönix, FC Triumph and FC Hansa; the three
merged into Sport-Club Forbach, nowadays US Forbach, in 1909)
belonged to the Verband süddeutscher Fußballvereine.
After the first World War, the area came to France, before
briefly returning to Germany during the
second World War.
City name correspondences: German French Diedenhofen Thionville Hagenau Haguenau Mülhausen Mulhouse Redingen Rédange Rombach Rombas Schlettstadt Sélestat Straßburg Strasbourg Championship VSF (southern Germany) 1898: stage? Straßburger FV (lost to Freiburger FC) stage? FC Mülhausen 93 (lost to Freiburger FC) 1899: winners: Straßburger FV (4-3 vs Karlsruher FV) 1900: winners: Straßburger FV (beat Karlsruher FV in final) 1902: quarterf.: Straßburger FV (2-7 vs Karlsruher FV) 1903: quarterf.: Straßburger FV (scratched vs Karlsruher FV) prel. rd.: Straßburger FC Donar (0-7 vs Straßburger FV) 1904: quarterf.: Straßburger FV (lost to Karlsruher FV) 1905: group st.: FC Mülhausen 93 (3rd (of 4) in Südkreis (1 of 2)) 1910: group st.: Straßburger FV (8th (of 9) in Südkreis (1 of 4)) 1911: group st.: Straßburger FV (8th (of 10) in Südkreis (1 of 4)) 1912: group st.: Straßburger FV (9th (of 11) in Südkreis (1 of 4)) 1914: group st.: FV Metz (8th (of 8) in Westkreis (1 of 4))
The Lithuanian city of Klaipėda was founded as Memel in 1250 and belonged to the German Reich until 1923, when Lithuania annexed the area around the city. Clubs from Klaipėda entered the Lithuanian league between 1924 and 1939 (when Germany invaded the area again), but also entered the German league structure in various seasons; the SpVgg. Memel twice reached the final stage of the championship of the Baltenverband (which also included many areas on the now Polish coast and the Russian exclave Kaliningrad/Königsberg), from which the winners qualified for the German championship playoffs. Note that the club also played in the Lithuanian league structure (as Spielvereinigung Klaipėda) during this time, finishing second in the Klaipėda group in 1928 (winners KSS, who eventually claimed the championship in a final round with other regional group winners), third in 1929 (winners again KSS, who again claimed the Lithuanian championship as well; second were Freya Klaipėda who later entered the Sportbereich 1 Ostpreußen during the war) and second again in 1930 (again behind KSS who once more claimed the national title).
In 1931, a national league was formed in Lithuania (as opposed to the regional groups played between 1924 and 1930); in this, Freya Klaipėda played for two seasons (finishing 3rd in 1931 and 7th in 1932) and the Spielvereinigung Klaipėda for one (finishing 5th in 1933).
Below we list all appearances of Memel clubs in the Endrunde of the Baltenverband, and in the Sportbereich 1 Ostpreußen (formerly Gauliga Ostpreußen) during the war.
Championship Baltenverband - Endrunde (played by 5 clubs) 1927/28 5.SpVgg. Memel 4 0 1 3 4-10 1 1928/29 3.SpVgg. Memel 6 3 0 3 13-13 6 Sportbereich 1 Ostpreußen 1940/41 7.VfB Freya Memel 12 0 0 12 6-63 0
In this section all performances in the German championship playoffs by clubs from towns and cities currently in Poland, but part of Germany before World War II, are listed. For clubs in areas of Poland conquered by Germany during World War II, see the section on occupations.
Note that this section, as a matter of convenience, also includes Danzig, which was formally autonomous between the two World Wars as Freistaat Danzig and as such comparable to the Free State of Trieste after World War II.
We split the period in question into two
parts – before and after 1933; not directly for political reasons,
but because the Nazi government of the German Reich
reorganised the football structure that year, introducing fifteen
Gauligen to replace the regional federations which each
had their own championship systems, and adding a group stage to
the national championship playoff (which had been entirely
knock-out based until then).
Cities to have been represented, prior to 1933,
by one or more clubs in the final
regional round (Baltenverband or Südostdeutschland)
before the national playoffs include:
Allenstein/Olsztyn, Beuthen/Bytom,
Breslau/Wrocław, Danzig/Gdańsk, Elbing/Elbląg,
Glatz/Kłodzko, Gleiwitz/Gliwice, Graudenz/Grudziądz
(prior to 1920, when the city was incorporated into Poland),
Hindenburg/Zabrze, Hirschberg/Jelenia Góra, Jauer/Jawor,
Kattowitz/Katowice, Liegnitz/Legnica, Marienwerder/Kwidzyn,
Neufahrwasser/Nowy Port, Posen/Poznań (prior to 1920, when
the city was incorporated into Poland), Rastenburg/Kętrzyn
(Polish name Rastembork until 1950), Sagan/Żagań,
Schneidemühl/Piła, Stettin/Szczecin, Stolp/Słupsk,
Thorn/Toruń (prior to 1920, when the city was incorporated
into Poland), Waldenburg/Wałbrzych and Züllichau/Sulechów.
The following currently Polish cities were represented in the
Gauliga Ostpreußen:
Allenstein/Olsztyn,
Braunsberg/Braniewo,
Danzig/Gdańsk,
Elbing/Elbląg,
Goldap/Gołdap,
Gollnow/Goleniów,
Lauenthal/Letnica (now district of Gdańsk),
Lyck/Ełk,
Mlawa/Mława (renamed Mielau 1941),
Neufahrwasser/Nowy Port (now district of Gdańsk),
Ortelsburg/Szczytno,
Osterode/Ostróda
and Rastenburg/Kętrzyn (Polish name Rastembork until 1950).
The following currently Polish cities were represented in the
Gauliga Pommern:
Dievenow/Dziwnów,
Groß Bron/Borne Sulinowo (after HSV Hubertus Kolberg was relocated
and renamed HSV Groß Born in November 1943),
Kolberg/Kołobrzeg, Kamp-Köslin/Kepa Koszalin,
Köslin/Koszalin,
Lauenburg/Lębork, Neustettin/Szczecinek,
Pommerensdorf/Pomorzany (now district of Szczecin),
Schneidemühl/Piła,
Stettin/Szczecin,
Stolp/Słupsk,
Stolpmünde/Ustka
and Swinemünde/Świnoujście.
The following currently Polish cities were represented in the
Gauliga Schlesien:
Beuthen/Bytom,
Bismarckhütte/Hajduki Wielkie (now district of Chorzów),
Breslau/Wrocław,
Brieg/Brzeg,
Gleiwitz/Gliwice, Haynau/Chojnów, Hindenburg/Zabrze,
Kattowitz/Katowice,
Klausberg (before 1936 Mikultschütz)/Mikulczyce (now district of Zabrze),
Klettendorf/Klecina (now district of Wrocław),
Knurow/Knurów,
Königshütte/Chorzów (before 1934 Królewska Huta),
Liegnitz/Legnica,
Lipine/Lipiny (now district of Świętochłowice),
Myslowitz/Mysłowice,
Oels/Oleśnica,
Ratibor/Racibórz,
Rybnik/Rybnik (only in the abandoned 1944/45 season),
Scharley/Szarlej (now district of Piekary Śląskie;
only in the abandoned 1944/45 season),
Schweidnitz/Świdnica,
Schwientochlowitz/Świętochłowice
and Tarnowitz/Tarnowskie Góry.
In 1943/44, Lower Silesian football was divided into
various smaller sections (Bezirksgruppen Niederschlesien),
which meant clubs from a number of towns reached the 'first
German football level' for the first time ever:
in the Görlitz group:
Hirschberg/Jelenia Góra (had been represented prior to 1933),
Kittlitztreben/Kotlicki Trebin and Lauban/Lubań;
in the Liegnitz group:
Glogau/Głogów,
Jauer/Jawor (had been represented prior to 1933),
Lüben/Lubin and Sprottau/Szprotawa;
and in the Bergland group:
Altwasser/Stary Zdrój (now district of Wałbrzych),
Dittersbach/Podgórze II (earlier Polish name Dietrzychów;
now district of Wałbrzych),
Freiburg/Świebodzice,
Glatz/Kłodzko,
Neurode/Nowa Ruda,
Striegau/Strzegom,
Waldenburg/Wałbrzych (had been represented prior to 1933)
and Weißstein/Biały Kamień (now district of Wałbrzych).
Five clubs from the region reached the semifinals of the German championship: Titania Stettin and Breslauer Sportfreunde both in 1920, Breslauer SC in 1929 (all lost their semifinal ties to the then leading clubs from the Franconian agglomeration Nürnberg/Fürth) and Vorwärts-Rasensport Gleiwitz (the strongest club from the region during the nazi regime) in 1936; in addition, an army side, Heeres SV Groß Born, did so during the war (1944). TuS Lipine reached the semifinals of the 1942 cup.
Germania Königshütte also deserve a special mention, not so much for their three entries in the German championship playoffs during the war (their best performance being a 1/8 final loss away to Vienna in 1942) but for finishing runners-up of the Polish league 1937 under their then name of AKS Chorzów. The club were founded as VfR Königshütte in 1910, when their home town was part of the German Kaiserreich; after Königshütte became Polish (as Królewska Huta) in 1922, they played in the Polish league structure from 1923 to 1939, as AKS Królewska Huta until 1934 and as AKS Chorzów since, following the name change of the town. Their second place in 1937 was quite remarkable because they had been promoted the season before. Even more unusual, the other club promoted in 1936, Cracovia from Kraków, won the title ahead of AKS Chorzów. After the war, AKS Chorzów were resurrected and finished third in the Polish championship on two more occasions (1946 and 1947) before slipping to lower divisions; the club still exists as AKS Wyzwolenie Chorzów.
Finally, we mention 1. FC Kattowitz. They did not enjoy any remarkable success during the period the city belonged to Germany (until the split of Upper Silesia in the summer of 1922), but after the town had come to Poland, this ethnic German club played three seasons in the Polish top level, from 1927 to 1929, finishing runners-up in the first season after a controversial home loss to eventual champions Wisła Kraków a few weeks before the end of the season. The club was dissolved after the war but resurrected in 2007; their women team reached the top Polish league level in 2010 but were relegated after two seasons.
Championship - until 1933 1905: prel. rd.: SC Schlesien Breslau (scratched vs FC Viktoria Magdeburg) 1906: quarterf.: SC Schlesien Breslau (1-7 vs Hertha 92 Berlin) 1907: quarterf.: SC Schlesien Breslau (1-2 vs Viktoria 89 Berlin) 1908: quarterf.: VfR 1897 Breslau (1-3 vs FC Wacker Leipzig) 1910: quarterf.: VfR 1897 Breslau (1-2 vs FC Tasmania Rixdorf) 1912: quarterf.: BuEV Danzig (0-7 vs Viktoria 89 Berlin) quarterf.: ATV Liegnitz (2-3 vs SpVgg. Leipzig-Lindenau) 1920: semifinal: FC Titania Stettin (0-3 vs 1.FC Nürnberg) semifinal: Breslauer Sportfreunde (0-4 vs SpVgg. Fürth) 1921: quarterf.: Stettiner SC (1-2 vs Vorwärts 90 Berlin) quarterf.: Breslauer Sportfreunde (1-2 vs Wacker Halle) 1922: quarterf.: FC Titania Stettin (0-5 vs Hamburger SV) 1923: quarterf.: Breslauer Sportfreunde (0-4 vs SpVgg. Fürth) 1924: quarterf.: Breslauer Sportfreunde (0-3 vs Hamburger SV) 1925: quarterf.: Breslauer SC 1908 (1-4 vs 1.FC Nürnberg) 1/8 final: FC Titania Stettin (2-4 vs Altona 1893) 1926: quarterf.: Breslauer SC 1908 (0-4 vs SpVgg. Fürth) 1/8 final: Stettiner SC (2-8 vs Holstein Kiel) 1927: 1/8 final: Breslauer FV 1906 (0-3 vs VfB Leipzig) 1/8 final: Breslauer Sportfreunde (1-3 vs SpVgg. Fürth) 1/8 final: Stettiner SC (1-9 vs Holstein Kiel) 1928: 1/8 final: Breslauer SC 1908 (2-3 vs VfB Königsberg) 1/8 final: Breslauer Sportfreunde (0-7 vs Hertha BSC) 1/8 final: SC Preußen Stettin (1-4 vs Holstein Kiel) 1929: semifinal: Breslauer SC 1908 (1-6 vs SpVgg. Fürth) 1/8 final: FC Titania Stettin (2-3 aet vs Tennis Borussia Berlin) 1/8 final: Preußen Hindenburg (1-8 vs Hertha BSC) 1930: 1/8 final: Breslauer Sportfreunde (0-7 vs 1.FC Nürnberg) 1/8 final: FC Titania Stettin (2-4 vs SpVgg. Sülz 1907) 1/8 final: Beuthener SuSV 1909 (2-3 vs Hertha BSC) 1931: 1/8 final: Beuthener SuSV 1909 (0-2 vs Hamburger SV) 1/8 final: VfB Liegnitz (1-6 vs Tennis Borussia Berlin) 1932: 1/8 final: Beuthener SuSV 1909 (1-5 vs Chemnitzer PSV) 1/8 final: Hindenburg Allenstein (0-6 vs Eintracht Frankfurt) 1/8 final: SV Viktoria Stolp (0-3 vs Tennis Borussia Berlin) 1933: quarterf.: Hindenburg Allenstein (2-12 vs Eintracht Frankfurt) quarterf.: Beuthener SuSV 1909 (0-3 vs 1860 München) 1/8 final: Vorwärts-Ras. Gleiwitz (0-9 vs Fortuna Düsseldorf) Championship - since 1933 1934 Gp1 2.Beuthener SuSV 1909 6 3 1 2 12-13 7 Gp1 3.SV Viktoria Stolp 6 1 2 3 10-12 4 Gp1 4.Preußen Danzig 6 0 1 5 6-18 1 1935 Gp1 3.Vorwärts-Ras. Gleiwitz 6 2 1 3 9-11 5 Gp2 4.Stettiner SC 6 0 1 5 5-29 1 1936 Gp2 1.Vorwärts-Ras. Gleiwitz 6 5 0 1 21- 9 10 semifinal: Vorwärts-Ras. Gleiwitz (1-3 vs Fortuna Düsseldorf; Vorwärts-Rasensport lost playoff for 3rd place vs Schalke 04 (1-8)) Gp1 4.Hindenburg Allenstein 6 0 0 6 6-24 0 Gp2 4.SV Viktoria Stolp 6 1 0 5 4-20 2 1937 Gp1 3.Hindenburg Allenstein 6 1 2 3 10-21 4 Gp1 4.Beuthener SuSV 1909 6 1 1 4 12-20 3 Gp2 4.SV Viktoria Stolp 6 0 0 6 1-36 0 1938 Gp1 3.Stettiner SC 6 2 0 4 12-18 4 Gp3 4.Vorwärts-Ras. Gleiwitz 6 1 1 4 9-20 3 1939 Gp1 3.Hindenburg Allenstein 6 2 1 3 10-12 5 G2a 3.SV Viktoria Stolp 4 1 0 3 1- 8 2 Gp4 2.Vorwärts-Ras. Gleiwitz 6 4 0 2 12-11 8 1940 G1a 3.VfL Stettin 4 0 0 4 5-13 0 G1b 2.Vorwärts-Ras. Gleiwitz 4 1 2 1 11-11 4 1941 G1a 1.Vorwärts-Ras. Gleiwitz 4 2 1 1 9- 5 5 G1a 2.Luftwaffen SV Stettin 4 1 2 1 8- 9 4 G1a 3.Preußen Danzig 4 0 3 1 5- 8 3 playoff: Vorwärts-Ras. Gleiwitz (0-3, 0-3 vs Dresdner SC) 1942: 1/8 final: Breslau 02 (1-2 aet vs Planitzer SC) 1/8 final: Germania Königshütte (0-1 vs Vienna) qual. rd.: HuS Marienwerder (1-7 vs VfB Königsberg) 1943: quarterf.: SV Neufahrwasser (0-4 vs Dresdner SC) 1/8 final: LSV Reinicke Brieg (0-8 vs Vienna) qual. rd.: Germania Königshütte (3-4 aet vs LSV Reinicke Brieg) 1944: semifinal: Heeres SV Groß Born (2-3 vs LSV Hamburg) 1/8 final: STC Hirschberg (0-5 vs Vienna) qual. rd.: Germania Königshütte (2-9 vs Dresdner SC) qual. rd.: LSV Danzig (0-0 aet, 1-7 vs Hertha BSC) Cup (von-Tschammer-Pokal) 1935: 1/8 final: Masovia Lyck (1-2 vs Dresdner Sportfreunde) 1/16 fin.: Vorwärts-Ras. Gleiwitz (2-3 vs Berolina Lichtenberg) 1/16 fin:: SC Vorwärts Breslau (2-4 vs Minerva 93 Berlin) 1936: 1/8 final: Hindenburg Allenstein (1-3 vs VfB Peine) 1/16 fin.: SV Viktoria Stolp (1-2 vs Hindenburg Allenstein) 1/16 fin.: Vorwärts-Ras. Gleiwitz (2-2 aet, 0-3 vs VfB Leipzig) 1/16 fin.: Beuthener SuSV 1909 (1-4 vs Berliner SV 92) 1937: 1/16 fin.: Breslauer FV 06 (1-7 vs SpVgg. Fürth) 1938: quarterf.: Vorwärts-Ras. Gleiwitz (2-4 vs 1.FC Nürnberg) 1/16 fin.: Hindenburg Allenstein (o/w vs Hertha BSC) NB: in 1938, stages refer to the stages in 'Altreich', whose quarterfinal winners joined the quarterfinal winners of the 'Ostmark' in the 'Großdeutschland' quarterfinal stage. 1939: 1/8 final: Vorwärts-Ras. Gleiwitz (1-6 vs Rapid Wien) 1/16 fin.: SV Viktoria Stolp (1-3 vs Blau-Weiß 90 Berlin) 1/16 fin.: SV Klettendorf (1-6 vs Berliner SV 92) 1940: 1/8 final: BuEV Danzig (1-5 vs VfB Königsberg) 1/16 fin.: VfL Stettin (0-0 aet, 1-2 vs BuEV Danzig) 1941: quarterf.: LSV Kamp-Köslin (1-4 vs Dresdner SC) 1/8 final: Vorwärts-Ras. Gleiwitz (0-8 vs Austria Wien) 1/16 fin.: SV Viktoria Stolp (0-3 vs LSV Kamp-Köslin) 1/16 fin.: Breslauer SpVg. 02 (1-6 vs Vorwärts-Rasensport Gleiwitz) 1942: semifinal: TuS Lipine (0-6 vs 1860 München) quarterf.: LSV Stettin (1-4 vs Werder Bremen) 1/16 fin.: Breslauer SpVg. 02 (0-4 vs TuS Lipine) 1/16 fin.: LSV Reinicke Brieg (1-7 vs LSV Adler Demblin) 1/16 fin.: SV Neufahrwasser (2-3 vs LSV Pütnitz) 1943: 1/8 final: Breslauer SpVg. 02 (5-6 vs Vienna) 1/16 fin.: SV Victoria Elbing (0-7 vs LSV Pütnitz) 1/16 fin.: TuS Lipine (3-5 vs Breslauer SpVg. 02)
In this section all performances in the German championship playoffs
by clubs from towns and cities currently in Russia, but part of Germany
before World War II, are listed.
We split the period in question into two
parts – before and after 1933; not directly for political reasons,
but because the Nazi government of the German Reich
reorganised the football structure that year, introducing fifteen
Gauligen to replace the regional federations which each
had their own championship systems, and adding a group stage to
the national championship playoff (which had been entirely
knock-out based until then).
Cities to have been represented prior to 1933
by one or more clubs in the final
regional round (of the Baltenverband)
before the national playoffs include:
Königsberg/Kaliningrad, Gumbinnen/Gusev,
Insterburg/Černjahovsk and Tilsit/Sovetsk.
The following currently Russian cities were represented in the
Gauliga Ostpreußen between 1933 and 1935:
Königsberg/Kaliningrad, Gumbinnen/Gusev,
Insterburg/Černjahovsk and Tilsit/Sovetsk; after 1935, the
Gauliga Ostpreußen was split into four Bezirksklassen,
in which additionally the following currently Russian cities
were represented:
Heiligenbeil/Mamonovo, Labiau/Polessk, Neukuhren/Pionierski
and Ponarth (Baltijskij Rayon, district of Kaliningrad).
The best performance by any club from the region was the semifinal appearance of VfB Königsberg in the 1923 championship.
Championship - until 1933 1908: quarterf.: VfB Königsberg (0-7 vs Viktoria 89 Berlin) 1909: quarterf.: VfB Königsberg (1-12 vs Viktoria 89 Berlin) 1910: prel. rd.: Prussia-Samland Kgsbg. (1-5 vs FC Tasmania Rixdorf) 1911: quarterf.: SC Lituania Tilsit (scratched vs Viktoria 89 Berlin) 1913: quarterf.: Prussia-Samland Kgsbg. (1-6 vs Viktoria 89 Berlin) 1914: quarterf.: Prussia-Samland Kgsbg. (1-4 vs VfB Leipzig) 1923: semifinal: VfB Königsberg (2-3 vs Hamburger SV) 1924: quarterf.: VfB Königsberg (1-6 vs SpVgg. Leipzig-Lindenau) 1925: 1/8 final: VfB Königsberg (2-3 aet vs Hertha BSC) 1926: 1/8 final: VfB Königsberg (0-4 vs Hertha BSC) 1927: 1/8 final: VfB Königsberg (1-2 vs Hertha BSC) 1928: quarterf.: VfB Königsberg (0-4 vs Hamburger SV) 1929: 1/8 final: VfB Königsberg (1-2 vs Breslauer SC 1908) 1930: 1/8 final: VfB Königsberg (1-8 vs Dresdner SC) 1931: 1/8 final: VfB Königsberg (1-8 vs Dresdner SC) 1/8 final: Prussia-Samland Kgsbg. (2-3 vs Holstein Kiel) 1933: 1/8 final: Prussia-Samland Kgsbg. (1-7 vs Beuthener SuSV 1909) Championship - since 1933 1935 Gp1 4.Yorck-Boyen Insterburg 6 0 1 5 8-35 1 1938 Gp1 4.Yorck-Boyen Insterburg 6 0 0 6 4-25 0 1940 G1a 2.VfB Königsberg 4 3 0 1 13-10 6 1941 G2a 3.VfB Königsberg 4 1 0 3 6-11 2 1942: quarterf.: VfB Königsberg (1-2 vs Blau-Weiß Berlin) 1944: 1/8 final: VfB Königsberg (3-10 vs Heeres SV Groß Born) Cup (von-Tschammer-Pokal) 1935: 1/16 fin.: VfB Königsberg (0-1 vs Masovia Lyck) 1938: 1/16 fin.: Yorck-Boyen Insterburg (1-4 vs Brandenburger SC 05) NB: in 1938, 1/16 finals refers to stage in 'Altreich', whose quarterfinal winners joined the quarterfinal winners of the 'Ostmark' in the 'Großdeutschland' quarterfinal stage. 1940: quarterf.: VfB Königsberg (0-8 vs Dresdner SC) 1941: 1/8 final: VfB Königsberg (2-3 vs LSV Kamp-Köslin) 1/16 fin.: STV Königsberg (0-8 vs VfB Königsberg) 1942: 1/16 fin.: VfB Königsberg (1-4 vs LSV Stettin) 1943: 1/8 final: VfB Königsberg (0-5 vs Dresdner SC)
The historical region of Karelia (Karjala in Finnish)
comprises a large area, part of which is now in Finland
(main cities Joensuu and Lappeenranta), and part in Russia.
The part belonging to Finland was larger before the second
World War, during which the Soviet Union annexed the Karelian
Isthmus (Karjalan Kannas), with as main city Viipuri/Vyborg,
and Ladoga Karelia, including Sortavala. (Finnish troops reconquered
most of the area at some time during the war but eventually Finland
had to cede it to the Soviet Union afterwards.)
Viipuri was the second largest city of Finland in the
interbellum and its clubs played a significant role
in Finnish ice hockey (Reipas Viipuri won the first ever
Finnish ice hockey championship in 1928), bandy (Sudet Viipuri
won 14 pre-war Finnish championships in this sport, nearly half
the available titles) and
football (even after World War II, following their
relocation: Reipas Lahti and IKissat Tampere (later Ilves Tampere
and Tampere United), to name but the two most striking examples,
had their roots in Viipuri).
Sudet Viipuri (earlier called WBJS, which denoted
Wiipurin Bandy- ja Jalkapalloseura, and as such already
semifinalists in the 1916 championship)
won the 1940 championship (one season
after winning promotion from the second level; however, the
1940 championship was played as a cup competition open to
all clubs) and Reipas Viipuri reached 5 championship
finals before a nationwide league was established.
From 1941 to 1956, the Karelo-Finnish SSR formed the 16th Soviet Socialist Republic; in 1956 it was 'relegated' to an ASSR (autonomous SSR), the Karelian ASSR, thereby losing its constitutional secession right. It should be mentioned that Russians always formed the (clear) majority of the population in the relevant area, Karelians and Finns forming a minority of around 10%.
Sortavala clubs never played above the second Finnish league level (SoPS, i.e. Sortavalan Palloseura in 1938 and 1939, and SP, i.e. Sortavalan Palloilijat in 1935, 1936, 1938 and 1939). In the late nineties, FK Sortavala and Metallurg Värtsila played in the Finnish league structure as guests.
Apart from the three Viipuri clubs to have reached the first
Finnish level (and discussed below), we also mention:
City name correspondences: Finnish Russian Swedish Petroskoi Petrozavodsk Sortavala Sortavala Sordavala Viipuri Vyborg Viborg NB: Sortavala earlier also known as Serdobol Championship Championships in knock-out style (until 1929) 1908: semifinal: Reipas Viipuri (1-4 vs PUS Helsinki) 1909: semifinal: Reipas Viipuri (1-6 vs PUS Helsinki) 1910: finalists: Reipas Viipuri (2-4 vs ÅIFK Turku) semifinal: Ponteva Viipuri (2-6 vs Reipas Viipuri) 1911: semifinal: Reipas Viipuri (forfeit vs ÅIFK Turku) 1916: semifinal: WBJS Viipuri (4-4, 1-12 vs ÅIFK Turku) 1917: semifinal: Reipas Viipuri (1-5 vs ÅIFK Turku) 1918: finalists: Reipas Viipuri (0-3 vs HJK Helsinki) 1919: finalists: Reipas Viipuri (0-1 vs HJK Helsinki) 1920: semifinal: Reipas Viipuri (0-2 vs HPS Helsinki) 1922: finalists: Reipas Viipuri (2-4 vs HPS Helsinki) 1924: semifinal: Sudet Viipuri (2-8 vs HPS Helsinki) 1925: semifinal: Sudet Viipuri (3-4 vs TPS Turku) 1926: semifinal: Reipas Viipuri (2-6 vs TPS Turku) 1927: finalists: Reipas Viipuri (0-6 vs HPS Helsinki) 1928: semifinal: Sudet Viipuri (1-4 vs HIFK Helsinki) 1929: semifinal: Sudet Viipuri (2-6 vs HIFK Helsinki) Championships in league style (since 1930) Sudet Viipuri (12 top level seasons) 1931 6.Sudet Viipuri 7 1 2 4 14-22 4 1932 5.Sudet Viipuri 14 6 1 7 32-36 13 1933 3.Sudet Viipuri 14 5 6 3 22-16 16 1934 4.Sudet Viipuri 14 6 3 5 25-25 15 1935 6.Sudet Viipuri 14 7 0 7 31-34 14 1936 4.Sudet Viipuri 14 6 3 5 26-21 15 1937 3.Sudet Viipuri 14 5 6 3 33-27 16 1938 8.Sudet Viipuri 14 4 0 10 26-30 8 1940: champions: Sudet Viipuri (2-0 vs TPS Turku) 1940/41 3.Sudet Viipuri 14 7 3 4 38-30 17 1942: finalists: Sudet Viipuri (4-6 vs HT Helsinki) 1943/44 3.Sudet Viipuri 7 4 1 2 12-11 9 NB: Sudet played in Helsinki since 1940 and were officially renamed Sudet Helsinki for the 1945 season due to the annexation of Viipuri by the Soviet Union; they moved to Kouvola in 1962 and last played at the third Finnish level in 1990. ViPS (Viipurin Palloseura) (2 top level seasons) 1930 4.ViPS Viipuri 7 3 1 3 20-16 7 1931 8.ViPS Viipuri 7 0 3 4 7-25 3 NB: played 2nd division 1935-1939; disappeared after the annexation of Viipuri by the Soviet Union Reipas Viipuri (1 top level season) 1939 8.Reipas Viipuri 11 2 0 9 18-51 4 NB: after the annexation of Viipuri by the Soviet Union, Reipas moved to Lahti and played as Reipas Lahti 1945-1996, winning 3 Finnish league titles and 7 cups (five in consecutive seasons from 1972 to 1976); they last played in the Finnish top level in 1991; in 1997, having just been relegated from the second to third level, they merged with town rivals and top level side Kuusysi Lahti into FC Lahti; the third division side taking Reipas' place were renamed Pallo-L Lahti.
Austria | Croatia | Romania | Serbia | Slovakia | Ukraine
At the end of the first World War, the map of Europe was changed considerably compared to how it had looked before, in particular due to the dissolution of the multi-ethnic Habsburg Empire. Hungary was affected in particular. In footballing terms, this did not make much of a difference, as the Budapest championship had dominated proceedings entirely. Until 1926, the top flight was a 'tramway league' restricted to the capital (the same applied to the other Habsburg capital city, Vienna, even longer). However, theoretically other clubs could have won the Hungarian title: there were a (varying) number of regional championships in the country, whose winners played off for the title of provincial champions (Vidéki Bajnok); this club could then challenge the Budapest champions for the Hungarian title. However, the match had to be in Budapest, which caused financial difficulties for the would-be challengers. Prior to the first World War, only one club tried – Kassai AC, from the currently Slovak city of Košice, challenged Ferencváros in 1909 – and lost heavily.
The Burgenland (Őrvidék or Felsőőrvidék in Hungarian, Gradišće in Croatian), a province (Land) in Austria, is named after 4 formerly Hungarian administrative divisions (Komitaten), all named after their main towns, burgen (all were built around castles): Preßburg (Bratislava, Pozsóny, the current capital of Slovakia), Wieselburg (Moson in Hungarian, nowadays part of the Hungarian city Mosonmagyaróvár after merging with Magyaróvár (Ungarisch-Altenburg) in 1939), Ödenburg (Sopron in Hungary) and Eisenburg (Vasvár in Hungary)). The area belonged to the Hungarian part of the Habsburg Empire, and only came to Austria in 1921, though without the intended capital Ödenburg/Sopron, which remained Hungarian following a controversial referendum (so currently all four 'burgen' are outside the 'Austrian' Burgenland).
The probably oldest club from the area, SC Eisenstadt, who played
in the Austrian top level for 13 seasons between 1967 and 1987 and
won the 1984 Mitropa Cup, was founded 1907 (according to other
sources: 1914) as Kismarton FC, and played in regional Hungarian
competitions in their first years of existence. As both the
first and the second Hungarian level were restricted to Budapest
at the time (just as the Austrian top two levels were restricted
to Vienna), unfortunately no further data are available.
Another club from the Burgenland, SV Mattersburg, who
played in the Bundesliga for ten seasons between 2003 and
2013 and lost the Austrian cup final in both 2006 and 2007 against
Austria Wien, were founded 1922, just after the area had come to Austria.
They regained their top level status in 2015 but withdrew to the amateur
ranks in 2020 for financial reasons.
The third club from the area to have played in the Austrian top
level, SC Neusiedl/See, in the Bundesliga for 2 seasons
(1982-1984), were founded 1919 under their German name; also
for them, no further data on their short time in the Hungarian
football structure are available. Other Burgenland clubs to
have been founded while the area was Hungarian include
SC Pinkafeld (1912), Union FC Frauenkirchen (1919), SC Parndorf (1919)
and Güssinger SV (founded 1919 as Németújvári Sport-Club).
City name correspondences: German Hungarian Croatian Eisenstadt Kismarton Željezno Frauenkirchen Fertőboldogasszony Güssing Németújvár Mattersburg Nagymarton Materštof Neusiedl am See Nezsider Niuzal Parndorf Pándorfalu Pinkafeld Pinkafő Pinkafelj Vidéki Bajnokság No club from the region won a regional championship.
Fiumei AC registered to play in the Transdanubian district of the Hungarian league structure in the 1909/10 season, but withdrew before playing a match. After World War I, the city of Rijeka was part of the Free State of Fiume before being annexed by Italy in 1924. For performances of clubs in currently Croatian cities in the Hungarian league structure during the second world war, see the section on occupations.
City name correspondences: Croatian Hungarian German Rijeka Fiume Sankt Veit am Flaum
Clubs from currently Romanian cities entered the eastern regional championship (played in various zones in later seasons); clubs from the currently Romanian cities Arad, Cluj, Oradea and Timișoara won regional championships, but no club from the region won the overall provincial championship. For performances of clubs in currently Romanian cities in the Hungarian league structure during the second world war, see the section on occupations.
Among the clubs listed below, Nagyváradi AC later won a Hungarian championship (as the first club from outside Budapest) during the second World War and later also claimed a Romanian championship as IC Oradea; they also were Romanian runners-up in 1923/24, losing the final to Chinezul Timișoara – which was the Romanian name of Temesvári Kinizsi; this club won six consecutive Romanian championships between 1921/22 and 1926/27. Apart from the clubs listed below, also Aradi MTE, Aradi Postas, Aradi TE, Aradi TK, Dévai TK, Kézdivásárhelyi SE, Kolozsvári ASE, Kolozsvári Egyetemi, Kolozsvári FC, Kolozsvári Vasutas, Marosújvári FC, Marosvásárhelyi SE, Nagyszebeni SE, Nagyváradi Bihar, Nagyváradi Egyetértés, Nagyváradi SC, Nagyváradi SE, Nagyváradi Törekvés, Piski Vasutas, Szatmárnémeti SE, Szatmárnémeti Szatmari, Temesvári AC, Temesvári FC, Temesvári MTE, Temesvári TE and Zsombolyai TK played one or more seasons at the highest (regional) level in Hungary before 1918.
City name correspondences: Hungarian Romanian Arad Arad Déva Deva Kézdivásárhely Târgu Secuiesc Kolozsvár Cluj (Cluj-Napoca) Máramarossziget Sighetu Marmației Marosújvár Ocna Mureș (then Uioara) Marosvásárhely Târgu Mureș Nagyszeben Sibiu Nagyvárad Oradea Piski Simeria Szatmárnémeti Satu Mare Temesvár Timișoara Zsombolya Jimbolia Vidéki Bajnokság eastern/southern groups 1907/08 Kolozsvári Ker. Ak. SE 1908/09 Kolozsvári Ker. Ak. SE 1909/10 Aradi AC Kolozsvári Ker. Ak. SE 1910/11 Aradi AC Kolozsvári TC 1911/12 Kolozsvári Ker. Ak. SE 1912/13 Kolozsvári TC Nagyváradi AC 1913/14 Kolozsvári AC Temesvári Kinizsi 1916/17 Temesvári Kinizsi 1917/18 Temesvári Kinizsi overall provincial champions No club from the region won the overall provincial championship. Cup 1914: quarterf.: Kolozsvári EAC (3-5 vs BTC)
Clubs from currently Serbian cities entered the southern regional championship; thrice, a club from current Subotica won the regional championship; no club from the region won the overall provincial championship. For performances of clubs in currently Serbian cities in the Hungarian league structure during the second world war, see the section on occupations.
Bácska Szabadkai AC (founded 1901) played as Bačka Subotica
in the Croatian league structure in 1940/41 and
then at the third Hungarian league level during the
second world war. In addition to Bácska Szabadkai AC, also Újvideki AC
(founded 1910, later Novisadski AK) played in the Hungarian league
structure before 1914. Both would reach the top level in Yugoslavia
(c.q. the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, as it was known until
1929) during the interbellum: Bačka in 1923 (when they
reached the quarterfinals) and 1925 (reaching the semifinals) and
NAK in 1935/36 (reaching the semifinals).
Apart from Bácska Szabadkai AC and Újvideki AC, also Nagykikindai AC
(founded 1909, and now known as OFK Kikinda), Nagykikindai Előre,
Szabadkai MTE, Szabadkai SE, Szabadkai TC, Újvideki TK, Verseci AC
and Zombori SE played one or more seasons at the highest (regional) level in
Hungary before 1918; Zentai AK (founded 1905) may have played at a lower
regional level.
City name correspondence: Hungarian Serbian Nagykikinda Kikinda Szabadka Subotica Újvidek Novi Sad Versec Vršac Zenta Senta Zombor Sombor Vidéki Bajnokság southern group 1908/09 Bácska Szabadkai AC 1911/12 Bácska Szabadkai AC 1912/13 Bácska Szabadkai AC overall provincial champions No club from the region won the overall provincial championship.
Clubs from currently Slovak cities entered the northern regional
championship; clubs from current Košice and Prešov
won the northern regional championship, and Kassai AC twice
claimed the overall provincial championship. On one
occasion, Kassai AC, founded in 1903 but dissolved after
World War II, challenged Budapest champions Ferencváros
for the national title but lost 0-11.
Other clubs from the relevant area founded during this time include
Beszterczebányi SC (founded 1893),
Tatran Prešov (founded 1898 as Eperjesi Toma es Vivo Egyesület,
winners of the northern regional championship in 1907/08),
FC Petržalka (founded 1898 as Pozsonyi Torna Egyesület),
Komárnanský FK (founded 1900 as Komáromi Labdarúgó Társaság),
MFK Vranov nad Topľou (founded 1901),
MFK Lokomotíva Zvolen (founded 1902 as Zólyomi SE),
FK Šahy (founded 1902),
MFK Strojár Krupina (founded 1903),
FK DAC Dunajská Streda (founded 1904),
TTS Trenčín (founded 1904 as Trencsény Torna Egyesület),
MFK Ružomberok (founded 1906 as Rózsahegyi Concordia),
ŠK 07 Kežmarok (founded 1907),
MŠK Žilina (founded 1908 as Zsolnai Testgyakorlók Köre),
1. HFC Humenné (founded 1908 as Homonnai Atlétikai Club),
FC Nitra (founded 1909 as Nyitrai önkentes tüzöltó
testület sportosztálya), FK LAFC Lučenec (founded 1910),
MFK Zemplín Michalovce (founded 1911),
FK Spišská Nová Ves (founded 1911 as Igloi SE),
MFK Topvar Topoľčany (founded 1912 as Nagytapolcsányi LTE),
ZTS Martin (founded 1912 as AC Turčiansky Svätý Martin),
PFK Piešťany, FK Slavoj Trebišov (both founded 1912),
MFK Rimavská Sobota (founded 1913 as Rimaszombati AC),
TJ Veľké Leváre (founded 1913),
ŠTK 1914 Šamorín and ŠKF Sereď (both founded 1914).
Very little is known about the competitive activities of any of these
clubs.
For performances of clubs in currently Slovak cities in the Hungarian league structure during the second world war, see the section on occupations.
City name correspondences: Hungarian Slovak German Besztercebánya Banská Bystrica Neusohl Dunaszerdahely Dunajská Streda Niedermarkt Eperjes Prešov Eperies (also Preschau since 1939) Homonna Humenné Homenau Igló Spišská Nová Ves Zipser Neudorf Ipolyság Šahy Eipelschlag Kassa Košice Kaschau Késmárk Kežmarok Kesmark Komárom Komarno Komorn Korpona Krupina Karpfen Losonc Lučenec Lizenz Nagylévárd Veľké Leváre Großschützen Nagymihály Michalovce Großmichel Nagyszombat Trnava Tyrnau Nagytapolcsány Topoľčany Topoltschan Nyitra Nitra Neutra Pöstyen Piešťany Pistyan Pozsóny Bratislava Preßburg Pozsonyligetfalu Petržalka Engerau Rimaszombat Rimavská Sobota Großsteffelsdorf Rózsahegy Ružomberok Rosenberg Somorja Šamorín Sommerein Szered Sereď Sereth Tőketerebes Trebišov Trebischau Trencsén Trenčín Trentschin Turócszentmárton Turč. Sv. Martin Turz-Sankt Martin Varannó Vranov n. Topľou Frönel an der Töpl Zólyom Zvolen Altsohl Zsolna Žilina Sillein Vidéki Bajnokság northern group 1907/08 Eperjesi TVE 1908/09 Kassai AC 1909/10 Kassai AC 1910/11 Kassai AC 1911/12 not known 1912/13 Kassai AC overall provincial champions 1908/09 Kassai AC 1910/11 Kassai AC national championship 1909: finalists: Kassai AC (0-11 vs Ferencváros) 1911: final not played Cup 1911: quarterf.: Kassai AC (forfeited vs MTK)
Clubs from cities in Carpathian Ruthenian (Karpatáljá), a region currently belonging to the Ukraine, presumably entered the northern regional championship; none ever won a regional championship. For performances of clubs in currently Ukrainian cities in the Hungarian league structure during the second world war, see the section on occupations.
Vidéki Bajnokság northeastern group 1913/14 Ungvári AC overall provincial champions No club from the region won the overall provincial championship (the 1914 edition was not held due to World War I).
Formally, the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, formerly an autonomous
region within the
Azerbaijani Socialist Soviet Republic, belongs
to Azerbaijan, but it is controlled by the Armenian military
since 1994, after a war between the two newly independent
countries, and is de facto independent. Two clubs
originally from Stepanakert, the main city of the region,
moved to Yerevan to play in the Armenian league.
The first was Yerazank, who played 3 seasons at the Armenian
top level, from 1993 to 1995 (spring season); their best
ever league finish was 8th, in 1993, and they reached the
quarterfinals of the cup in 1993/94.
They were followed by Karabakh Stepanakert, who won the fourth level
regional championship of Azerbaijan in 1977 to gain promotion to the
third level Second League of the Soviet Union, in which they finished
third in their zone in 1979. Karabakh first played 4 seasons
(from 1995/96 to 1998) as Karabakh Yerevan, with their best
league finish 7th in 1995/96 and two quarterfinal appearances
in the cup, 1995/96 and 1997/98; in 1999 they entered under
the name of Karabakh Stepanakert, but were expelled for
financial reasons after playing 15 (from 36) matches; both
the first and the second team of the club had been eliminated
in the round of 16 (1/8 finals) of the 1998/99 cup. They
were renamed Karabakh Yerevan again, won promotion in
2000 and finished 11th in 2001 (and reached the quarterfinals
of the cup that year) before changing name to
Lernayin Artsakh Yerevan, playing home matches in Kapan in 2002,
their 7th top level season, finishing 9th. They withdrew
before the start of the 2003 season, returned in 2005, their
8th top level season, from which they withdrew after playing
11 from 16 matches in the first stage. They won promotion
in 2006 but declined to enter the top flight in 2007. As
Lernayin Artsakh Stepanakert they also competed in the league
of Nagorno-Karabakh, winning it at least twice (2004 and 2009).
In 1945, the city of Trieste/Trst was split between
Italy and Yugoslavia (specifically, the
Slovenian republic); in 1947, the two parts were reunited as
'Free State of Triest' (which also included nearby towns such as
Buje (Buie in Italian), Dekani (Villa Decani), Izola (Isola),
Koper (Capodistria), Piran (Pirano) and Umag (Umago)) before the
city returned to Italy in 1954 (the other towns mentioned came to
Yugoslavia and are now in Croatia (Buje, Umag) or Slovenia (Dekani,
Izola, Koper, Piran)).
For three seasons, Poncijana Trst (or Amatori Ponziana Trieste
as they were known in Italy) competed in
the Yugoslav league structure. This club was a split-off, induced
by financial support from the Yugoslav authorities, of third
level Italian club Ponziana. For three seasons, SS Ponziana
competed in the Italian league structure, suffering relegation
to the fourth level, while Poncijana/Amatori Ponziana were in
the Yugoslav top division. In 1949, Tito tried to steer
Yugoslavia out of Soviet influence, seeking support from
western countries, and financial support for Poncijana was
reduced. The club then withdrew from the Yugoslav league,
merging with SS Ponziana into CS Ponziana, and starting at
the fourth level (Promozione Interregionale) in 1949/50.
The club still exists at Italian amateur level. See
Circolo Sportivo Ponziana 1912-1960.
Note that during the first years of the club's existence, Trieste was part
of the Habsburg Empire, but CS Ponziana only played at local level.
Championship Poncijana Trst (3 top level seasons) 1946/47 11.Poncijana Trst 26 9 2 15 35-50 20 1947/48 7.Poncijana Trst 18 6 4 8 21-45 16 1948/49 10.Poncijana Trst 18 3 4 11 12-45 10
During the interbellum, Italy included regions of current
Slovenia and Croatia; clubs from the currently Croatian cities
Rijeka (Fiume) and Pula (Pola) therefore entered the Italian
competitions (the Free State of Fiume was annexed by Italy in
1924, the other relevant regions in 1921). None of these clubs
ever reached the Serie A since its inauguration as a one-group
national top level in 1929/30, but US Fiumana were a top
level club in 1928/29. They were founded in 1926, as a merger
between Gloria Fiume and Olimpia Fiume, who both played at the
second level 1925/26 (and had done so in 1924/25, with Gloria
finishing second in Girone D). Fiumana played at the second
level in the seasons 1926/27, 1927/28 and 1929/30, when they dropped
out of Serie B; Grion Pola (full name Gruppo Sportivo Fascio
Giovanni Grion Pola) suffered relegation from the third to the
fourth level in the same season (they had been a second level
club in 1928/29, but were relegated due to the reorganisation
of the Italian football structure). Grion Pola then managed two
consecutive promotions to reach the Serie B in 1932/33;
in their third season there (1934/35), they withdrew at the
halfway stage. The last appearance of a club from current Croatia
at the second Italian level occurred during the second World War,
Fiumana playing in the Serie B for one season (1941/42).
Both clubs also participated in the earlier seasons of the Italian
cup (as did another Rijeka club, CS Fiume (who also had played at
the second level 1928/29), in the abandoned 1926/27
competition), with the highlight being three appearances in the
round of 32 and one in the round of 16 by Fiumana.
Clubs from other currently Croatian cities, such as
Opatija (Abbazia), Poreč (Parenzo), Rovinj (Rovigno)
and Umag (Umago), presumably also played at lower levels in the
Italian league structure until the end of the second World War.
After the war, Fiumana gave rise to Kvarner Rijeka, founded 1946 and renamed NK Rijeka in 1954. As such it won 2 Yugoslav and 6 Croatian cups, as well as the Croatian league title in 2016/17. Before World War I, Rijeka had been part of the Habsburg Empire and a club from the city registered to play in the Hungarian league structure for the 1909/10 season but withdrew before playing a match.
Tthe Dalmatian city of Zadar (Zara) was Italian between 1920 and 1944 (though the remainder of the Dalmatian coast belonged to Yugoslavia). At the time of the Italian annexation, at least two clubs, Società Ginnastica Zara and Pro Jadera, affiliated to the FIGC; Società Ginnastica Zara first entered the Seconda Divisione Sud, girone A (marchigiano-umbro), then a third level league, in 1926/27 and finished fourth (from six teams), but withdrew after the season. In 1930/31 they returned, won the Prima Categoria Dalmata, qualifying for the national playoffs for the Prima Categoria, in which they progressed through four rounds before losing the final to Pro Calcio di Modena. The club continued playing in the regional amateur leagues, first changing name to AC Zara and then to AC Dalmazia in 1931/32. During the three seasons from 1937/38 to 1939/40 the club played in the fourth level Prima Divisione organised by the Direttorio IX Zona Marche; during the 1939/40 season, the club had to withdraw after 20 matches while leading the standings. During the war they played no further matches. After the war, AC Dalmazia were refounded as NK Zadar in 1949. This club did not win any honours in Yugoslavia (where they never reached the first level), and to data have not done so in Croatia either, in spite of featuring regularly in the top level (their best league finish to date was sixth, in 1997/98 and 2003/04).
City name correspondences: Italian Croatian Abbazia Opatija Fiume Rijeka Parenzo Poreč Pola Pula Rovigno Rovinj Umago Umag Zara Zadar Championship US Fiumana (1 top level season) 1928/29 14.US Fiumana 30 4 8 18 32-73 15 [-1] [girone B] Cup (Coppa Italia) 1937: 1/16 fin.: US Fiumana (2-3 vs Bari) 1940: 1/16 fin.: US Fiumana (0-0, 2-4 vs Liguria) 1941: 1/8 final: US Fiumana (0-1 aet vs Spezia) 1942: 1/16 fin.: US Fiumana (0-4 vs Spezia)
During the interbellum, Italy included regions of current
Slovenia and Croatia. Among the currently Slovenian towns,
Izola (Isola) boasted a third level club: Ampelea (founded
1923 as CCG Isola d'Istria (Club Calcistico Giovanile)
and renamed after their sponsors in the thirties) played in
the Serie C for six seasons, from 1937/38 to 1942/43.
During the last (unofficial) war season, 1943/44, they even
played at the (improvised) first level, winning the
Zona Venezia Giulia; they then entered the Semifinali
Interzona, meeting Venezia and Triestina in the Girone B
(Veneto-Venezia Giulia), which was won by Venezia, who
eventually finished third (behind Vigili del Fuoco from La Spezia
and Torino) in the final playoff. In the 1937/38 Coppa Italia
the club reached the second preliminary round (two rounds before
the first round proper, the 1/16 finals, at which stage the top
level clubs entered). After the war, MNK Izola (Mladinski
Nogometni Klub – a precise translation of the old CCG name)
kept the colours of Ampelea. They are currently called
Avtoplus Korte Izola and play at the third level (3. SNL - zahod)
in Slovenia, after playing in the top flight for five seasons
(1991/92 to 1995/96; the first three seasons as Belvedur Izola)
and playing the first round of the 1992/93 UEFA Cup (losing 0-8
on aggregate to Benfica of Lisbon).
Another club, Capodistria, from the currently Slovenian city of
Koper, played at the fourth level (Seconda Divisione) of
the Italian league structure for at least two seasons (1928/29,
the last season before the introduction of the Serie A
al girone unico, and 1929/30, in which season they withdrew).
Furthermore, it is known that a club was founded in Vipacco (Vipava)
was founded in 1919, which later played in the Yugoslav league structure,
but no further details are available.
Presumably other clubs from towns now in Slovenia (such as
Dekani (Villa Decani) and Piran (Pirano)) played at the
fourth level (or below) as well, but again further details are not
available.
A special case is the city of Gorizia (Gorica), which was split
into two parts in 1947; the currently Slovenian part is
known as Nova Gorica (most of it was built after the split,
in which Yugoslavia obtained the railway station and Italy the
old centre of the city) and home of one of the country's top clubs:
ND Gorica won 4 championships and 2 cups since 1991.
In Italy, the club Pro Gorizia played 3 seasons (between 1945 and
1948) in the Serie B (after having earlier played there in
1925/26 and 1928/29, before the reorganisation of Italian league
football).
City name correspondences: Italian Slovenian German Capodistria Koper Gorizia Gorica Görz Isola Izola Pirano Piran Villa Decani Dekani Vipacco Vipava Wippach Ampelea (Isola d'Istria) (1 (unofficial) top level season) 1943/44 1.Ampelea 14 10 2 2 35-17 22 [zona Venezia Giulia] 2.Ampelea 3 1 0 2 2- 4 2 [Veneto-Venezia Giulia]
The city of Trieste came to Italy after the first World War; it had earlier belonged to the Habsburg Empire. After the second World War, the city was first split between Italy and Yugoslavia before it was made 'independent' in 1947 as the Free State of Trieste (also known as Free Territory of Trieste). This state also included various nearby towns, including some now in Slovenia (Dekani/Villa Decani, Izola/Isola, Koper/Capodistria, Piran/Pirano) and Croatia (Buje/Buie, Umag/Umago). The city of Trieste itself was reunified and returned to Italy in 1954. The main football club from the city, Triestina, played in the Serie A for 27 seasons between 1929 and 1959: 14 before or during World War II and 13 since 1946, including all 7 seasons of the existence of the Free State of Trieste (another club, Poncijana Trst, played 3 seasons in the top Yugoslav league division). Below, we only include the 7 league finishes between 1947 and 1954, as Triestina were a 'normal' Italian club in their other 20 Serie A seasons (with the exception of 1946/47, when they were forced to play their home matches outside of Trieste, the city being occupied by Anglo-American troops; because of this, the club were spared relegation in spite of having finished 20th and last that season). Their best ever league finish was their second place in 1947/48 (shared with Milan and Juventus, but 16 points behind champions Torino). In their other 26 seasons, they never finished higher than 6th (1935/36 and 1937/38). They also never reached the Italian cup final, and currently play in Serie B.
Championship Triestina (7 top level seasons) 1947/48 2.Triestina 40 17 15 8 51-42 49 NB: Triestina shared second place with Milan and Juventus 1948/49 8.Triestina 38 13 12 13 59-59 38 1949/50 8.Triestina 38 14 12 12 50-59 40 1950/51 15.Triestina 38 10 10 18 45-67 30 1951/52 17.Triestina 38 11 10 17 47-68 32 NB: Triestina won a playoff against relegation against Lucchese and then a promotion/relegation playoff against Brescia 1952/53 15.Triestina 34 10 10 14 47-54 30 1953/54 12.Triestina 34 9 10 15 42-64 28 Cup (Coppa Italia) No cup tournaments were organised in the relevant period (the Coppa Italia was not held between 1943 and 1958).
As early as 1891, Hollandia, a club based in Frankfurt am Main,
joined the Dutch football federation. However, they did not
enter any competitions and left after the 1891/92 season.
(Eight years after Hollandia, in 1899, Sumatra's Oostkust, a
sports club based in Medan, in the then Dutch East Indies, were
the second club from outside the Dutch borders to join the N.V.B.,
but they also renounced on their membership after two seasons
without, of course, having played any matches in the Dutch
football structure.)
After the second World War, various border 'corrections' were
made between (West) Germany and its neighbouring countries.
One case is that of various villages near the Dutch-German
border, which belonged to the Netherlands between 1949 and
1963, when they were returned to (West) Germany. The
following 5 clubs played at the lower levels of the Dutch
amateur football structure during that time:
FC Fortuna Elten, SV Hoengen (also spelled Höngen), VfR Tüddern,
FC Viktoria Schalbruch and FC Wanderlust Süsterseel. Elten is
just west of Emmerich
and played in the afdeling Gelderland in the seasons not
listed below, while the other 4 clubs are from villages in the
Selfkant, the region just east of Sittard, and played in
the afdeling Limburg during the seasons not listed below.
None of these clubs ever played higher than the Vierde Klasse
KNVB, the fourth amateur level, which was the fourth level
overall in 1949/50 but had become the seventh level overall by
1962/63, due to the introduction of professional football in the
Netherlands in 1954. (Note that most seasons had 48 such
(amateur) fourth level groups, 8 in each of the six regional
divisions, all containing 12 clubs (occasionally groups with
11 or 13 clubs were formed); the three amateur levels above the
Vierde Klasse were the Eerste Klasse (6 groups),
Tweede Klasse (12 groups) and Derde Klasse (24
to 30 groups), with each group containing between 10 and 12 clubs.)
VfR Tüddern is the only club of the five never to have been
relegated from this level, and twice participated in promotion
playoffs to the Derde Klasse KNVB, the third amateur level.
Championship VfR Tüddern (14 seasons at 4e klasse KNVB) 1949/50 1.VfR Tüddern 22 18 2 2 64-17 38 [Zuid II 4D] 3.VfR Tüddern 6 1 1 4 10-20 3 [promotion playoff] 1950/51 8.VfR Tüddern 20 8 1 11 47-58 17 [Zuid II 4D] 1951/52 5.VfR Tüddern 20 6 9 5 41-35 19 [-2] [Zuid II 4D] 1952/53 6.VfR Tüddern 21 8 4 9 48-49 20 [Zuid II 4D] 1953/54 7.VfR Tüddern 21 8 3 10 43-43 19 [Zuid II 4D] 1954/55 6.VfR Tüddern 22 10 2 10 44-49 22 [Zuid II 4D] 1955/56 9.VfR Tüddern 22 5 6 11 37-41 16 [Zuid II 4D] 1956/57 3.VfR Tüddern 22 11 9 2 49-23 31 [Zuid II 4D] 1957/58 3.VfR Tüddern 22 13 5 4 56-33 31 [Zuid II 4D] 1958/59 5.VfR Tüddern 24 10 2 12 53-64 22 [Zuid II 4D] 1959/60 5.VfR Tüddern 20 8 5 7 31-37 21 [Zuid II 4D] 1960/61 5.VfR Tüddern 22 10 4 8 49-38 24 [Zuid II 4E] 1961/62 7.VfR Tüddern 22 8 5 9 39-55 21 [Zuid II 4E] 1962/63 2.VfR Tüddern 22 12 4 6 41-27 28 [Zuid II 4E] 3.VfR Tüddern 4 0 1 3 5-16 1 [promotion playoff] FC Wanderlust Süsterseel (11 seasons at 4e klasse KNVB) 1949/50 3.Wanderlust Süsterseel 22 8 8 6 51-45 24 [Zuid II 4D] 1950/51 7.Wanderlust Süsterseel 22 7 5 15 39-41 9 [Zuid II 4D] 1951/52 9.Wanderlust Süsterseel 20 5 4 11 35-57 14 [Zuid II 4D] 1952/53 10.Wanderlust Süsterseel 21 6 5 10 44-45 15 [-2] [Zuid II 4D] 1953/54 12.Wanderlust Süsterseel 22 6 4 12 36-52 16 [Zuid II 4D] 12.Wanderlust Süsterseel 1 0 0 1 2- 5 0 [relegation playoff] 1955/56 6.Wanderlust Süsterseel 22 7 8 7 43-45 22 [Zuid II 4D] 1956/57 12.Wanderlust Süsterseel 22 4 7 11 33-63 15 [Zuid II 4D] 12.Wanderlust Süsterseel 2 1 0 1 1- 4 2 [relegation playoff] 1959/60 2.Wanderlust Süsterseel 20 10 6 4 49-29 26 [Zuid II 4E] 1960/61 3.Wanderlust Süsterseel 22 12 4 6 55-41 28 [Zuid II 4D] 1961/62 6.Wanderlust Süsterseel 22 8 7 7 53-48 23 [Zuid II 4D] 1962/63 7.Wanderlust Süsterseel 22 8 5 9 53-55 21 [Zuid II 4D] FC Fortuna Elten (2 seasons at 4e klasse KNVB) 1950/51 12.Elten 21 2 3 16 23-70 7 [Oost 4E] 1957/58 12.Fortuna Elten 22 3 2 17 31-83 8 [Oost 4F] FC Viktoria Schalbruch (2 seasons at 4e klasse KNVB) 1949/50 11.Viktoria Schalbruch 22 6 3 13 41-73 15 [Zuid II 4D] 1950/51 12.Viktoria Schalbruch 21 3 3 15 27-71 9 [Zuid II 4D] SV Hoengen (1 season at 4e klasse KNVB) 1949/50 12.Hoengen 22 3 3 16 28-69 9 [Zuid II 4D]
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Channel Islands/Isle of Man | Northern Ireland | Scotland | Wales
Clubs from the various islands and islets around Great Britain (such as the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, the Orkney, Shetland and Scilly Islands) usually play in regional leagues restricted to their own islands, but in 2011, Guernsey FC were founded on Guernsey and were integrated in the English league pyramid. Likewise FC Isle of Man (Douglas) joined the North West Counties League Division One South in 2020. Other clubs have entered various cup tournaments, e.g. the Hampshire Senior Cup (which the Guernsey clubs Belgrave Wanderers, Guernsey AFC, Guernsey Rangers and Northerners AC all entered at least once), the Somerset Senior Cup (in which Vale Recreation played in 2009/10) and the English Amateur Cup (in which Douglas High School Old Boys from the Isle of Man played in 1989).
Three Belfast clubs entered the FA Cup (first round proper) in the late nineteenth century. The first was Cliftonville in 1886/87, who defeated Blackburn Park Road (after a replay) and Great Lever to reach the round of 32, where they suffered a double digit defeat against Scottish side Partick Thistle. When Distillery reached the same stage three seasons later, they fared no better, conceding 10 against Bolton Wanderers (see below). In 1888/89, four Belfast clubs entered the qualifying competition, with Linfield beating Ulster 7-1 and Cliftonville eliminating Belfast YMCA 5-0 in the second qualifying round; after Cliftonville profited from a walkover against Liverpool Stanley and Linfield defeated Bolton Wanderers 4-0, the two remaining Belfast clubs played each other in the final qualifying round, and after two 3-3 draws, Linfield won the second replay 7-0 on Christmas Day, In the first round proper, Linfield drew 2-2 at home to Nottingham Forest (who thereby hold the unique record of having played FA Cup ties in all four 'home' countries – they played Queen's Park in Edinburgh in 1885 and Cardiff City away in 1922) and then scratched before the replay.
Cup 1887: 1/16 fin.: Cliftonville (0-11 vs Partick Thistle) 1890: 1/16 fin.: Distillery (2-10 vs Bolton Wanderers)
In the early years of the FA Cup, Scottish clubs could enter, and in
particular Queen's Park
came close to collecting the trophy on a few
occasions; in 1872 and 1873 they scratched due to travelling costs.
We list all Scottish clubs to have reached the round of 16.
In 1877, Queen's Park were among the last 10 clubs in the
competition (without playing a match – their 0-0 draw at home to
Wanderers in 1872 was the only FA Cup match they played until
beating Crewe Alexandra 10-0 away in 1883). Apart from the
three clubs (Queen's Park, Rangers and Partick Thistle) listed
below, four more Scottish clubs entered the FA Cup (first round
proper) in the late nineteenth century: Cowlairs (they entered
once, in 1886/87, losing 2-3 to Rangers in the third round,
after beating Darwen Old Wanderers 4-1 and Rossendale 10-2,
both away, and never lost to an English club in the tournament),
Heart of Midlothian, Renton and Third Lanark. The 1886/87 season
saw all these seven clubs enter the first round proper.
In 1991/92, Gretna became the eighth
Scottish club (and the first in over a century) to enter the
first round proper, a feat they repeated in 1993/94. Between
1992 and 2002, this club from just across the English border
played in the
First Division
(second level) of the Northern Premier League (overall the seventh
level in the English league pyramid). In the first three of these
seasons, from 1992/93 to 1994/95, one of their competitors was
Welsh side Caernarfon Town (who left for the League of Wales in
1995), making this division the temporary home for clubs from
three different UEFA members, probably unique. Gretna
reached their best ever finish in that league in their first
season, and only came close to emulating it in their last;
in 2002 they moved to play 'at home', in
the Scottish league structure,
where they reached the top flight in 2007 after
three successive promotions. They only lasted one season
(playing home matches in Motherwell)
before folding in 2008, mainly due to the illness and
subsequent death of sponsor Brooks Mileson. A new club,
Gretna FC 2008, was formed, currently playing in the
fifth level Lowland Football League.
In 1899, Queen's Park were chosen as the best amateur team of the country to compete for the Sheriff of London (Dewar) Shield, the precursor of the FA Charity Shield (nowadays FA Community Shield). It was the only time in the ten contests for this trophy between 1898 and 1907 that Corinthians were not chosen as the amateur representatives. Queen's Park justified their selection by holding English (professional) champions Aston Villa to a 0-0 draw, meaning both clubs retained the shield for six months.
Northern Premier League First Division Gretna (best 2 finishes in 10 seasons) 1992/93 6.Gretna 40 17 12 11 64-47 63 2001/02 7.Gretna 42 19 7 16 66-66 63 [-1] NB: Gretna had one point deducted Cup 1872: semifinal: Queen's Park (0-0, scratched vs Wanderers) 1873: semifinal: Queen's Park (scratched vs Oxford University) 1877: 1/5 final: Queen's Park (scratched vs Oxford University) 1884: finalists: Queen's Park (1-2 vs Blackburn Rovers) 1885: finalists: Queen's Park (0-2 vs Blackburn Rovers) 1887: semifinal: Rangers (1-3 vs Aston Villa) 1/8 final: Partick Thistle (0-1 vs Old Westminster) Sheriff of London Shield 1899: winners: Queen's Park (shared: 0-0 vs Aston Villa)
Traditionally, Welsh clubs have played in the English professional football
structure, while English clubs were invited to enter the
Welsh Cup. The FA of Wales did not set up a Welsh
first level league until 1992, urged by the desire to obtain representation
in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup (until then, Welsh clubs had only
entered the Cup Winners' Cup). The major Welsh clubs refused to join and
remained active in the English structure, where some of them had achieved
a measure of success: Cardiff City won the FA Cup and once
missed out on the English championship on goal average (they would
have won it had the tie-breaker at the time been goal difference
(and then goals scored), as it is now).
In all, two Welsh clubs played at the English top level,
Cardiff City and Swansea City (formerly Swansea Town), who are both
still playing professionally in England (in 2013/14 they both played
at the top level, a first in the history of Welsh football). In
addition, Newport County currently play at the fourth level (Division
Two) of the English league pyramid, having returned to professional
football in 2013 after an absence of a quarter of a century (before,
they played in the English league for 60 seasons, 1920-1931 and 1932-1988,
reaching the second level (old Second Division) in one season (1946/47).
Wrexham played in the English league without interruption between 1921 and
2008 (when they were relegated to the fifth level Conference); they
played at the second level (old Second Division) for four seasons
(1978/79 until 1981/82), with their best finish there 15th in 1978/79.
Two other Welsh clubs were active in the English league
in the past: Aberdare Athletic (6 seasons 1921-1927, all in
Third Division (South)) and Merthyr Town (10 seasons 1920-1930,
all in Third Division (South)).
Several others applied for election to the league
but failed to secure the necessary votes:
Abertillery Town (1921),
Bangor City (1947, 1972),
Barry/Barry Town (1921, 1947),
Bridgend Town (1948),
Ebbw Vale (1927),
Llanelly (1922-1923, 1929-1933, 1947, 1950-1951),
Lovell's Athletic, who were invited to joint the Western
section of the Football League during the Second World
War, playing there from 1942/43 to 1944/45 (1948),
Merthyr Tydfil (1947-1952, 1954),
Mid-Rhondda, based in Tonypandy (1925),
Pontypridd (1921-1923) and
Rhyl (1929 and 1932).
Many others have played in the various amateur leagues of the English league pyramid; some are still active there while others decided to enter the Welsh structure within a few years after the foundation of the League of Wales, such as Caernarfon Town, who did so in 1995 after playing alongside Scottish club Gretna (and 19 or 20 English ones) in the First Division (second level) of the Northern Premier League (overall the seventh level in the English league pyramid), making this division the temporary home for clubs from three different UEFA members, probably unique.
The heyday of Welsh clubs in the FA Cup was the decade after the Great War, when they were represented by one or two clubs in the round of 16 annually and Cardiff City took the trophy out of England for the only time ever in 1927. We list all appearances of Welsh clubs among the last 16. In 1877/78, Druids reached the third round, which involved only 11 clubs (considered 1/6 finals below); in 1884/85 there was one intermediate round consisting of one tie between the fourth round and the quarterfinals, so we consider that fourth round (which involved 17 clubs) to be equivalent to the 1/8 finals. Apart from the six clubs who reached that stage, the following Welsh clubs entered the first round proper at least once: Aberdare Athletic, Bangor City, Barry Town, Caernarfon Town, Caernarfon Wanderers, Colwyn Bay, Llanelli, Llangollen, Lovell's Athletic, Merthyr Town, Merthyr Tydfil, Mold FC, Newtown, Rhyl (reached the fourth round (1/16 finals) in 1956/57), Ton Pentre (entered once, in 1986/87, losing their first round tie to Cardiff City and so never met an English club in the tournament proper) and Wrexham Olympic.
Apart from being the only non-English club ever to win the trophy, Cardiff City hold the peculiar record of eliminating Leeds United in three successive seasons in the third round (in which both clubs entered the tournament) by an identical scoreline of 2-1: on January 7, 1956, on January 5, 1957, and on January 4, 1958. All three matches were played in Leeds. Groundhog (Satur)day in January...
Welsh clubs reaching the quarterfinals of the League Cup or the final of the League Trophy (for 3rd and 4th level clubs) are listed separately below the FA Cup performances. Swansea City won the League Cup in 2013 and thus became the first Welsh club to represent England in UEFA club competitions since the League of Wales was established in 1992.
As 1927 FA Cup winners, Cardiff City were chosen to represent the 'professionals' in the annual FA Charity Shield, which was usually played between sides selected as best professional and best amateur team at the time. They defeated the amateurs of the Corinthians 2-1 to take that trophy out of England for only the second time (after Queen's Park did so for six months after drawing Aston Villa in the match for the 1899 Sheriff of London (Dewar) Shield, the immediate precursor of the Charity Shield which was played along the same lines).
Championship Cardiff City (17 top level seasons) 1921/22 4.Cardiff City 42 19 10 13 61-53 48 1922/23 9.Cardiff City 42 18 7 17 73-59 43 1923/24 2.Cardiff City 42 22 13 7 61-34 57 NB: Huddersfield Town won the league with 57 points and a goal record of 60-33, making a goal average of 1.818; Cardiff had 1.794; under current tie-breaking rules, Cardiff would have claimed the title. 1924/25 11.Cardiff City 42 16 11 15 56-51 43 1925/26 16.Cardiff City 42 16 7 19 61-76 39 1926/27 14.Cardiff City 42 16 9 17 55-65 41 1927/28 6.Cardiff City 42 17 10 15 70-80 44 1928/29 22.Cardiff City 42 8 13 21 43-59 29 1952/53 12.Cardiff City 42 14 12 16 54-46 40 1953/54 10.Cardiff City 42 18 8 16 51-71 44 1954/55 20.Cardiff City 42 13 11 18 62-76 37 1955/56 17.Cardiff City 42 15 9 18 55-69 39 1956/57 21.Cardiff City 42 10 9 23 53-88 29 1960/61 15.Cardiff City 42 13 11 18 60-85 37 1961/62 21.Cardiff City 42 9 14 19 50-81 32 2013/14 20.Cardiff City 38 7 9 22 32-74 30 2018/19 18.Cardiff City 38 10 4 24 34-69 34 Swansea City (9 top level seasons) 1981/82 6.Swansea City 42 21 6 15 58-51 69 1982/83 21.Swansea City 42 10 11 21 51-69 41 2011/12 11.Swansea City 38 12 11 15 44-51 47 2012/13 9.Swansea City 38 11 13 14 47-51 46 2013/14 12.Swansea City 38 11 9 18 54-54 42 2014/15 8.Swansea City 38 16 8 14 46-49 56 2015/16 12.Swansea City 38 12 11 15 42-52 47 2016/17 15.Swansea City 38 12 5 21 45-70 41 2017/18 18.Swansea City 38 8 9 21 28-56 33 FA Cup 1878: 1/6 final: Druids (0-8 vs Royal Engineers) 1883: quarterf.: Druids (1-4 vs Blackburn Olympic) 1885: 1/8 final: Druids (0-1 vs West Bromwich Albion) 1887: 1/8 final: Chirk AAA (1-2 vs Darwen) 1888: 1/8 final: Chirk AAA (1-1, 0-1 vs Derby Junction) 1920: 1/8 final: Cardiff City (1-2 vs Bristol City) 1921: semifinal: Cardiff City (0-0, 1-3 vs Wolverhampton Wanderers) 1922: quarterf.: Cardiff City (1-1, 1-2 vs Tottenham Hotspur) 1/8 final: Swansea Town (0-4 vs Millwall Athletic) 1923: 1/8 final: Cardiff City (2-3 vs Tottenham Hotspur) 1924: quarterf.: Cardiff City (0-0, 1-2 vs Manchester City) 1925: finalists: Cardiff City (0-1 vs Sheffield United) 1926: semifinal: Swansea Town (0-3 vs Bolton Wanderers) 1927: winners: Cardiff City (1-0 vs Arsenal) quarterf.: Swansea Town (1-3 vs Reading) 1928: 1/8 final: Cardiff City (1-2 vs Nottingham Forest) 1934: 1/8 final: Swansea Town (0-1 vs Portsmouth) 1937: 1/8 final: Swansea Town (0-3 vs Sunderland) 1949: 1/8 final: Cardiff City (1-2 vs Derby County) 1/8 final: Newport County (2-3 vs Portsmouth) 1950: 1/8 final: Cardiff City (1-3 vs Leeds United) 1952: 1/8 final: Swansea Town (0-1 vs Newcastle United) 1955: 1/8 final: Swansea Town (2-2, 0-1 vs Sunderland) 1958: 1/8 final: Cardiff City (0-0, 1-2 vs Blackburn Rovers) 1961: 1/8 final: Swansea Town (0-4 vs Burnley) 1964: semifinal: Swansea Town (1-2 vs Preston North End) 1965: 1/8 final: Swansea Town (0-0, 0-2 vs Peterborough United) 1972: 1/8 final: Cardiff City (0-2 vs Leeds United) 1974: quarterf.: Wrexham (0-1 vs Burnley) 1977: 1/8 final: Cardiff City (1-2 vs Everton) 1978: quarterf.: Wrexham (2-3 vs Arsenal) 1980: 1/8 final: Swansea City (0-2 vs West Ham United) 1/8 final: Wrexham (2-5 vs Everton) 1981: 1/8 final: Wrexham (1-3 vs Wolverhampton Wanderers) 1994: 1/8 final: Cardiff City (0-1 vs Luton Town) 1997: quarterf.: Wrexham (0-1 vs Chesterfield) 2004: 1/8 final: Swansea City (1-2 vs Tranmere Rovers) 2008: finalists: Cardiff City (0-1 vs Portsmouth) 2009: 1/8 final: Swansea City (1-1, 1-2 vs Fulham) 2010: 1/8 final: Cardiff City (1-4 vs Chelsea) 2014: 1/8 final: Cardiff City (1-2 vs Wigan Athletic) 1/8 final: Swansea City (1-3 vs Everton) 2018: quarterf.: Swansea City (0-3 vs Tottenham Hotspur) 2019: quarterf.: Swansea City (2-3 vs Manchester City) 1/8 final: Newport County (1-4 vs Manchester City) 2021: 1/8 final: Swansea City (1-3 vs Manchester City) FA Charity Shield 1927: winners: Cardiff City (2-1 vs Corinthians) League Cup 1961: quarterf.: Wrexham (0-3 vs Aston Villa) 1966: semifinal: Cardiff City (2-5, 1-5 vs West Ham United) 1978: quarterf.: Wrexham (1-3 vs Liverpool) 2012: finalists: Cardiff City (2-2 aet, 2-3 pen vs Liverpool) 2013: winners: Swansea City (5-0 vs Bradford City) Football League Trophy NB: also known as Associate Members Cup; for 3rd and 4th level clubs 1994: winners: Swansea City (1-1 aet, 3-1 pen vs Huddersfield Town) 2005: winners: Wrexham (2-0 aet vs Southend United) 2006: winners: Swansea City (2-1 vs Carlisle United)
Clubs from nearby regions in England used to enter the FA of Wales Cup, and won it on 21 occasions, including the last 8 editions prior to the Second World War (and the first after it); in addition, on 27 occasions the losing finalists were from England. Five finals were all-English affairs. Most successful were Shrewsbury Town, who won 6 Welsh cups (in 9 final appearances), followed by Chester (currently Chester City), who won 3 (and lost 10 finals; their 13 final appearances are the fifth highest total (shared with Druids) after Wrexham, Cardiff City, Swansea City and Bangor City) and Wellington Town (called Telford United since 1969).
Moreover, one English club, Oswestry Town, entered the League of Wales for a few seasons around the turn of the millennium. They merged into TNS Llansantffraid (from the Welsh village of Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain) before the 2003/04 season. In early 2006, sponsors Total Network Solutions were taken over by British Telecom, and after failed attempts to find a new name sponsor, the club changed name to The New Saints. Starting from the 2007/08 season, The New Saints (who won 10 Welsh championships since 2006, after TNS Llansantffraid had won 3 prior to the merger) play home matches at Park Hall in Oswestry, so once again League of Wales matches are occasionally played in England. Conversely, the playing field of the Deva Stadium of Chester City (relegated from the Football League in 2009 and expelled from the fifth level Conference in 2010), which was opened in 1992, was actually in Wales, although the front gate and access road (as well as the offices in the stadium) were in England.
Various English clubs from the county of Shropshire enter or
entered the Welsh league structure: in 2012/13, the Mid Wales
South League, at the fifth Welsh league level, included Bucknell FC
and Newcastle FC (the latter won the league in 2011/12) while
Trefonen FC play in the Montgomeryshire League Division One,
also at the fifth Welsh league level; until 2010,
Bishop's Castle Town FC also played in the Montgomeryshire League.
In addition, the Welsh Amateur Cup (renamed FAW Intermediate Cup in 1974)
was open to nearby English clubs, and on nine occasions the trophy was
taken out of Wales, see below.
Championship Oswestry Town (3 top level seasons) 2000/01 15.Oswestry Town 34 10 6 18 40-74 36 2001/02 16.Oswestry Town 34 8 6 20 39-84 30 2002/03 16.Oswestry Town 34 6 10 18 36-67 28 Cup 1882: finalists: Northwich Victoria (0-5 vs Druids) 1884: winners: Oswestry White Stars (0-0, 1-0 vs Druids) 1885: finalists: Oswestry White Stars (1-1, 1-3 aet vs Druids) 1887: finalists: Davenham (1-2 vs Chirk AAA) 1889: finalists: Northwich Victoria (1-2 vs Bangor) 1892: winners: Shrewsbury Town (5-2 vs Wrexham) 1901: winners: Oswestry United (1-0 vs Druids) 1902: winners: Wellington Town (1-0 vs Wrexham) 1906: winners: Wellington Town (3-2 vs Whitchurch) finalists: Whitchurch (2-3 vs Wellington Town) 1907: winners: Oswestry United (2-0 vs Whitchurch) finalists: Whitchurch (0-2 vs Oswestry United) 1908: winners: Chester (3-1 vs Connah's Quay & Shotton) 1909: finalists: Chester (0-1 vs Wrexham) 1910: finalists: Chester (1-2 vs Wrexham) 1931: finalists: Shrewsbury Town (0-7 vs Wrexham) 1933: winners: Chester (2-0 vs Wrexham) 1934: winners: Bristol City (1-1, 3-0 vs Tranmere Rovers) finalists: Tranmere Rovers (1-1, 0-3 vs Bristol City) 1935: winners: Tranmere Rovers (1-0 vs Chester) finalists: Chester (0-1 vs Tranmere Rovers) 1936: winners: Crewe Alexandra (2-0 vs Chester) finalists: Chester (0-2 vs Crewe Alexandra) 1937: winners: Crewe Alexandra (1-1, 3-1 vs Rhyl) 1938: winners: Shrewsbury Town (2-2, 2-1 vs Swansea Town) 1939: winners: South Liverpool (2-1 vs Cardiff City) 1940: winners: Wellington Town (4-0 vs Swansea Town) 1947: winners: Chester (0-0, 5-1 vs Merthyr Tydfil) 1948: finalists: Shrewsbury Town (0-3 vs Lovell's Athletic) 1953: finalists: Chester (1-2 vs Rhyl) 1954: finalists: Chester (0-2 vs Fflint Town United) 1955: finalists: Chester (1-1, 3-4 vs Barry Town) 1958: finalists: Chester (1-1, 1-2 vs Wrexham) 1966: finalists: Chester (0-3, 1-0, 1-2 vs Swansea Town) 1968: finalists: Hereford United (0-2, 1-4 vs Cardiff City) 1970: finalists: Chester (0-1, 0-4 vs Cardiff City) 1974: finalists: Stourbridge (0-1, 0-1 vs Cardiff City) 1976: finalists: Hereford United (3-3, 2-3 vs Cardiff City) 1977: winners: Shrewsbury Town (1-2, 3-0 vs Cardiff City) 1979: winners: Shrewsbury Town (1-1, 1-0 vs Wrexham) 1980: finalists: Shrewsbury Town (1-2, 0-3 vs Newport County) 1981: finalists: Hereford United (0-1, 1-1 vs Swansea City) 1984: winners: Shrewsbury Town (2-1, 0-0 vs Wrexham) 1985: winners: Shrewsbury Town (3-1, 2-0 vs Bangor City) 1986: finalists: Kidderminster Harriers (1-1 aet, 1-2 vs Wrexham) 1989: finalists: Kidderminster Harriers (0-5 vs Swansea City) 1990: winners: Hereford United (2-1 vs Wrexham) 1992: finalists: Hednesford Town (0-1 vs Cardiff City) Welsh Amateur Cup 1897: winners: Coppenhall FC (Staffordshire) 1899: winners: Oswestry United Reserves (Shropshire) 1900: winners: Wellington St Georges FC (Shropshire) 1921: winners: Northern Nomads (Manchester) 1925: winners: Northern Nomads (Manchester) 1964: winners: Donnington Wood FC (Shropshire) 1971: winners: Bridgnorth Town FC (Shropshire) 1974: winners: Whitchurch Alport FC (Shropshire) FAW Intermediate Cup 1975: winners: Donnington Wood FC (Shropshire)
England | Ireland | Northern Ireland | Wales
Berwick Rangers played in English leagues until 1905, when they
entered the East of Scotland League. They were elected to the
Scottish league in 1951, and played 22 seasons at its second level,
from 1955/56 to 1974/75 and from 1979/80 to 1980/81.
Their best final placing at that level was sixth, in 1973/74.
They thrice reached the quarterfinals of the Scottish FA Cup.
In the seventies and eighties Berwick Rangers enjoyed considerable
success in the regional East of Scotland Shield, a tournament dominated
by the two Edinburgh giants Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian, winning
it twice (in 1980/81 and 1983/84) and losing three finals (in 1972/73
and 1973/74 against Hearts and in 1982/83 against Hibernian).
In 2018/19 two fifth level English clubs (Sutton United and Boreham Wood) entered the Scottish Challenge Cup at the second round (1/16 finals). There, Boreham Wood lost to Dunfermline Athletic after a penalty shoot-out but Sutton United eliminated Airdrie United (1-0 away) before losing to Irish entrants Bohemians on penalties in the 1/8 finals. In 2019/20, Solihull Moors entered along with league rivals Wrexham from Wales. Additionally, Berwick Rangers, as members of the Scottish League, have entered the competition since its inception in 1990/91, reaching the quarterfinals on four occasions.
Cup 1952: 1/8 final: Berwick Rangers (0-1 vs Dundee) 1954: quarterf.: Berwick Rangers (0-4 vs Rangers) 1967: 1/8 final: Berwick Rangers (0-1 vs Hibernian) 1979: 1/8 final: Berwick Rangers (0-3 vs Celtic) 1980: quarterf.: Berwick Rangers (0-0, 0-1 vs Hibernian) 2000: 1/8 final: Berwick Rangers (0-0, 0-3 vs Falkirk) 2015: quarterf.: Berwick Rangers (0-4 vs Hibernian) Challenge Cup 1992: 1/8 final: Berwick Rangers (1-3 vs Stranraer) 1993: quarterf.: Berwick Rangers (2-5 vs Hamilton Academical) 1998: 1/8 final: Berwick Rangers (1-4 vs Airdrieonians) 2000: 1/8 final: Berwick Rangers (1-2 aet vs Livingston) 2002: 1/8 final: Berwick Rangers (0-5 vs Clyde) 2005: quarterf.: Berwick Rangers (1-2 vs Queen's Park) 2004: 1/8 final: Berwick Rangers (1-2 vs Saint Mirren) 2005: quarterf.: Berwick Rangers (0-1 vs Saint Johnstone) 2006: 1/8 final: Berwick Rangers (1-2 vs Stirling Albion) 2008: 1/8 final: Berwick Rangers (1-3 vs Partick Thistle) 2011: 1/8 final: Berwick Rangers (1-2 vs Partick Thistle) 2012: quarterf.: Berwick Rangers (1-2 vs Livingston) 2014: 1/8 final: Berwick Rangers (0-2 vs Rangers) 2015: 1/8 final: Berwick Rangers (2-5 aet vs Greenock Morton) 2019: 1/8 final: Sutton United (0-0 aet, 3-4 pen vs Bohemians) 2020: 1/8 final: Solihull Moors (3-3, 3-4 pen vs Rangers U21s)
Two clubs from (the Republic of) Ireland, Bray Wanderers and Sligo Rovers, entered the second round (1/16 finals) of the 2017/18 edition of the Scottish Challenge Cup. Both were eliminated at that stage. In 2018/19, Bohemians and Sligo Rovers entered at the same stage, and reached the third round (1/8 finals) following wins over Peterhead (1-0) and Livingston U21s (4-1) respectively. There Sligo Rovers fell to Motherwell, but Bohemians eliminated English side Sutton United after a penalty shoot-out (0-0, 4-3) to reach the quarterfinals, where they withdrew. In 2019/20, Bohemians and Waterford represented the League of Ireland in the competition; while Bohemians fell at the first hurdle, losing 2-3 at Airdrie United, Waterford defeated Heart of Midlothian U21s (3-1) in the 1/16 finals. Below, only entrants reaching at least the 1/8 finals (i.e. winning at least one tie) are listed.
Challenge Cup 2019: quarterf.: Bohemians (withdrew vs East Fife) 1/8 final: Sligo Rovers (0-2 vs Motherwell) 2020: 1/8 final: Waterford (2-3 vs Stenhousemuir)
Two clubs from Northern Ireland, Crusaders and Linfield, entered the fourth round (1/8 finals) of the 2016/17 edition of the Scottish Challenge Cup. Both were eliminated at that stage. In 2017/18, the same two clubs entered the second round (then the 1/16 finals of the same tournament). Linfield made it to the third round thanks to a 2-1 win over Spartans, while Crusaders reached the semifinals, after eliminating Motherwell U20s (3-2), Cove Rangers (3-0) and Dundee United (2-1). In 2018/19 the two Northern Irish entrants were Crusaders and Coleraine, with the later reaching the third round after eliminating Formartine United (2-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw) before losing to Welsh side Connah's Quay Nomads. In 2019/20, Ballymena United and Glenavon entered. In 2022/23, Northern Ireland was represented by Cliftonville and Linfield, but only the latter survived one round. Below, only entrants reaching at least the 1/8 finals (i.e. winning at least one tie) are listed; in 2023/24 both Cliftonville and Coleraine were eliminated immediately.
Challenge Cup 2017: 1/8 final: Crusaders (0-3 vs Livingston) 1/8 final: Linfield (0-2 aet vs Queen of the South) 2018: semifinal: Crusaders (2-3 vs Inverness Caledonian Thistle) 1/8 final: Linfield (0-1 vs Dundee United) 2019: 1/8 final: Coleraine (0-2 vs Connah's Quay Nomads) 2020: 1/8 final: Glenavon (1-3 vs Raith Rovers) 2023: 1/8 final: Linfield (1-1 aet, 4-5 pen vs Kelty Hearts)
Two clubs from Wales, The New Saints and Bala Town, entered the fourth round (1/8 finals) of the 2016/17 edition of the Scottish Challenge Cup. While Bala Town were eliminated immediately, The New Saints defeated both Forfar Athletic (3-1) and Livingston (3-0) away to reach the semifinals, where they lost to Saint Mirren. In 2017/18, The New Saints were joined by Connah's Quay Nomads as entrants in the second round (then the 1/16 finals), where the Nomads were eliminated while The New Saints again reached the semifinals, after beating Livingston (again, now 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw after extra time), Elgin City (4-0) and Queen of the South (4-3 on penalties after a 0-0 draw after extra time). In 2018/19, The New Saints were less successful, losing in the second round while Connah's Quay Nomads eliminated Falkirk (1-0 away), Northern Irish side Coleraine (2-0 at home), Queen's Park (2-1 away) and Edinburgh City (1-1 after extra time, 5-4 on penalties) to reach the final, which they lost to record winners Ross County. In 2019/20, The New Saints and Connah's Quay Nomads again represented Wales, along with Wrexham who play in the English league structure, at the fifth level. Below, only entrants reaching at least the 1/8 finals (i.e. winning at least one tie) are listed. In 2022/23, Wales was represented by The New Saints and Caernarfon Town, but both lost their first tie (in the 1/16 finals). In 2023/24, Bala Town were also eliminated immediately, but The New Saints reached the final, which they lost to Airdrieonians in spite of taking an early lead.
Challenge Cup 2017: semifinal: The New Saints (1-4 vs Saint Mirren) 1/8 final: Bala Town (2-4 vs Alloa Athletic) 2018: semifinal: The New Saints (1-2 vs Dumbarton) 2019: finalists: Connah's Quay Nomads (1-3 vs Ross County) 2020: quarterf.: Wrexham (0-2 vs Rangers U21s) 1/8 final: Connah's Quay Nomads (0-2 vs Partick Thistle) 2024: finalists: The New Saints (1-2 vs Airdrieonians)
Before and just after the turn of the nineteenth to the twentieth century, army regiments originally from England or Scotland but stationed in Ireland participated in the league and cup competities of the Irish FA, then responsible for the entire island.
Two English army regiments entered the Irish league, Lancashire Fusiliers and North Staffordshire Regiment; another, Sherwood Foresters, never entered the league but reached the cup final (as they were based in Kildare, now in the Republic of Ireland, they are also mentioned in the section on Irish Republic clubs in the all-Irish football structure).
Championship North Staffordshire Regiment (3 top level seasons) 1896/97 5.North Staffordshire R. 10 2 4 4 17-23 8 1897/98 6.North Staffordshire R. 10 2 1 7 13-31 5 1898/99 6.North Staffordshire R. 10 0 0 10 11-32 0 Lancashire Fusiliers (1 top level season) 1891/92 3.Lancashire Fusiliers 15 11 1 3 56-29 23 Cup 1897: finalists: Sherwood Foresters (1-3 vs Cliftonville)
Two Scottish army regiments entered the Irish league, Royal Scots Regiment and King's Own Scottish Borderers; two others, Gordon Highlanders and The Black Watch, never entered the league but reached the cup final (and in the case of Gordon Highlanders even won it); The Black Watch were based in Limerick, now in the Republic of Ireland, they are also mentioned in the section on Irish Republic clubs in the all-Irish football structure).
Championship Royal Scots Regiment (1 top level season) 1899/00 5.Royal Scots Regiment 7 2 1 4 10-17 5 King's Own Scottish Borderers (1 top level season) 1903/04 8.King's Own Scottish B. 14 1 1 12 11-61 3 Cup 1890: winners: Gordon Highlanders (2-2, 3-1 vs Cliftonville) 1892: finalists: Black Watch Regiment (0-7 vs Linfield) 1900: semifinal: King's Own Scottish B. (scratched vs Cliftonville)
When the FA of Ireland seceded from the Irish FA, one Belfast junior league, the Belfast's Falls League (based on the Falls Road, the city's Republican epicentre), affiliated to them. One of its clubs, Alton United, won the second edition of the FAI Cup, in 1922/23; in the previous season, another Belfast club, West Ham, had entered the same tournament but lost in the first round to Shelbourne (the tournament had only 11 participants and as Shelbourne had a bye in the second round, West Ham can be considered to have been 1921/22 quarterfinalists). No Belfast clubs entered the tournament after 1923. It is unknown what happened to either the Belfast's Falls League or the two clubs; presumably they still exist in (Northern) Irish junior football.
Derry City played at the Northern Irish top level without interruption from the 1929/30 season until 1971/72, winning the league in 1964/65, the cup in 1949, 1954 and 1964, and the Gold cup in 1965. They were forced to leave the league in November 1972, after various clubs had refused to play in Londonderry (the official, 'British' and 'protestant' name of the city of Derry, as it is known to the catholics and in the Republic of Ireland). They were elected (together with 5 other clubs: Bray Wanderers, Cobh Ramblers, EMFA (later renamed Kilkenny City), Monaghan United and Newcastle United (later renamed Newcastlewest)) to the newly formed second division of the league in Ireland in 1985, earned promotion to the Irish top flight in their second season, and did not fall outside the top-10 of the Republic until the end of the 2009 season, when they suffered their first ever relegation for holding unofficial contracts with players; they returned at the first time of asking by winning the 2010 championship at the second level. Since joining the Republic's league structure they won 2 league championships, 6 cups and a record 11 league cups.
Championship Derry City (37 top level seasons) 1987/88 8.Derry City 33 13 5 15 59-44 31 1988/89 1.Derry City 33 24 5 4 70-21 53 1989/90 2.Derry City 33 20 9 4 72-18 49 1990/91 7.Derry City 33 13 9 11 51-28 35 1991/92 2.Derry City 33 17 10 6 49-21 44 1992/93 5.Derry City 32 11 15 6 26-23 37 1993/94 4.Derry City 32 12 10 10 37-35 46 1994/95 2.Derry City 33 16 10 7 45-30 58 1995/96 6.Derry City 33 11 13 9 50-38 46 1996/97 1.Derry City 33 19 10 4 58-27 67 1997/98 9.Derry City 33 10 10 13 30-31 40 1998/99 5.Derry City 33 12 9 12 34-32 45 1999/00 7.Derry City 33 12 10 11 32-38 46 2000/01 6.Derry City 33 12 9 12 31-28 45 2001/02 5.Derry City 33 14 9 10 42-30 51 2002/03 8.Derry City 27 8 7 12 31-37 31 2003 9.Derry City 36 7 15 14 33-51 36 2004 7.Derry City 36 11 11 14 23-32 44 2005 2.Derry City 33 22 6 5 56-25 72 2006 2.Derry City 30 18 8 4 46-20 62 2007 7.Derry City 33 8 13 12 30-31 37 2008 3.Derry City 33 16 10 7 46-25 58 2009 4.Derry City 36 18 5 13 49-31 59 NB: Derry City finished fourth but were demoted to the second level for holding unofficial contracts with players. 2011 3.Derry City 36 18 14 4 63-23 68 2012 5.Derry City 30 11 6 13 36-36 39 2013 4.Derry City 33 17 5 11 57-39 56 2014 8.Derry City 33 9 11 13 42-41 38 2015 7.Derry City 33 9 8 16 32-42 35 2016 3.Derry City 33 17 11 5 48-29 62 2017 4.Derry City 33 14 9 10 49-40 51 2018 8.Derry City 36 13 3 20 47-70 42 2019 4.Derry City 36 15 12 9 56-34 57 2020 7.Derry City 18 5 5 8 18-18 20 2021 4.Derry City 36 14 12 10 49-42 54 2022 2.Derry City 36 18 12 6 53-27 66 2023 2.Derry City 36 18 11 7 57-24 65 2024 4.Derry City 36 14 13 9 48-31 55 Cup 1923: winners: Alton United (1-0 vs Shelbourne) 1988: finalists: Derry City (0-1 vs Dundalk) 1989: winners: Derry City (0-0, 1-0 vs Cork City) 1994: finalists: Derry City (0-1 vs Sligo Rovers) 1995: winners: Derry City (2-1 vs Shelbourne) 1997: finalists: Derry City (0-2 vs Shelbourne) 2003: winners: Derry City (1-0 vs Shamrock Rovers) [1st final 2003] 2006: winners: Derry City (4-3 aet vs Saint Patrick's Athletic) 2008: finalists: Derry City (2-2 aet, 2-4 pen vs Bohemians) 2012: winners: Derry City (3-2 aet vs Saint Patrick's Athletic) 2014: finalists: Derry City (0-2 vs Saint Patrick's Athletic) 2022: winners: Derry City (4-0 vs Shelbourne) 2024: finalists: Derry City (0-2 vs Drogheda United) League Cup 1989: winners: Derry City (4-0 vs Dundalk) 1990: finalists: Derry City (1-1, 1-4 pen vs Dundalk) 1991: winners: Derry City (2-0 vs Limerick City) 1992: winners: Derry City (1-0 vs Bohemians) 1994: winners: Derry City (3-1 (agg) vs Shelbourne) 2000: winners: Derry City (3-1, 2-1 vs Athlone Town) 2002: finalists: Derry City (1-2, 1-0 aet, 2-3 pen vs Limerick) 2005: winners: Derry City (2-1 vs UCD) 2006: winners: Derry City (0-0 aet, 3-0 pen vs Shelbourne) 2007: winners: Derry City (1-0 aet vs Bohemians) 2008: winners: Derry City (6-1 vs Wexford Youths) 2011: winners: Derry City (1-0 vs Cork City) 2018: winners: Derry City (3-1 vs Cobh Ramblers) 2019: finalists: Derry City (2-2, 5-6 pen vs Dundalk)
For seven seasons, while Greece were ruled by a military junta, the Cypriot league champions were admitted to the Greek first division in the next season. They always finished on one of the relegation spots, usually bottom, with the exception of APÓEL, who commendably placed 13th (of 18) in 1973/74. However, that was the last season a Cypriot club entered the Greek league, as 1974 saw both the Turkish invasion of the island and the return of democracy in Greece itself.
Championship 1967/68 17.Olympiakós (Lefkosía) 34 6 11 17 39-76 57 1968/69 18.AÉL (Lemesós) 34 2 1 31 20-125 39 1969/70 17.Olympiakós (Lefkosía) 34 3 3 28 20-101 43 1970/71 18.ÉPA (Lárnaka) 34 3 4 27 23-76 43 [-1] 1971/72 18.Olympiakós (Lefkosía) 34 2 7 25 14-63 44 [-1] 1972/73 18.Omónoia (Lefkosía) 34 1 7 26 22-71 42 [-1] 1973/74 13.APÓEL (Lefkosía) 34 11 5 18 39-48 27 playoff 13-15 13.APÓEL (Lefkosía) 2 1 0 1 6- 3 2 NB: APÓEL = Athlitikós Podosfairikós Ómilos Ellínon Lefkosías
After the Graeco-Turkish war between 1919 and 1922, the Treaty of Lausanne signed in 1923 regulated the 'exchange of populations' between Greece and Turkey, which involved the expulsion of more than a million Greeks (c.q. christian populations, in particular Greek orthodox) from Minor Asia (in particular from Ionia (the region around Smýrna/İzmir), Pontus (around Trapezoúnta/Trabzon and Sampsoúnta/Samsun), Bithynia (Nikomédia/İzmit, Kalchedón/Kadıköy) and Proúsa (Bursa)) and Eastern Thrace (which lies in Europe, main city Adrianoúpolis/Edirne), and from about half a million Turks (c.q. muslims) from Greece. Prior to the treaty, many people had already fled as the military exchanges had come too close to their homes.
As part of this tragedy, various football clubs founded by the Greek communities in current Turkey moved across the Aegean: GS Apóllon Smýrni (from Smyrna) was re-established in 1922 as GS Apóllon Athína in Athens (the club was officially renamed GS Apóllon Smýrni in 2001), and Paniónios from Smyrna (founded 1890 as Orfeas Smýrni, renamed Paniónios in 1898) 'transferred' to Athens in 1922 under the name Paniónios GS Smýrnis-Athínas (re-established as Néos Paniónios in 2003, only to return to their former name in 2006). (Similar club moves occurred at the end of the Second World War from Viipuri/Vyborg in Karelia to Helsinki and Lahti in Finland and between the Turkish and Greek dominated parts of Cyprus in the seventies.) In later years, many Greeks from Konstantinoúpolis/İstanbul, who had not been expelled as part of the 1923 treaty, moved to Athens or Thessaloníki; because of this, Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupóleos (AÉK) were established in Athens in 1924, and Panthessaloníkios Athlitikós Ómilos Konstantinoupolitón (PAÓK) in Thessaloníki in 1926; both claim the heritage of nineteenth century clubs from the Péra district (now called Beyoğlu) in Constantinople, but their 'continued' history is less evident than that of the two Smyrna clubs Apóllon and Paniónios. As prior to 1923 only city competitions were organised in current Turkey (with Constantinople and Smyrna boasting the strongest clubs), no data are available on the performances of Apóllon and Paniónios prior to their (re-)foundation in 1922. In Greece, neither has ever won the championship, but Paniónios claimed the domestic cup in 1979 and 1998 (as well as losing four cup finals), while Apóllon reached the cup final once, in 1996, only to suffer a record 1-7 defeat to AÉK.
A number of Hungarian clubs entered the Challenge Cup, held from 1897 to 1911, a competition open to all clubs from the Habsburg Empire but with origin and centre in Vienna.
Note that information on performances of non-Hungarian clubs in the Hungarian football structure during the Austro-Hungarian Habsburg Empire can be found in the section on Moving Countries - Hungary.
Challenge Cup 1902: finalists: Budapesti TC (1-2 vs Vienna Cricket FC) 1902: semifinal: Ferencvárosi TC (1-5 vs Budapesti TC) 1903: semifinal: Ferencvárosi TC (1-5 vs Wiener AC) 1905: finalists: Magyar AC (1-2 vs Wiener SV) 1909: winners: Ferencvárosi TC (2-1 vs Wiener Sport-Club) 1911: finalists: Ferencvárosi TC (0-3 vs Wiener Sport-Club)
FC Vaduz, founded in Febuary 1932, joined the Vorarlberger Fußballverband, the regional football federation of Vorarlberg in the extreme west of Austria, where they played in the B-Klasse, the third and lowest regional level, in the 1932/33 season, in the Gruppe Oberland, together with FC Kickers Mühleholz (who withdrew at the halfway stage). After one season, FC Vaduz moved west to join the Swiss FA. FC Kickers Mühleholz, founded in 1928, remained in the B-Klasse of the Vorarlberger Fußballverband for two more seasons (changing name to SV Schaan sometime during the 1934/35 season).
As in 1932/33 the top four clubs in Vorarlberg (FC Lustenau, Turnerbund Lustenau, FC Bregenz and FC Dornbirn) played in the Kreisliga Bodensee-Vorarlberg at the second league level in Germany, it may be argued that FC Vaduz and FC Kickers Mühleholz were in fact part of the (fourth level of the) German league structure in the 1932/33 season. In the summer of 1933, the Vorarlberg clubs withdrew from the German league structure, so this does not apply for the 1933/34 and 1934/35 seasons.
Vorarlberger Fußballverband, B-Klasse, Gruppe Oberland FC Kickers Mühleholz (3 seasons) 1932/33 11.FC Kickers Mühleholz 10 0 0 10 1-39 0 [withdrew during season] 1933/34 ?.FC Kickers Mühleholz 1934/35 8.SV Schaan FC Vaduz (1 season) 1932/33 8.FC Vaduz 18 3 3 12 32-64 9
Germany | Italy | Liechtenstein
Büsingen am Hochrhein is a German exclave in Switzerland. Its football club, FC Büsingen, was founded in 1924 and plays in the Swiss league structure (Fussballverband Region Zürich). The highest level they ever reached was the fourth Swiss level in 1973/74, after gaining promotion from the 3. Liga (then the fifth level) to the 2. Liga (then the fourth level, below the Nationalliga A, the Nationalliga B (both nationwide) and the 1. Liga (organised in 3 regional groups)) at the end of the 1972/73 season. They finished bottom in their first and last ever season at the fourth level and never returned, currently (2016/17) playing in the 3. Liga, nowadays the seventh level in the Swiss league structure.
2. Liga (Region Zürich) FC Büsingen (1 season) 1973/74 11.FC Büsingen 20 3 4 13 23-55 10
Campione d'Italia is a Italian exclave in Switzerland. Its football club, AP Campionese, was founded in 1978 and plays in the Swiss league structure (Federazione ticinese di calcio).
As Liechtenstein does not have its own league, all its (currently seven) clubs play in the Swiss league structure (only FC Vaduz played one season in a regional league in Austria). Until 2007, none ever reached the Swiss top flight, but FC Vaduz have been a fixture in the Swiss second level since earning promotion in 2001, reaching the 8-team promotion/relegation group in 2002/03 (in which they finished 4th, traditionally the last promotion spot but not in that season as the top flight was reduced from 12 to 10 clubs) and the promotion/relegation playoff in 2003/04 and 2004/05. In 2007/08 they finally managed to obtain promotion to the Swiss top flight; their adventure only lasted one season; they were more successful in their second try in 2014/15, escaping relegation by finishing ninth out of ten. After finishing on a best ever 8th place in 2015/16, they were relegated again in 2016/17 before returning for a single season in 2020/21. Also in 2007/08, a second Liechtenstein club, USV Eschen/Mauren, obtained promotion to the third Swiss level, the 1. Liga. In 2016/17, they are still playing there, but due to reforms to the league structure, it is meanwhile the fourth level. Their lack of success in the Swiss Cup is due to the fact that Liechtenstein clubs do not enter it.
As Liechtenstein cup winners, FC Vaduz played FC Basel in the UEFA Cup 2006/07, in the second qualifying round, and lost on the away goal rule following a 0-1 loss away and a 2-1 win at home.
Nationalliga A/Super League FC Vaduz (5 seasons) 2008/09 10.FC Vaduz 36 5 7 24 28-85 22 2014/15 9.FC Vaduz 36 7 10 19 28-59 31 2015/16 8.FC Vaduz 36 7 15 14 44-60 36 2016/17 10.FC Vaduz 36 7 9 20 45-78 30 2020/21 10.FC Vaduz 36 9 9 18 36-58 36 Nationalliga B/Challenge League FC Vaduz (18 seasons) 2001/02 11.FC Vaduz 22 5 7 10 34-43 22 [fall] 2.FC Vaduz 14 8 3 3 28-18 38 [relegation playoff] NB: included halved points of fall season as bonus 2002/03 1.FC Vaduz 22 12 5 5 47-32 41 [fall] 4.FC Vaduz 12 3 4 5 17-23 13 [promotion playoff] 2003/04 2.FC Vaduz 32 16 9 7 56-34 79 [22] NB: clubs obtained bonus points for winning head-to-heads; FC Vaduz lost promotion/relegation playoff 0-2, 2-1 vs Neuchâtel Xamax 2004/05 2.FC Vaduz 34 21 6 7 58-28 69 NB: FC Vaduz lost promotion/relegation playoff 0-1, 1-1 vs FC Schaffhausen 2005/06 8.FC Vaduz 34 13 7 14 57-54 46 2006/07 9.FC Vaduz 34 12 10 12 57-52 46 2007/08 1.FC Vaduz 34 21 7 6 75-40 70 2009/10 8.FC Vaduz 30 11 8 11 44-43 41 2010/11 4.FC Vaduz 30 19 3 8 59-41 60 2011/12 8.FC Vaduz 30 13 6 11 54-45 45 2012/13 9.FC Vaduz 36 10 7 19 41-52 37 2013/14 1.FC Vaduz 36 21 10 5 71-34 73 2017/18 4.FC Vaduz 36 16 11 9 66-50 59 2018/19 6.FC Vaduz 36 11 9 16 48-70 42 2019/20 2.FC Vaduz 36 18 10 8 78-53 64 NB: FC Vaduz won promotion/relegation playoff 2-0, 3-4 vs FC Thun 2021/22 4.FC Vaduz 36 18 6 12 68-58 60 2022/23 8.FC Vaduz 36 7 16 13 54-56 37 2023/24 3.FC Vaduz 36 13 10 13 67-55 49 Cup Liechtenstein clubs do not enter the Swiss Cup.
A club from Andorra has played at the third Spanish level for twenty seasons before clinching promotion to the second in 2022.
Andorra started its own national league in the nineties and meanwhile
qualify clubs for the UEFA club competitions,
but one club from the principality
has been entering the Spanish league structure for a long time.
FC Andorra played at the third Spanish level, the Segunda División B
(a level first organised in 1977; before the third level was played
in many regional groups),
for many seasons in the eighties and nineties, first
entering this division in 1980/81.
In 1988/89,
FC Andorra finished second in their group behind Palamós, missing
out on promotion to the second level by 5 points. Below we list
their best (top-10) third level finishes. They were
relegated from the Segunda División B in 1997/98 and
dropped to the seventh level Primera Territorial Catalana
(the third Catalan level, below the four national levels) in 2004,
where they remained for seven seasons; in 2019 they again reached the
third national level before obtaining their first ever promotion to
the Segunda División in 2022. They were relegated
after two seasons at the second level.
The club celebrated its greatest success in 1994, when winning
the inaugural edition of the Copa Catalunya by defeating
RCD Espanyol 4-2 on penalties in the final, following a scoreless draw;
they had defeated FC Barcelona 2-1 at the semifinal stage.
Note that Club Andorra (formerly Endesa Andorra), who also played
several seasons in the Segunda División B, are from a village
(also called Andorra) in the province of Teruel, and not from the
principality.
Top-10 finishes (in 20 seasons) Segunda División B 1981/82 8.FC Andorra 38 16 9 13 56-44 41 [Grupo II] 1982/83 8.FC Andorra 38 15 9 14 43-47 39 [Grupo I] 1983/84 10.FC Andorra 38 14 13 11 52-44 41 [Grupo I] 1984/85 9.FC Andorra 38 13 12 13 51-57 38 [Grupo I] 1988/89 2.FC Andorra 38 23 8 7 58-28 54 [Grupo II] 1989/90 4.FC Andorra 38 18 10 10 57-43 46 [Grupo II] 1990/91 7.FC Andorra 38 15 10 13 41-34 40 [Grupo II] 1991/92 6.FC Andorra 38 14 16 8 64-46 44 [Grupo II] 1992/93 10.FC Andorra 38 13 11 14 47-41 37 [Grupo II] 1994/95 7.FC Andorra 38 13 16 9 32-31 42 [Grupo III] 1995/96 9.FC Andorra 38 14 9 15 38-44 51 [Grupo III] 1996/97 6.FC Andorra 38 15 13 10 42-33 58 [Grupo III] 2019/20 9.FC Andorra 28 10 11 7 31-28 41 [Grupo III] 2020/21 3.FC Andorra 26 12 8 6 34-25 44 [Grupo III] Primera División RFEF 2021/22 1.FC Andorra 38 21 8 9 61-38 71 [Grupo II] Segunda División 2022/23 7.FC Andorra 42 16 11 15 47-37 59 2023/24 21.FC Andorra 42 11 10 21 33-53 43 Cup 1981: 1/18 fin.: FC Andorra (0-0, 0-4 vs Castellón) NB: after this round (tercera eliminatoria), 19 clubs were left: Real Madrid who had received a bye to the 1/8 finals as holders and the 18 winners of the tercera eliminatoria, of which 6 (including Castellón) had to contest the cuarta eliminatoria for 3 places in the 1/8 finals. Copa Catalunya 1994: winners: FC Andorra (0-0, 4-2 pen vs Espanyol)
San Marino has its own championship since 1985, but a club from the republic has entered the Italian league system for a much longer time.
The clubs from San Marino joined the Italian federation in 1959.
After an initial entry (in 1959/60) at the lowest level by a joint
team of the two strongest local clubs, Libertas and Tre Penne, a
special 'national' club, SS Serenissima, was formed in 1960. The
club apparently played at the fourth national level for three
seasons. In 1973, after being relegated to the
promozione, Serenissima
merged with another San Marino club, Juvenes, which also had started
playing in the Italian league structure, to form
AC San Marino, later renamed San Marino Calcio.
San Marino Calcio first entered the fourth level Serie C2 in
1988/89. They only lasted one season then before returning to
the Interregionale, and even went down to the sixth
level Eccellenza for two seasons (1992/93 and 1996/97)
before returning to the professional ranks in 2000. In 2004/05
they finished 4th in the Girone B of the Serie C2
(as in the previous season), and in spite of being defeated in the
promotion playoffs by Cisco Lodigiani gained entry to the
Serie C1, thanks to administrative decisions. In their
first ever season at the Italian third level, they finished
16th from 18 in the Girone A but survived the chop in
the playoffs, beating Pro Sesto 1-0 over 2 legs. They were not
so lucky in their second season, losing 1-3 on aggregate to Martina
and dropping down to the fourth level for 2007/08. They returned
to the third level, by then renamed Lega Pro Prima Divisione,
in 2012, and managed a best-ever tenth position finish in their
group in the 2012/13 season. However, after the end of the 2014/15
season, they were relegated back to the fourth level (Serie D).
After merging with Serenissima into AC San Marino, Juvenes remained as a club in the San Marino football structure, and started to enter the Italian league structure again in 1996/97. After a merger with Dogana in 2000, they played as Juvenes/Dogana at the Prima Categoria level of the Italian league structure (and simultaneously in that of San Marino) until the end of the 2006/07 season, after which the club decided to play in San Marino only.
Serie C1 2005/06 16.San Marino Calcio 34 8 11 15 32-38 35 [Girone A] 2006/07 17.San Marino Calcio 34 8 8 18 37-43 32 [Girone B] Lega Pro Prima Divisione 2012/13 10.San Marino Calcio 32 7 12 13 41-43 43 [Girone A] 2013/14 15.San Marino Calcio 30 5 9 16 22-47 24 [Girone A] Lega Pro 2014/15 20.San Marino Calcio 38 9 9 20 42-56 36 [Girone B]
Between 1914 and 1922, FC Chiasso opted to enter the league structure of the Italian FA (FIGC), because of the lack of competitions in Ticino, the Swiss canton in which the border town of Chiasso is located. They played in the first stages of the northern Italian group in 1914/15 and of the Lombardian groups from 1919 to 1922, never reaching the second stage (in 1921/22, they finished only 1 point behind group winners Como, but that was after many of the stronger clubs had left for the dissident CCI (Confederazione Calcistica Italiana) league). After returning to the Swiss football structure, they first reached the Swiss top level in 1927. They have never won the Swiss championship or reached the Swiss cup final.
Northern Italy 1914/15 5.Chiasso 10 2 3 5 24-37 7 [group D] Lombardy 1919/20 4.Chiasso 10 3 2 5 15-18 8 [group B] 1920/21 3.Chiasso 6 1 1 4 6-14 3 [group D] 1921/22 2.Chiasso 6 2 4 0 11- 5 8 [group A]
Monaco has its own competition for company representations, but its most
famous football club is of course AS Monaco, first promoted to
the French top level in 1953. They have since won 8 league championships,
including one as newly promoted club in
1978. In addition, they claimed 5 cups and 2 league cups. They suffered
relegation from the Ligue 1 in 2011, but returned after two seasons,
finishing runners-up in their first year back.
Prior to the foundation of AS Monaco in 1924, local side Herculis entered
the French Cup in 1917/18, losing 1-7 away to Olympique de Marseille in
their first match. Herculis were renamed Monaco Sport in 1923, and
as such were one of the merger clubs to form AS Monaco one year later.
Championship AS Monaco (65 top level seasons) top-3 finishes 1955/56 3.AS Monaco 34 17 7 10 63-45 41 1960/61 1.AS Monaco 38 26 5 7 77-42 57 1962/63 1.AS Monaco 38 20 10 8 77-44 50 1963/64 2.AS Monaco 34 17 7 10 62-45 41 1977/78 1.AS Monaco 38 22 9 7 79-46 53 1981/82 1.AS Monaco 38 24 7 7 70-29 55 1983/84 2.AS Monaco 38 22 10 6 58-29 54 1984/85 3.AS Monaco 38 18 12 8 65-28 48 1987/88 1.AS Monaco 38 20 12 6 53-29 52 1988/89 3.AS Monaco 38 18 14 6 62-38 68 1989/90 3.AS Monaco 38 15 16 7 38-24 46 1990/91 2.AS Monaco 38 20 11 7 51-30 51 1991/92 2.AS Monaco 38 22 8 8 55-33 52 1992/93 3.AS Monaco 38 21 9 8 56-29 51 1995/96 3.AS Monaco 38 19 11 8 64-39 68 1996/97 1.AS Monaco 38 23 10 5 69-30 79 1997/98 3.AS Monaco 34 18 5 11 51-33 59 1999/00 1.AS Monaco 34 20 5 9 69-38 65 2002/03 2.AS Monaco 38 19 10 9 66-33 67 2003/04 3.AS Monaco 38 21 12 5 59-30 75 2004/05 3.AS Monaco 38 15 18 5 52-35 63 2013/14 2.AS Monaco 38 23 11 4 63-31 80 2014/15 3.AS Monaco 38 20 11 7 51-26 71 2015/16 3.AS Monaco 38 17 14 7 57-50 65 2016/17 1.AS Monaco 38 30 5 3 107-31 95 2017/18 2.AS Monaco 38 24 8 6 85-45 80 2020/21 3.AS Monaco 38 24 6 8 76-42 78 2021/22 3.AS Monaco 38 20 9 9 65-40 69 2023/24 2.AS Monaco 34 20 7 7 68-42 67 Cup 1960: winners: AS Monaco (4-2 aet vs AS Saint-Etienne) 1963: winners: AS Monaco (0-0 aet, 2-0 vs Olympique Lyonnais) 1974: finalists: AS Monaco (1-2 vs AS Saint-Etienne) 1980: winners: AS Monaco (3-1 vs US Orléans) 1984: finalists: AS Monaco (0-2 aet vs FC Metz) 1985: winners: AS Monaco (1-0 vs Paris Saint-Germain FC) 1989: finalists: AS Monaco (3-4 vs Olympique Marseille) 1991: winners: AS Monaco (1-0 vs Olympique Marseille) 1992: finalists: AS Monaco (final cancelled) NB: the 1992 cup final was not played due to the tragedy in the other semifinal between Bastia and Olympique Marseille, when a temporary stand at Bastia's stadium collapsed prior to the match, killing 19 people; Monaco entered the 1992/93 Cup Winners' Cup but the 1991/92 Coupe de France was not awarded. 2010: finalists: AS Monaco (0-1 aet vs Paris Saint-Germain FC) 2021: finalists: AS Monaco (0-2 vs Paris Saint-Germain FC) League Cup Coupe Charles Drago 1961: winners: AS Monaco (2-1 vs RC Strasbourg) Coupe de la Ligue 1984: finalists: AS Monaco (1-3 vs Stade Lavallois) 2001: finalists: AS Monaco (1-2 aet vs Olympique Lyonnais) 2003: winners: AS Monaco (4-1 vs FC Sochaux-Montbéliard) 2017: finalists: AS Monaco (1-4 vs Paris Saint-Germain FC) 2018: finalists: AS Monaco (0-3 vs Paris Saint-Germain FC)
Unwilling to enter the weak league of the Saar, 1.FC Saarbrücken played hors concours in the second division of the French league during the 1948/49 season, registering 26 wins, 7 draws and 5 losses in their 38 encounters, a record which would have given them first place in the division had their matches counted, way ahead of champions RC Lens whom they beat home and away. Their request for regular participation in 1949/50 was denied, and they later returned to the (West) German league structure, reaching the West German championship final in their first season back (1951/52) when the Saar was still an independent entity.
Union Esportiva Bossòst (U.E.B., also known as Unión Deportiva Bossost in Spanish and Union Sportive de Bossost in French) are a club from a Spanish valley in the Pyrenees, the Valle d'Arán (Vall d'Aran in Catalan, Val d'Aran in French). Since the mid-twentieth century they play in a French district league, the district Haute-Garonne Comminges, part of the Ligue Midi-Pyrenées de Football, in contrast to the other two clubs in the valley, Les and Vielha, which enter the Spanish league structure. UE Bossòst won the district cup tournament in 1982 and 1993 and the third division in 1982; currently (2012/13) they play at the highest district level, the Championnat Excellence (corresponding to the tenth level in the French league pyramid).
Austria | China | Czech Republic
As early as 1909, the Bodensee-Fußballvereinigung was founded, organising a competition between clubs on the border of the Bodensee (Lake of Konstanz) from Austria, Germany and Switzerland, but this was not part of any national league structure. The same applies for the Bodensee-Meisterschaft contested in the mid-twenties of the twentieth century.
At the end of 1930, the Vorarlberger Fußballverband successfully requested the Süddeutscher Fußballverband to include the top clubs from the Ländle in the south German league structure, in order to enable these clubs to play more matches. In the 1931/32 season, four clubs from Vorarlberg were admitted to the second level Kreisliga Bodensee-Vorarlberg. One of them, FC Lustenau, finished first and thus qualified for the post-season six-team Aufstiegsgruppe Süd-Bayern, in which they finished third behind Ulmer FB 1894 and SpVg Landshut, thus just missing out on the two promotion spots to the Bezirksliga Süd-Bayern, one of the two top level leagues in Bavaria at the time, amid many others in Germany. On the other side of the final standings, local rivals FC Hag Lustenau were relegated after losing the decisive match against FC Dornbirn but replaced by FC Bregenz for the 1932/33 season, in which FC Lustenau again won the Kreisliga Bodensee-Vorarlberg but came up short in the Aufstiegsgruppe Süd-Bayern.
In August 1933, the Vorarlberger Fußballverband decided to withdraw its clubs from the Kreisliga Bodensee-Vorarlberg, but after the 1938 Anschluß, FC Lustenau, SV Feldkirch, TUS Dornbirn, FC Bregenz and FC Bludenz again entered the German league structure, with FC Lustenau (again) winning the Bezirksklasse Bodensee-Vorarlberg in both 1938/39 and 1939/40 before finishing runners-up behind VfB Friedrichshafen in 1940/41.
Kreisliga Bodensee-Vorarlberg FC Lustenau 1907 1931/32 1.FC Lustenau 1907 20 16 2 2 74-25 34 1932 3.FC Lustenau 1907 10 4 2 4 23-21 10 [Aufstiegsgruppe Süd-Bayern] 1932/33 1.FC Lustenau 1907 22 19 2 1 101-25 40 1933 5.FC Lustenau 1907 8 2 3 3 13-16 7 [Aufstiegsgruppe Süd-Bayern] FA Turnerbund Lustenau 1931/32 4.FA Turnerbund Lustenau 20 12 4 4 63-39 28 1932/33 3.FA Turnerbund Lustenau 22 12 7 3 63-29 31 FC Dornbirn 1931/32 10.FC Dornbirn 22 6 3 13 46-69 15 [includes relegation playoff] 1932/33 8.FC Dornbirn 22 6 5 11 48-68 17 FC Hag Lustenau 1931/32 11.FC Hag Lustenau 22 5 3 14 42-68 13 [includes relegation playoff] FC Bregenz 1932/33 5.FC Bregenz 22 9 4 9 30-41 22 Bezirksklasse Bodensee-Vorarlberg FC Lustenau 1907 1938/39 1.FC Lustenau 1907 16 11 2 3 65-20 24 1939/40 1.FC Lustenau 1907 8 7 0 1 37- 3 14 1940/41 2.FC Lustenau 1907 20 15 2 3 83-28 32 FC Bregenz 1938/39 8.FC Bregenz 16 2 6 8 31-33 10 1939/40 3.FC Bregenz 8 3 0 5 12-19 6 1940/41 5.FC Bregenz 20 8 1 11 68-59 17 TUS/FC Dornbirn 1938/39 7.TUS Dornbirn 16 5 3 8 22-42 13 1939/40 4.TUS Dornbirn 8 3 0 5 16-28 6 1940/41 11.FC Dornbirn 20 4 2 14 50-87 10 SV Feldkirch 1938/39 3.SV Feldkirch 16 8 4 4 32-26 20 1939/40 2.SV Feldkirch 8 4 1 3 21-22 9 1940/41 6.SV Feldkirch FC Bludenz 1938/39 9.FC Bludenz 16 1 4 11 18-68 6The Kleinwalsertal is a region in Vorarlberg, Austria, which cannot be reached by road from the remainder of Vorarlberg (or Austria), but only through Germany (Oberstdorf, Bavaria). The Skiclub Kleinwalsertal founded a football section in 1958, which made itself independent in 1960 and registered with the BFV (Bayerischer Fußball-Verband) in Bavaria, Germany in order to enter the league competition there. In 1975 this club merged into the SV Kleinwalsertal, which still is playing football in Bavaria, although apparently only at youth level. The club never played in the Austrian league structure.
In the 2017/18 season, the fourth level Regionalliga Südwest
comprised 19 clubs, upon which the U-20 youth team of China was invited
to play friendly matches against teams on a bye during the second half of
the season (although three clubs, TuS Koblenz, Stuttgarter Kickers and
Waldhof Mannheim, had refused to play the Chinese; the application of
FK Pirmasens, relegated the previous season as 14th of 19 clubs, to extend
the league to 20 clubs had earlier been rejected).
The first match of the Chinese youngsters was on 18 November 2017 at
TSV Schott Mainz, but it was interrupted after about 20 minutes (with
the score still goalless) when an injured player was treated near a group
of supporters who had unrolled six flags of Tibet.
When the Chinese discovered that, they walked off and returned only after
the supporters had removed their flags some 25 minutes later, only to lose
the match 0-3. The second match scheduled, one week later at FSV Frankfurt,
was subsequently called off. In December the entire project was stopped
by a decision of the DFB (the German FA).
In its early years, the German football federation DFB considered
itself the representative of German football players rather than
football players in Germany. Therefore, the football club for
German players in Prague, the DFC Prag, which geographically
fell under the jurisdiction of the
Austrian FA, entered the first ever
German championship in 1903, as representatives of the
Verband der Prager deutschen Fußball-Vereine.
Their participation already was contentious, as they had not even
entered the 1903 VPdV championship; the 1903 league had finished
with a 3-way tie at the top, and rather than resolving that, it
was decided to register DFC Prag for the German championship playoff.
For this, five other teams had qualified, and DFC Prag were
to play the champions of Southern Germany, Karlsruher FV, in the
first round in Munich (München).
After the KFV had already organised a ground in the Bavarian
capital and taken care of all financial issues, the DFB granted
a request by the Prague club to host the match. The KFV of course
protested, and eventually the DFB handed both clubs a bye and
refixtured the tie for the semifinals, in Leipzig. But shortly
before their departure, the Karlsruhe club received an anonymous
telegram (sent from Prague) stating that the match had been
cancelled again. They decided not to make the long trip, and
DFC Prag were awarded a walkover. The German championship final
was therefore the first official match DFC Prag played that season!
After the DFB joined FIFA, its 'territory' was restricted to that
of contemporary Germany, and the Prague club did not enter the
German football structure again. They were successful in their
own country though: they had already won a championship in Bohemia
(Mistrovství Čech) in fall 1896 and collected another
(Mistrovtsví ČSF) in 1917. They entered the first ever
'national' league (Asociační Liga) of Czechoslovakia, in
spring 1925, but withdrew after finishing that first season in
fourth position, and won Czechoslovak amateur championships in
1930/31 and 1932/33 before joining the newly introduced
Státní Liga in 1934/35, finishing 7th (from 12) in that
first season and 11th (from 14) in the next. Other 'German'
clubs active in that league in its early years included Teplitzer
FK and DSV Saaz (from the town called Žatec in Czech).
Championship 1903: finalists: DFC Prag (2-7 vs VfB Leipzig)
After the 1977 League Cup won by Odra Opole (who thereby earned entry to the 1977/78 UEFA Cup), a second edition was held in 1978; however, only 11 of the 16 top level clubs entered, and so four guest teams from Hungary were invited: Diósgyőri VTK (Miskolc), Kaposvári Rákóczi, SZEOL (Szeged) and Tatabányai Bányász. Kaposvár, SZEOL (both just relegated from the Hungarian top flight) and Tatabánya were eliminated in the group stage but DVTK won five of their six matches, outscoring their opponents by 19 goals to 3, to top their group ahead of Polonia Bytom, Stal Mielec and Widzew Łódź and reach the semifinals, only to withdraw from their encounter against Zagłębie Sosnowiec.
Between 1933/34 and 1939/40, when both Croatia and Slovenia were part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, ČŠK from Čakovec entered the second level Slovenian regional league. They finished third in the 1933/34 season and were eliminated at the semifinal stage in 1938/39 and 1939/40, but in 1937/38 they won the Ljubljanska podsavez and entered the promotion playoffs for entering the Yugoslav top level, where they were eliminated by Krajišnik (Banja Luka). During the second world war, the same club entered the Hungarian league structure.
For at least one season, a club from the Russian exclave Kaliningrad entered one of the three zones of the Lithuanian third division. They won their zone unbeaten but appear not to have entered again.
LFF Lyga 2 Volna Kaliningrad 2000 1.Volna Kaliningrad 22 20 2 0 101- 9 62 [western zone]
One of the third level zones in Latvia, the Ziemeļaustrumlatvia zone, accommodated four Estonian clubs during two seasons; their matches were not counted for the zone itself, but for an overall classification, the so-called Livonijas Liga, outside of the actual Latvian league structure. (The head-to-head matches of the Latvian clubs counted for the Ziemeļaustrumlatvia zone.) The Estonian clubs were not very successful.
Livonijas Liga FC Võru 2004 5.FC Võru 14 7 1 6 30-33 28 2005 3.FC Võru 3 2 0 1 5- 3 6 [group 1] Tammeka Tartu 2004 4.Tammeka Tartu 14 7 1 6 43-32 28 2005 4.Tammeka Tartu 3 1 0 2 3-13 3 [group 2] Warrior Valga 2004 6.Warrior Valga 14 5 0 9 26-45 24 2005 3.Warrior Valga 3 1 0 2 6- 6 3 [group 2] Lootus Pilva 2004 8.Lootus Pilva 14 2 1 11 19-49 19 2005 4.Lootus Pilva 3 0 0 3 1- 7 0 [group 1]
In the late nineties, (at least) two Russian clubs from towns which had belonged to Finland before the second World War, FK Sortavala and Metallurg Värtsilä, played in the Finnish league structure as guests. FK Sortavala stayed in the Finnish league structure for four seasons from 1995 to 1998, winning promotion in their inaugural season in the Nelonen (fifth level) and continuing for three years in the Kolmonen (fourth level) before withdrawing. Metallurg Värtsilä started in the Nelonen in 1997, won promotion, were relegated in 1998 playing in the Kolmonen, won promotion back again in 1999 and played their last season 2000 in the Kolmonen before withdrawing as well. (Neither FK Sortavala 1998 nor Metallurg Värtsilä 2000 finished on a relegation place.)
City name correspondences: Finnish Russian Sortavala Sortavala Värtsilä Vyartsilya NB: Sortavala earlier also known as Serdobol
The spring edition of the 1903 Svenska Fotballpokalen was contested by six clubs, five from Sweden and one guest side from Copenhagen, B 1893, who played hors concours but won all their three matches, scoring twenty goals in the process and conceding only one.
Cup 1903: winners: B 1893 (6-0 vs Örgryte IS)
At least six clubs from the Åland Islands, which form an
autonomous region within Finland although Swedish is the official
language on the archipelago, have played in
the Swedish league structure at some point since the early 1990s.
IF Fram from Saltvik (who had
reached the fourth round of the Finnish Cup in 1979)
and Östernäs from Mariehamn (who had reached the third round
of the Finnish Cup in 1981) both played in the Division 6 (the
8th Swedish league level) in 2006, while Eckerö IK
were in Division 7 (the 9th Swedish league level).
In 2018, Lemlands IF played in Division 6 and Hammarlands IK in Division 7.
Jomala IK (who had reached the third round of the Finnish Cup
in 1983) played at the same level in the past (at least in
the 2001 season) but meanwhile returned to the Finnish
league structure. Further details (e.g. the highest Swedish
league level ever reached by an Åland club) are not available.
Another Åland club, IFK Mariehamn from the main town on the
islands, reached the top Finnish level (Veikkausliiga) for
the first time ever in 2005 and won the league in 2016, in their
twelfth season at the highest level; they also won the 2015 Finnish Cup
by defeating Inter Turku 2-1 in the final. The club's women football
team play in Sweden, in the Upplandsseriens Division 3 (at the 5th level).
City name correspondence: Swedish Finnish Mariehamn Maarianhamina
For the inaugural edition of the Tajik League Cup in 2019, Alga Bishkek were invited as guests. They in fact played the opening match of the competition, in which they defeated FK Hujand 2-1, but lost their second match in the three-team group 0-1 to Köktosh from Rödaki to finish second in the group, qualifying for the fifth place match against Khatlon of Bokhtar, which they forfeited to finish sixth (of nine participants) overall.
In the 2009 season, Mukdahan-Savannakhet FC entered the northeastern section of the Thai Division 2 (third level); they were reportedly planning to play home matches in Laos, in the town of Kaysone Phomvihane (formerly known as Savannakhet and Khanthabouli, and the capital of the Laotian province Savannakhet), which is connected to the Thai town of Mukdahan by the Second Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge, crossing the Mekong river, opened in 2007. However, it appears that eventually they played all home matches in Mukdahan.
Brunei | Cambodia | Myanmar | Singapore
Representative teams from Brunei traditionally enter the Malaysian football competition; until 2005, this was a privilege of a Brunei FA representative team, which won the cup in 1999; since the 2005/06 season, the club team DPMM FC (Duli Pengiran Muda Mahkota; then reigning champions of the sultanate – they won 2 of the first 3 editions of the domestic B-League, in 2002 and 2004, and won the 2004 FA Cup) had the honour. This club earned promotion from the second level in their first season and finished third in their debut season in the top flight (Super League), after long challenging for the championship (fellow promoted club Kedah eventually won the title). The team have also entered the Singapore Cup on numerous occasions (in spite of being denied entrance in the Piala Malaysia, the main Malaysian cup tournament). DPMM did not enter the 2009 Malaysian Super League due to the suspension of the Brunei FA by the Home Ministry of the country. However, in spite of this problem, they managed to register for the Singapore S-League 2009. This was the third different top level competition of a FIFA member country in which DPMM participated (after Brunei and Malaysia), a world record. In 2015, they won the Singapore S-League for the first time ever, thus becoming champions in a second Asian country.
Championship Brunei FA Top-5 finishes 1996 5.Brunei FA 28 12 8 8 38-32 44 1997 5.Brunei FA 28 13 6 9 52-39 45 1998 3.Brunei FA 22 9 8 5 44-33 35 DPMM FC (2 top level seasons) 2006/07 3.DPMM FC 24 13 5 6 46-29 44 2007/08 10.DPMM FC 24 4 10 10 27-34 22 Cup 1983: quarterf.: Brunei FA (1-1, 1-4 vs Selangor FA) 1997: semifinal: Brunei FA (2-3, 1-3 vs Pahang FA) 1999: winners: Brunei FA (2-1 vs Sarawak FA)
In 2012 and 2013 Preah Khan Reach entered the Piala FA, the second most important cup competition in Malaysia (behind the Piala Malaysia). In both seasons they were eliminated by a local third level club.
Piala FA 2012: 1/8 final: Preah Khan Reach (0-1 vs SPA FC) 2013: 1/16 fin.: Preah Khan Reach (1-6 vs PBAPP FC)
In 1935, a British army team based in Taiping (Perak State) but created in Mandalay (Burma) entered the northern section of the Malaya Cup tournament.
Cup 2nd Battalion, The 20th Burma Rifles (1 season) 1935 5.2/20 Burma Rifles 4 0 1 3 8-19 1 [northern section]
For the achievements of the Singapore FA selection in Malaysia until 1995, see the section on country splits and unifications; below only the participation of Singapore sides in the Malaysian football structure after the forced exclusion of the Singapore FA in 1995 is discussed, starting with Lions XII FC, a Singapore youth selection which first entered the Malaysian Super League in 2012, finishing runners-up in their first season and winning the league in 2013, adding the FA Cup two years later, after which the team was disbanded by the FA of Singapore.
Championship Lions XII (Singapore) (4 seasons) 2012 2.Lions XII 26 15 5 6 48-23 50 2013 1.Lions XII 22 12 7 3 32-15 43 2014 8.Lions XII 22 8 4 10 26-27 28 2015 7.Lions XII 22 9 6 7 36-32 33 Cup (Piala Malaysia) 2012: semifinal: Lions XII (1-1, 1-1 aet, 4-5 pen vs ATM) 2013: quarterf.: Lions XII (1-0, 1-4 vs ATM) 2015: quarterf.: Lions XII (1-4, 2-0 vs Pahang) FA Cup 2012: quarterf.: Lions XII (0-1, 0-0 vs Terengganu) 2015: winners: Lions XII (3-1 vs Kelantan)
The Brunei State Amateur F.A. was formed in 1952, based at Kuala Belait; initially it did not incorporate teams from Brunei Town (which had its own Brunei Town Amateur F.A.), but it did incorporate teams from Miri, just across the border in Sarawak. Between 1951 and (at least) 1962, representative sides from Belait District (Brunei) and Miri-Lutong District (Sarawak) annually contested the Shaw Shield.
Australia | China, France, Japan, South Korea, Africa | Brunei | Cambodia | Hongkong | Indonesia | Laos | Malaysia | Myanmar | Philippines | Sweden | Thailand
Various foreign and pseudo-foreign teams have entered the Singapore league, with two Australian clubs claiming the top-2 spots in 1994, Perth Kangaroos winning the league ahead of Darwin Cubs. The professional S-League, which exists since 1997, has seen 'Chinese', 'Japanese', 'French', 'Korean' and 'African' clubs enter the league (all being based in Singapore but consisting of players from the relevant country or continent only), and Thai guest teams reached its cup final on three occasions, winning in 2010. Teams from Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Hongkong, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and the Philippines also played in the Singapore cup tournament in recent seasons. This habit was abolished in 2018, when the entry to the cup tournament was restructed to the S-League clubs, leaving only Brunei representatives DPMM in the tournament along with Albirex Niigata (S), the Singapore filial of a Japanese club side.
Championship 1994 1.Perth Kangaroos 18 17 1 0 75- 8 35 2.Darwin Cubs 18 13 2 3 56-14 28 1995 -.Darwin Cubs withdrew before end season Cup 2010: quarterf.: South Melbourne (1-3, 3-3 vs Bangkok Glass) 2011: quarterf.: South Melbourne (0-3 vs Albirex Niigata (S))
Starting from the 2003 season, a number of 'foreign' clubs have entered the S-League of Singapore. These clubs are all based in Singapore, but are to use only players who are citizens from their 'own' country (in the short-lived case of Sporting Afrique, their 'own' continent).
Sinchi ('Singapore Chinese'), considered a team 'from China', were the
first such club in 2003, entering the S-League for 3 seasons;
Albirex Niigata (S), which acts as a farm team for Japanese
side Albirex Niigata, entered (and finished mid-table) in each season since
2004 before enjoying a star season in 2011, finishing fourth in the
league, reaching the cup final and winning the league cup (in the previous
seven years, they had only managed one semifinal appearance in spite of
entering eleven cup competitions in Singapore; they bettered this performance
five years later, winning the league, cup and league cup in 2016, defending
all three trophies in 2017 and winning both league and cup again in 2018,
the league cup having been discontinued); in 2014 Albirex
Niigata also entered a team in the league of Cambodia)
and 'African' club Sporting Afrique, which consisted of players
from Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria, played for one season in 2006.
For the 2007 season Sporting Afrique were dropped while two new teams,
Liaoning Guangyuan (a farm team for Liaoning FC) and Korean Super Reds
(later renamed Super Reds) entered as additional 'foreign' participants.
In 2008, Liaoning Guangyuan were replaced by Dalian Shide Siwu, a farm
team for Dalian Shide. This club also lasted only one season before
being replaced by Brunei DPMM, who entered for the first time
in 2009 (see the corresponding section on Brunei,
as DPMM were based in their own country, in contrast to the other
'foreign' clubs). DPMM were excluded a few weeks before the end of
the 2009 season because of a FIFA ban on Brunei and were not considered
for 2010 (they returned in 2012).
Super Reds were dropped in 2010, in spite of being the only
'foreign' team with an above average record on the field in the two
previous seasons (apart from DPMM), even finishing runners-up in 2008,
in favour of a new Chinese farm team, that of Beijing Guoan (which
emulated Liaoning Guangyuan and Dalian Shide Siwu by finishing 10th in
the league, failing to reach the quarterfinal stage of any cup tournament,
and being dropped after one season), and a collection of French citizens
called Etoile, who won both the league and the league cup in their
debut season, narrowly losing out on a treble due to a semifinal defeat
against Thai side Bangkok Glass in the cup tournament; Bangkok Glass
went on to become the first foreign club to win the main cup tournament.
In the 2012 season, Harimau Muda A became the first team from
Malaysia (in fact, the national youth team) to enter
the S-League (in return, Singapore youth side Lions XII entered the
Malaysian Super League). At the same time, 2010
champions Etoile were dropped after only two seasons. In 2013 Harimau Muda A
were replaced by Harimau Muda B (the U-19 side). Harimau Muda A instead
joined the Queensland state league in Australia in 2014.
At the end of 2015, the FA of Malaysia disbanded all Harimau Muda sides.
The league cup was discontinued after the 2017 season, while the cup
tournament was restricted to participants in the S-League, meaning the
tournament started at the quarterfinal stage.
Championship Albirex Niigata (S) (21 top level seasons) 2004 5.Albirex Niigata (S) 27 12 8 7 50-42 44 2005 5.Albirex Niigata (S) 27 12 8 7 50-33 44 2006 6.Albirex Niigata (S) 30 12 9 9 52-44 45 2007 8.Albirex Niigata (S) 33 9 8 16 45-49 35 2008 7.Albirex Niigata (S) 33 10 11 12 44-55 41 2009 7.Albirex Niigata (S) 30 11 5 14 38-47 38 2010 7.Albirex Niigata (S) 33 9 10 14 31-42 37 2011 4.Albirex Niigata (S) 33 20 5 8 80-34 65 2012 3.Albirex Niigata (S) 24 12 7 5 37-26 43 2013 3.Albirex Niigata (S) 27 13 7 7 36-28 46 2014 5.Albirex Niigata (S) 27 13 5 9 51-40 44 2015 3.Albirex Niigata (S) 27 13 6 8 27-17 45 2016 1.Albirex Niigata (S) 24 16 2 6 50-24 50 2017 1.Albirex Niigata (S) 24 20 2 2 70-16 62 2018 1.Albirex Niigata (S) 24 21 3 0 69-17 66 2019 4.Albirex Niigata (S) 24 12 5 7 36-25 41 2020 1.Albirex Niigata (S) 14 10 2 2 32-14 32 2021 2.Albirex Niigata (S) 21 13 7 1 50-19 46 2022 1.Albirex Niigata (S) 28 17 8 3 88-43 59 2023 1.Albirex Niigata (S) 24 20 2 2 86-20 62 2024/25 season running Sinchi (3 top level seasons) 2003 7.Sinchi 33 11 11 11 46-48 50 [+6] NB: drawn matches were decided by penalties, with the shoot-out winners obtaining an extra point 2004 9.Sinchi TV 27 4 5 18 36-62 17 2005 9.Sinchi 27 7 3 17 27-56 21 [-3] NB: Sinchi had 3 points deducted for gross misconduct (Korean) Super Reds (3 top level seasons) 2007 12.Super Reds 33 3 9 21 24-80 18 2008 2.Super Reds 33 24 3 6 68-32 75 2009 5.Super Reds 30 14 8 8 52-34 50 NB: club renamed Super Reds during 2007 season Etoile (2 top level seasons) 2010 1.Etoile 33 21 7 5 54-23 70 2011 5.Etoile 33 21 4 8 65-36 62 [-5] NB: Etoile had 5 points deducted Sporting Afrique (1 top level season) 2006 9.Sporting Afrique 30 5 9 16 36-58 24 Liaoning Guangyuan (1 top level season) 2007 10.Liaoning Guangyuan 33 8 5 20 33-63 29 Dalian Shide Siwu (1 top level season) 2008 10.Dalian Shide Siwu 33 5 7 21 26-75 22 Beijing Guoan Talent (1 top level season) 2010 10.Beijing Guoan Talent 33 10 6 17 30-49 31 [-5] NB: Beijing Guoan Talent had 5 points deducted for gross misconduct Cup 2003: quarterf.: Sinchi (0-1 vs Woodlands Wellington) 2004: semifinal: Sinchi Golden-Throat (1-5, 4-5 vs Home United) 1/8 final: Albirex Niigata (S) (3-4 vs Balestier Khalsa) 2005: quarterf.: Sinchi (1-3, 0-1 vs Home United quarterf.: Albirex Niigata (S) (3-5, 2-1 vs Woodlands Wellington) 2006: quarterf.: Albirex Niigata (S) (2-2, 1-2 vs Chonburi Province) 1/8 final: Sporting Afrique (2-3 aet vs Young Lions) 2007: 1/8 final: Albirex Niigata (S) (0-1 vs Bangkok University) 1/8 final: Liaoning Guangyuan (3-4 vs Woodlands Wellington) 1/8 final: Korean Super Reds (0-2 vs Home United) 2008: quarterf.: Super Reds (1-1, 0-3 vs Singapore Armed Forces) 1/8 final: Albirex Niigata (S) (1-4 vs Bangkok University) 1/8 final: Dalian Shide Siwu (1-5 vs Home United) 2009: semifinal: Albirex Niigata (S) (0-1, 1-0 aet, 3-4 pen vs Geylang United) 1/8 final: Super Reds (2-4 vs TTM Samut Sakhon) 2010: semifinal: Etoile (1-1, 0-2 vs Bangkok Glass) quarterf.: Albirex Niigata (S) (0-1, 0-0 vs Young Lions) 1/8 final: Beijing Guoan (1-2 vs Kitchee) 2011: finalists: Albirex Niigata (S) (0-1 aet vs Home United) semifinal: Etoile (1-1, 0-1 vs Home United) 2012: quarterf.: Albirex Niigata (S) (1-2, 0-2 vs Tampines Rovers) 2013: 1/8 final: Albirex Niigata (S) (2-3 vs Home United) 2014: quarterf.: Albirex Niigata (S) (3-4, 1-2 vs DPMM FC) 2015: winners: Albirex Niigata (S) (2-1 vs Home United) 2016: winners: Albirex Niigata (S) (2-0 vs Tampines Rovers) 2017: winners: Albirex Niigata (S) (2-2 aet, 3-1 pen vs Global Cebu FC) 2018: winners: Albirex Niigata (S) (4-1 vs DPMM FC) 2019: quarterf.: Albirex Niigata (S) (eliminated in group stage) 2022: semifinal: Albirex Niigata (S) (3-3, 2-4 vs Hougang United; Albirex won playoff for 3rd place vs Balestier Khalsa (3-2)) League Cup 2007: quarterf.: Albirex Niigata (S) (1-2 vs Gombak United) quarterf.: Korean Super Reds (0-2 vs Woodlands Wellington) 2008: finalists: Super Reds (1-2 vs Gombak United) quarterf.: Albirex Niigata (S) (0-3, 1-3 vs Super Reds) 1/8 final: Dalian Shide Siwu (0-1 vs Albirex Niigata (S)) 2009: quarterf.: Super Reds (0-0 aet, 3-4 pen vs Woodlands Wellington) 1/8 final: Albirex Niigata (S) (eliminated in group stage) 2010: winners: Etoile (3-1 vs Woodlands Wellington) 1/8 final: Albirex Niigata (S) (0-0 aet, 3-4 pen vs Woodlands Wellington) 1/8 final: Beijing Guoan (1-3 aet vs Sengkang Punggol) 2011: winners: Albirex Niigata (S) (0-0 aet, 5-4 pen vs Hougang United) quarterf.: Etoile (1-1 aet, 5-6 pen vs Home United) 2012: quarterf.: Albirex Niigata (S) (3-3 aet, 4-5 pen vs Tampines Rovers) 2013: semifinal: Albirex Niigata (S) (0-1 vs Balestier Khalsa) 2014: quarterf.: Albirex Niigata (S) (1-3 vs Geylang International) 2015: winners: Albirex Niigata (S) (2-1 vs Balestier Khalsa) 2016: winners: Albirex Niigata (S) (2-0 vs Brunei DPMM) 2017: winners: Albirex Niigata (S) (1-0 vs Warriors)
Note that DPMM FC played in the Malaysian league structure from 2005/06 until 2008; due to administrative problems between the Brunei FA and the national sports ministry, they failed to register for the 2009 Malaysian Super League, but managed to enter the 2009 S-League instead. This was the third different top level competition of a FIFA member country in which DPMM participated (after Brunei and Malaysia), a world record. However, following the suspension of Brunei by FIFA at the end of September 2009, all their matches were annulled; at the time of suspension, DPMM had only 5 matches left and were on course for a finish between second and sixth place. However, they did manage to win the Singapore League Cup before being kicked out. DPMM returned to the Singapore league structure in 2012 and celebrated their return by winning the League Cup again, becoming the first club to win the trophy twice (in 2014, they extended that record by winning it for the third time; however, they lost it to Albirex Niigata (S) in 2017 when that club won its fourth League Cup after winning the tournament in three successive years). It also marked the fourth successive season that the tournament was won by a 'foreign' club (during their two-season absence, Etoile and Albirex Niigata (S) had claimed the trophy). After having missed out narrowly on the final matchday in 2014, DPMM claimed their first ever Singapore league title in 2015. It was the second country in which they won the championship, after winning that of Brunei on two occasions, in 2002 and 2004. They again won the Singapore league in 2019.
Championship DPMM FC (12 top level seasons; first and tenth annulled) 2009 -.Brunei DPMM 28 14 8 6 43-35 50 [all matches annulled] NB: Brunei DPMM had 5 matches left to play when excluded 2012 2.Brunei DPMM 24 15 3 6 49-27 48 2013 8.Brunei DPMM 27 9 8 10 41-46 35 2014 2.Brunei DPMM 27 15 5 7 63-30 50 2015 1.Brunei DPMM 27 15 7 5 48-26 52 2016 3.Brunei DPMM 24 12 5 7 47-37 41 2017 8.Brunei DPMM 24 5 2 17 30-61 17 2018 3.Brunei DPMM 24 11 8 5 46-38 41 2019 1.Brunei DPMM 24 15 5 4 51-25 50 2020 -.Brunei DPMM 1 1 0 0 2- 0 3 [match annulled] NB: Brunei DPMM withdrew due to Covid-19 related travelling restrictions 2023 7.Brunei DPMM 24 6 5 13 39-43 23 2024/25 season running Cup 2004: 1/8 final: DPMM FC (1-2 vs Woodlands Wellington) 2005: 1/8 final: DPMM FC (0-2 vs Sinchi) 2006: 1/8 final: DPMM FC (0-1 vs Tampines Rovers) 2007: 1/8 final: DPMM FC (0-1 vs Tampines Rovers) 2008: 1/8 final: DPMM FC (0-1 vs Woodlands Wellington) 2009: quarterf.: DPMM FC (1-3, 2-4 vs TTM Samut Sakhon) 2012: 1/8 final: DPMM FC (0-1 vs Home United) 2013: quarterf.: DPMM FC (0-1, 4-4 vs Global FC) 2014: semifinal: DPMM FC (1-1, 2-3 vs Home United; DPMM won playoff for 3rd place vs Tampines Rovers (2-1)) 2015: semifinal: DPMM FC (3-2, 0-2 vs Home United; DPMM won playoff for 3rd place vs Global FC (3-1)) 2016: quarterf.: DPMM FC (0-3, 3-2 vs Ceres La Salle FC) 2017: quarterf.: DPMM FC (1-3, 1-3 vs Home United) 2018: finalists: DPMM FC (1-4 vs Albirex Niigata (S)) 2019: semifinal: DPMM FC (1-0, 4-5 aet, 2-4 pen vs Warriors) League Cup 2009: winners: DPMM FC (1-1 aet, 4-3 pen vs Singapore Armed Forces) 2012: winners: DPMM FC (2-0 vs Geylang United) 2013: finalists: DPMM FC (0-4 vs Balestier Khalsa) 2014: winners: DPMM FC (2-0 vs Tanjong Pagar United) 2015: group st.: DPMM FC (eliminated in group (quarterfinal) stage) 2016: finalists: DPMM FC (0-2 vs Albirex Niigata (S)) 2017: semifinal: DPMM FC (1-5 vs Warriors)
Among all foreign entrants in the Singapore Cup tournament, Phnom Penh Crown (called Empire until 2008) are the most frequent guests. However, in seven seasons they have only once managed to win a tie, in 2009 against Young Lions, the Singapore youth side.
Cup 2006: 1/8 final: Khmer Empire Phnom Penh (1-8 vs Singapore Armed Forces) 2007: 1/8 final: Khmer Empire Phnom Penh (3-4 vs Sengkang Punggol) 2008: 1/8 final: Khmer Empire Phnom Penh (0-2 vs Young Lions) 2009: quarterf.: Phnom Penh Crown (1-2, 3-3 vs Bangkok Glass) 2010: 1/8 final: Phnom Penh Crown (1-2 vs Etoile) 2011: 1/8 final: Phnom Penh Crown (0-4 vs Singapore Armed Forces) 2012: 1/8 final: Phnom Penh Crown (3-4 vs Tampines Rovers) 2013: 1/8 final: Boeung Ket Rubber Field (1-4 vs Tanjong Pangar United) 2014: 1/8 final: Svay Rieng (0-3 vs Albirex Niigata (S)) 1/8 final: Naga Corp (0-5 vs Home United) 2015: 1/8 final: Svay Rieng (1-2 vs Albirex Niigata (S)) 2016: 1/8 final: Nagaworld (0-5 vs Global FC) 2017: quarterf.: Boeung Ket Angkor (1-3, 2-1 vs Global Cebu FC) quarterf.: Nagaworld (1-4, 0-4 vs Hougang United)
Cup 2010: quarterf.: Kitchee (0-2, 4-4 vs Etoile)
Cup 2005: quarterf.: Indonesia U-23 (0-3, 1-6 vs Singapore Armed Forces) 2009: 1/8 final: Pelita Jaya (0-1 vs DPMM FC)
Cup 2012: 1/8 final: Yotha FC (0-1 vs Albirex Niigata (S)) 2013: 1/8 final: Lao Police FC (0-4 vs DPMM FC) 2014: 1/8 final: SHB Champasak (1-7 vs Loyola Meralco Sparks) 2015: 1/8 final: Lao Police FC (1-2 vs Geylang International)
Note that Harimau Muda A are the national youth team, and Harimau Muda B the U-19 side. Harimau Muda A joined the Queensland state league in Australia in 2014. At the end of 2015, the FA of Malaysia disbanded all Harimau Muda sides.
Championship Harimau Muda B (3 top level seasons) 2013 11.Harimau Muda B 27 8 6 13 32-44 30 2014 12.Harimau Muda B 27 6 2 19 28-67 20 2015 7.Harimau Muda B 27 9 6 12 29-40 33 Harimau Muda A (1 top level season) 2012 4.Harimau Muda A 24 13 3 8 37-23 42 Cup 2006: 1/8 final: Malaysia U-23 (3-5 vs Balestier Khalsa) 2012: 1/8 final: Harimau Muda B (0-3 vs Gombak United) 2014: 1/8 final: Harimau Muda B (1-1 aet, 6-7 pen vs Tampines Rovers)
Cup 2011: quarterf.: Okkthar United (0-3, 3-1 vs Hougang United) 2012: quarterf.: Kanbawza (1-3, 2-2 vs Loyola Meralco Sparks)
Cup 2012: semifinal: Loyola Meralco Sparks (0-2, 0-3 vs Tampines Rovers; Loyola lost playoff for 3rd place vs Gombak United (0-4)) 2013: semifinal: Global FC (2-2, 1-2 vs Tanjong Pangar United; Global lost playoff for 3rd place vs Balestier Khalsa (0-1)) quarterf.: Loyola Meralco Sparks (1-2, 3-3 vs Tanjong Pangar United) 2014: 1/8 final: Global FC (0-7 vs DPMM FC) quarterf.: Loyola Meralco Sparks (0-2, 1-2 vs Home United) 2015: semifinal: Global FC (0-1, 1-2 vs Albirex Niigata (S); Global lost playoff for 3rd place vs Brunei DPMM (1-3)) 2016: semifinal: Ceres La Salle FC (1-2, 2-3 vs Tampines Rovers; Ceres La Salle won playoff for 3rd place vs Balestier Khalsa (2-1)) quarterf.: Global FC (1-3, 1-2 vs Tampines Rovers) 2017: 1/8 final: Ceres Negros FC (0-1 vs Hougang United) finalists: Global Cebu FC (2-2 aet, 1-3 pen vs Albirex Niigata (S))
AIK from Solna were invited to play in the third edition of the Singapore Charity Shield. On January 21, 2010, they faced the 2009 league champions Singapore Armed Forces and drew 1-1; no penalty shoot-out ensued, the trophy was shared.
Charity Shield 2010: winners: AIK (1-1 vs Singapore Armed Forces, trophy shared)
Cup 2005: 1/8 final: Prov. Electr. Authority (0-1 vs Albirex Niigata (S)) 2006: finalists: Chonburi Province (2-3 aet vs Tampines Rovers) 1/8 final: Prov. Electr. Authority (0-1 vs Woodlands Wellington) 2007: semifinal: Bangkok University (0-2, 1-0 vs Tampines Rovers) 1/8 final: Chonburi Province (2-3 vs Balestier Khalsa) 2008: quarterf.: Bangkok University (0-1, 0-0 vs Young Lions) quarterf.: Tobacco Monopoly (1-1, 0-0, 2-4 pen vs Woodlands Wellington) 2009: finalists: Bangkok Glass (0-1 vs Geylang United) semifinal: TTM Samut Sakhon (0-6, 4-3 vs Bangkok Glass) 2010: winners: Bangkok Glass (1-0 vs Tampines Rovers) 2011: 1/8 final: Pattaya United (1-2 vs Okkthar United)
After a decade of entering a farm team in the Singapore league, Albirex Niigata also gained access to the Cambodian league with a farm side based in Phnom Penh, which finished bottom of the league in their maiden season. They kept their place after winning a promotion/relegation playoff but withdrew before the start of the 2015 season.
Championship Albirex Niigata (PP) (1 top level season) 2014 12.Albirex Niigata (PP) 22 2 4 16 25-69 10
In 2014, Harimau Muda A, which had competed for one season (2012) in the Singapore league, entered the Queensland state league in Australia, finishing ninth (out of 13 teams). They did not enter again.
An Auckland based club entered the Australian top level since the 1999/00 season (no league was organised in 2004/05). After 5 consecutive seasons of decidedly below par performances, the 2007/08 season saw a club from Wellington entering instead, which finished third in their third season, losing the preliminary final 2-4 away to Sydney FC. They reached the playoff stage of the league in the next two seasons as well, and finished third again in 2023/24. For the 2024/25 season they were joined by a new Auckland side, Auckland FC, so that the A-League featured two New Zealand clubs for the first time.
Championship Wellington Phoenix (Wellington) (18 top level seasons) 2007/08 8.Wellington Phoenix 21 5 5 11 25-37 20 2008/09 6.Wellington Phoenix 21 7 5 9 23-31 26 2009/10 4.Wellington Phoenix 27 10 10 7 37-29 40 NB: Wellington Phoenix finished 3rd in the championship playoff 2010/11 6.Wellington Phoenix 30 12 5 13 39-41 41 NB: Wellington Phoenix finished 6th in the championship playoff 2011/12 4.Wellington Phoenix 27 12 4 11 34-32 40 NB: Wellington Phoenix finished 4th in the championship playoff 2012/13 10.Wellington Phoenix 27 7 6 14 31-49 27 2013/14 9.Wellington Phoenix 27 7 7 13 36-51 28 2014/15 4.Wellington Phoenix 27 14 4 9 45-35 46 NB: Wellington Phoenix finished 5th in the championship playoff 2015/16 9.Wellington Phoenix 27 7 4 16 34-54 25 2016/17 7.Wellington Phoenix 27 8 6 13 41-46 30 2017/18 9.Wellington Phoenix 27 5 6 16 31-55 21 2018/19 6.Wellington Phoenix 27 11 7 9 46-43 40 NB: Wellington Phoenix finished 6th in the championship playoff 2019/20 3.Wellington Phoenix 26 12 5 9 38-33 41 NB: Wellington Phoenix finished 5th in the championship playoff 2020/21 7.Wellington Phoenix 26 10 8 8 44-34 38 2021/22 6.Wellington Phoenix 26 12 3 11 34-49 39 NB: Wellington Phoenix finished 6th in the championship playoff 2022/23 6.Wellington Phoenix 26 9 8 9 39-45 35 NB: Wellington Phoenix finished 6th in the championship playoff 2023/24 2.Wellington Phoenix 27 15 8 4 42-26 53 NB: Wellington Phoenix finished 3rd in the championship playoff 2024/25 season running Football Kings (Auckland) (5 top level seasons) 1999/00 8.Football Kingz 34 15 5 14 57-59 50 2000/01 8.Football Kingz 30 12 7 11 52-52 43 2001/02 13.Football Kingz 24 3 5 16 28-58 14 2002/03 11.Football Kingz 24 6 6 12 26-45 24 2003/04 13.Football Kingz 24 4 3 17 25-51 15 New Zealand Knights (Auckland) (2 top level seasons) 2005/06 8.New Zealand Knights 21 1 3 17 15-47 6 2006/07 8.New Zealand Knights 21 5 4 12 13-39 19 Auckland FC (1 top level season) 2024/25 season running Cup 2022: semifinal: Wellington Phoenix (1-4 vs Melbourne Victory)
Xiangxue Pharmaceutical, based in Zhaoqing, China, were admitted to the Hongkong league in 2001. Since 2002/03, they were the reserve side of Chinese 2nd level side Guangzhou Xiangxue. They were dissolved after suffering relegation in 2005. They were replaced by another China-based club, Lanwa FC from Dongguan, renamed Lanwa Redbull after their first season and Sheffield United after their third (apparently because Lanwa intended to enter the Chinese league, which never happened). In 2008/09 a new Chinese club, Xiangxue Eisiti, entered; they are the reserve team of Shenzhen Xiangxue in the Chinese Super League. That lasted only one season, with "Sheffield United" dropping out as well, but a new try was started in 2016/17 with a youth side of Guangzhou R&F, which finished runners-up in 2018/19.
Championship Xiangxue Pharmaceutical (4 top level seasons) 2001/02 6.Xiangxue Pharmaceutical 12 2 4 6 18-36 10 2002/03 5.Xiangxue Pharmaceutical 14 5 2 7 14-19 17 2003/04 5.Xiangxue Pharmaceutical 18 6 4 8 28-26 22 2004/05 9.Xiangxue Pharmaceutical 16 3 2 11 12-39 11 Lanwa FC/Lanwa Redbull/Sheffield United (4 top level seasons) 2005/06 5.Lanwa FC 14 4 5 5 14-20 17 2006/07 5.Lanwa Redbull 18 8 2 8 37-26 26 2007/08 8.Lanwa Redbull 18 4 8 6 25-31 20 2008/09 10.Sheffield United 24 6 5 13 36-43 23 Guangzhou R&F (HK) (4 top level seasons) 2016/17 10.Guangzhou R&F (HK) 20 3 1 16 13-53 10 2017/18 7.Guangzhou R&F (HK) 18 7 1 10 27-35 22 2018/19 2.Guangzhou R&F (HK) 18 11 3 4 51-26 36 2019/20 3.Guangzhou R&F (HK) 10 5 3 2 21-15 18 Xiangxue Eisiti (1 top level season) 2008/09 13.Xiangxue Eisiti 24 1 2 21 12-81 5
Hongkong | Malaysia | Philippines | Thailand
Until 1951, China did not organise a truly national (league-style) championship, but National Games were organised on 7 occasions between 1910 and 1948, involving representations from Hongkong as well as from Chinese in other Asian countries. Since 1959, ten more editions were organised, but these did not incorporate teams from Hongkong until 2001, when the tournament had become a competition for youth selections, and after the formerly British colony had returned to China (likewise, Macao teams participated in 2001 and 2005). There also were 7 editions of the Inter-Sectional Football Championship between 1926 and 1933, in which Hongkong participated as South China (the city hosted the event in 1927 and 1930).
The 1929 Inter-Sectional Championship involved three teams, East China
winning both its matches and North China losing both.
In the fifth National Games in Nanjing, 1933, Hongkong registered
a record 23-0 win in their first round match against Jiangxi.
The 1948 National Games featured a final round between the four
winning quarterfinalists; Shanghai withdrew from this while the
other three teams drew their matches against each other (Hongkong
had actually beaten Army 2-0 but the match was later declared a 0-0
draw).
National Games 1910: winners: South China (1-0 vs East China) 1933: semifinal: Hongkong (0-1 vs Shanghai) 1935: winners: Hongkong (3-1 vs Guangdong) 1948: winners: Hongkong (shared with Army and Police) Inter-Sectional Championship 1926: winners: South China (8-3, 5-1 vs East China) 1927: winners: South China (4-1 vs East China) 1929: runner-up: South China (in league format) 1930: winners: South China (4-4, 2-2, 4-1 vs East China)
Note that in the 1935 National Games, the two losing semifinalists (Malaysia Chinese and Shanghai) first played against fourth place, with the winners (Malaysia Chinese) meeting the losing finalists (Guangdong) in an additional match for second place (as both had beaten Shanghai and lost to winners Hongkong, but not met each other before).
National Games 1935: runner-up: Malaysia Chinese (1-0 vs Guangdong) 1948: quarterf.: Malaysia Chinese (1-3 vs Army)
The first round of the 1948 National Games involved 10 clubs playing for 5 slots in the round of 16 (1/8 finals).
National Games 1948: 1st round: Philippines Chinese (3-6 vs Zhejiang)
National Games 1948: quarterf.: Thailand Chinese (1-2 vs Police)
For the 1935 National Football Championship, two foreign teams were invited, the military team Malaya Command from Singapore and the football federation of the Dutch East Indies (N.I.V.B.), which had made a favourable impression at the Far Eastern Games in Manila the previous year, trashing Japan 7-1 in their first match before succumbing to a very physical team from China the next day. The two guest teams promptly took the first two places.
After their showing at the 1934 Far Eastern Games in Manila, the N.I.V.B. (Nederlandsch-Indische Voetbal Bond) were invited to send a team to the 1935 Philippines National Football Championship in February and March 1935. Unfortunately, by that time the N.I.V.B. was in utter turmoil, with all major Western and Central Javan city federations (Batavia, Bandoeng, Semarang, Djokjakarta, Buitenzorg, Soekaboemi) having withdrawn, essentially reducing the N.I.V.B. to Soerabaja (S.V.B.) and Malang. The team sent to Manila therefore corresponded to an S.V.B. selection, with a handful of players from Malang and Makassar (whose local federation were not even members of the N.I.V.B.). It started with three wins, defeating two local teams 6-0 before trouncing reigning champions University of Santo Tomás 5-0, but eventually had to settle for runners-up position behind the British military team Malaya Command based in Singapore.
Championship N.I.V.B. (1 top level season) 1935 2.N.I.V.B. 6 4 0 2 22- 7 8
Before World War II, British Army teams and visiting ships took part in various East Asian championships and cup competitions, such as those of Hongkong and Singapore. In 1935, the Singapore-based unit Malaya Command entered the Championship of the Philippines and won it unbeaten.
Championship Malaya Command (1 top level season) 1935 1.Malaya Command 6 6 0 0 31- 7 12
Between 1987 and 2003, 16 editions of the POMIS Cup
(President of Maldives Invitational Soccer Cup) were played
on the Maldives. This tournament included invited clubs from
India, Sri Lanka and Thailand and was expressly set up to provide
the Maldive club teams with the opportunity to play foreign
opposition.
Its inclusion here is debatable, as strictly speaking it was just an
'international club tournament'; however, as Maldives club managed
to win the majority of the tournaments (just; 9 from 16), it is
included nevertheless.
A comparable (though arguably more convincing) case is that
of the Kashif & Shanghai Knockout Tournament
in Guyana.
Indian teams won three editions of the POMIS Cup, and twice finished runners-up (in both cases by a club from Goa). Apart from the finalists, the only other known participants from India are FC Kochin (semifinalists 2001).
POMIS Cup 1990: winners: Indian Youth Team (4-1 vs Victory SC) 1991: finalists: Dempo SC (0-0, 4-5 pen vs York FC) 1992: finalists: Dempo SC (1-2 vs Valencia SC) 1993: winners: Kerala SC (2-1 vs Victory SC) 2003: winners: Mahindra United (3-1 vs Valencia SC)
Sri Lankan teams won three editions of the POMIS Cup, and twice finished runners-up. The final of the inaugural edition in 1987 was contested by two clubs from Sri Lanka. Apart from the finalists, the only other known participants from Sri Lanka are Negombo Youth (eliminated in group stage 2003).
POMIS Cup 1987: winners: Renown SC (0-0, 3-1 pen vs Saunders SC) 1987: finalists: Saunders SC (0-0, 1-3 pen vs Renown SC) 1988: winners: York FC (5-4 vs New Radiant SC) 1991: winners: York FC (0-0, 5-4 pen vs Dempo SC) 1994: finalists: Colombo FC (1-1, 5-7 pen vs New Radiant SC)
One Thai team won the tournament. Apart from the finalists, the only other known participants from Thailand are BEC Tero Sasana (eliminated in group stage 2001).
POMIS Cup 1998: winners: Thailand U-19 (2-1 vs New Radiant)
During the colonial era, football competitions in the current Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Congo-Léopoldville, Congo-Kinshasa and Zaïre; we here use the term Congo-Kinshasa for easy distinction from the Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville)) were mostly organised on a regional basis. The competition in the eastern province of Kivu (with as capital Bukavu; nowadays split into Maniema, Nord-Kivu and Sud-Kivu) included clubs from Usumbura in the adjacent colony Rwanda-Urundi (the city is now called Bujumbura and the capital of Burundi). The regional league (Championnat de l'Est) was won on at least two occasions by a club from Usumbura, Sporting (les verts), while another (UFC, les rouges) finished runners-up at least once.
In 1958, the Association Royale Sportive Congolaise (ARSC) was renamed into Association Royale Sportive Congolaise et du Rwanda-Urundi (ARSCRU), which included the Fédération Indigène de Football d'Usumbura (IFU), territoire du Rwanda-Urundi as a regional member. One club from current Burundi (Wairless d'Usumbara) entered the championship of the Belgian Congo in 1959, which however was not finished. See also the remarks on Ruanda-Urundi.
City name correspondence: colonial current Costermansville Bukavu Léopoldville Kinshasa Usumbura Bujumbura Championnat de l'Est 1952: winners: Sporting d'Usumbura 1955: runners-up:Usumbura FC 1958: winners: Sporting d'Usumbura
Because of the ongoing civil war in Sudan, the two biggest clubs from Omdurman, Al-Hilal and Al-Merreikh sought to play in another league to have regular competitive matches. After a first attempt to enter the league of Tanzania was vetoed by the Tanzanian federation, both clubs were allowed to enter that of Mauritania in the 2024/25 season.
Championship Al-Hilal (Omdurman) (1 top level season) 2024/25 season running Al-Merreikh (Omdurman) (1 top level season) 2024/25 season running
Renaissance Elmina, a club founded in 1947 in Niger (then part of French Western Africa) registered in 1951 as members of both the French FA and the Ligue de Football de Dakar, Senegal, presumably because at the time that was the only regional football federation in the colony. Like Sumatra's Oostkust from Medan, who were briefly registered with the Dutch football federation at the end of the nineteenth century, they probably never played any matches in Dakar at the time, but later were successful in Niger itself (winning four championships between 1952 and 1956) and once reached the quarterfinals of the Coupe d'Afrique Occidentale Française, in 1957, only to lose 1-8 against Etoile Filante in Lomé, Togo.
During South African rule of Namibia, various clubs from the adjacent Cape Province entered local tournaments in South West Africa. One such competition was the Hasso Ahrens Cup, a tournament for Reserve League teams, won by Deutschland FC from Cape Town in 1987. The same club won the Horstie Pitezsch-Pokal, a tournament for "veteran players" first organised by SK Windhoek in 1989, on four occasions (1990, 1992, 1994 and 1996).
Rhodesia entered the South African Currie Cup for provincial selections on various occasions since 1908, winning it in 1959. The team presumably was dominated by players from Salisbury (now Harare) and Bulawayo, both in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). In 1960, four Rhodesian club teams, two each from Bulawayo and Salisbury, entered the Castle Cup tournament; after first playing among each other, the last remaining one, Salisbury Alexandra, were eliminated at the overall quarter-final stage by Benoni United.
Castle Cup 1960: quarterf.: Salisbury Alexandra (2-4 vs Benoni United)
The Palestine Cup of 1942 featured a team from the Greek Air Force, which had helped King George II of Greece escape the Nazi invasion of the country. The Royal Hellenic Air Force XI defeated Hapoel Rehovot 6-4 in the first round and Hapoel Ramat-Gan 3-2 in the second to earn a quarterfinal against Maccabi Haifa. However, by the time the match, delayed after various protests involving their opponents, was to be played, the side had left Palestine to accompany King George II to England, and Maccabi Haifa received a bye.
The Palestinian diaspora is well-represented in Chile, as exemplified by the Santiago club Palestino, champions of the country in 1955 and 1978. In 2003, the Palestinian olympic selection was admitted to the third division in Chile, in order to get reasonable match practice, something impossible in the areas suffering under Israeli occupation and colonisation.
The team, based in Santiago de Chile, first played (and lost) 8 group matches in the Apertura (played in six groups of 4 or 5 teams, with bonus points for the Clausura being awarded to the best teams) and then entered the northern group (there were two zones) of the Tercera División as Selección de Palestina, withdrawing after playing 19 from its 28 scheduled matches (the remaining 9 were awarded 0-2 against them) and finishing bottom of the league.
Tercera División A 2003 Ap 5.Selección de Palestina 8 0 0 8 3-39 0 [northern group C] 2003 Cl 15.Selección de Palestina 28 2 3 23 14-74 9 [northern group]
Football in Surinam is organised in two nationwide leagues (the Hoofdklasse and the Eerste Klasse) and a third level organised at district level. Marowijne is one of the districts bordering French Guyana, and two separate federations organise a third level league there, the Albina Sport Bond and the Moengo Sport Bond. Of these, the Albina league admits participants from across the border. No details are known, but French Guyana clubs to have entered the Albina league include ASJM (who played 2005/06 and 2007/08), Balaté (who entered 2006/07 and finished 5th) and Blessie and Charvein (who made their debut in the 2008/09 season; both reached the final round consisting of 7 clubs). As 2010/11 Albina champions, Blessie became the first club from French Guyana to reach the Lidbondentoernooi (along with 37 other clubs), but they did not reach the final stage of 10 clubs from which 2 earn promotion to the second, national level (and a third the right to enter a promotion/relegation playoff).
The island of Saint-Martin is split into two territories: the northern part belongs to France as Saint-Martin; the southern part is part of the (Kingdom of the) Netherlands as Sint Maarten. As no official league was organised in the Dutch part until the 1975/76 season, Dutch clubs entered the league on the French part in the early seventies; on the other hand, in the first ever league season on Sint Maarten (and possibly in later seasons as well), a club from the French part entered. In the beginning of the twenty-first century, tournaments between the top-2 of both leagues were organised occasionally.
Sint Maarten teams in Saint-Martin | Saint-Martin teams in Sint Maarten
In the 1970 season on Saint-Martin, two clubs from the Dutch part of the island entered, A.R.C. (Antillian Racing Club, founded in April 1970) and Shell; A.R.C. presumably reached the semifinal stage but their eventual finish is not known. A.R.C. continued to enter the Saint-Martin league until at least 1973, reportedly with good results, but no details are known. Both A.R.C. and Shell took part in the inaugural league season on Sint Maarten in 1975/76, finishing third and sixth (out of seven clubs) respectively.
In the 2011/12, the Division Excellence, an eight-team competition including two clubs, Flames and Hotspurs, from Sint Maarten (as well as three from both Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy) was organised on Saint-Martin. While Hotspurs were eliminated in the group stage, Flames reached the final, taking the lead before losing out by the odd goal in three. The 2012/13 edition again had two Sint Maarten sides, and while debutants Strikers did not make an impression, Flames went one better than the previous season and won the second edition of the tournament. The third edition in 2014 was to have additional entrants from Anguilla and Sint Eustatius but was eventually cancelled. In 2022/23 the competition was revived as SXM Elite Championship, with eight clubs, four from either side of the border.
Division Excellence 2012: finalists: Flames (1-2 vs Junior Stars) 2013: winners: Flames (beat Attackers in final)
In the inaugural 1975/76 season of the league on Sint Maarten, one club from the French part of the island entered, Flamingo, finishing fourth out of seven clubs. It is not known whether they (or any other clubs from the French part of the island) entered the Sint Maarten league in later seasons, and neither is much known about Flamingo's record on Saint-Martin; only that a club called Flamingo FC, presumably identical, entered the league in 2009, finishing tenth and last.
Antigua | Barbados | Saint Lucia | Trinidad and Tobago | USA
The Kashif & Shanghai Knockout Tournament, played (nearly) annually around
the turn of the year between 1990 and 2015, was the most prestigious
nationwide competition in Guyana for about two decades.
It originally was restricted to teams from Linden, but since the third
edition (in 1992/93) clubs from all over the country enter, and there
have been occasional appearances by foreign teams since 1995/96 (when
Antiguan side Guydadli were the first guest entrants). Among the
guest teams, two Trinidad teams won the tournament, and a Saint Lucia
club once finished runners-up.
As the tournament was based on invitation and apparently not directly
connected to the national FA (though there was talk of the FA intending
to turn it into the premier club championship of the country), its
inclusion here is debatable, as strictly speaking it was just an
'international club tournament'; however, given the domination (both
numerically – most seasons only had participants from Guyana itself –
and in terms of final appearances) of domestic clubs, it is included
nevertheless.
A comparable (though arguably even less convincing) case is that
of the President of Maldives Invitational Soccer Cup
(POMIS Cup).
Finals traditionally were on New Year's Day, and the years indicated below refer to the year in which the tournament started (so the final and third place match usually were in the following year).
Antiguan club side Guydadli were the first foreign entrants; at their second participation, they played at the third level domestically.
Kashif & Shanghai Cup 1995: quarterf.: Guydadli (0-3 vs Milerock) 2004: 1/8 final: Guydadli (0-4 vs Topp XX)
There have been two appearances of Barbados clubs in the tournament. Tudor Bridge were a second level club when entering in 2004 (in fact, they had just been promoted from the third level); Caribbean United played at the fourth level domestically in 2011.
Kashif & Shanghai Cup 2004: 1/8 final: Tudor Bridge (0-3 vs Eagles United) 2011: quarterf.: Caribbean United (0-2 vs Milerock)
There have been two appearances of Saint Lucian clubs in the tournament.
Kashif & Shanghai Cup 2004: finalists: Dennery (1-4 vs Conquerors) 2006: 1/8 final: Mabouya Valley (0-4 vs Western Tigers)
There have been four appearances of Trinidadian clubs in the tournament; three won the tournament.
Kashif & Shanghai Cup 1998: winners: Doc's Khelwalaas (2-1 vs Victoria Kings) 2000: 1/8 final: San Juan Jabloteh (1-2 vs Melanie) 2006: winners: Joe Public (1-0 vs Topp XX) 2011: winners: Caledonia AIA (2-0 vs Pele)
There have been three appearances of USA-based clubs in the tournament.
Kashif & Shanghai Cup 1996: semifinal: Guynamics (New York) (lost vs Pele; won 3rd place match vs Milerock) 2000: quarterf.: Guynamics (New York) (1-3 vs Georgetown FC) 2006: quarterf.: Team Guyana USA (0-1 vs Western Tigers)
Saint-Pierre et Miquelon | USA
The French territory Saint-Pierre et Miquelon boasts three football clubs, AS Saint-Pierraise (ASSP), AS Miquelonnaise (ASM) and AS Ilienne Amateur (ASIA) de Saint-Pierre, who play organised competitions on the islands since 1964. Until the 2018/19 season, they never entered any stage of the French cup tournaments, but they often did enter regional contests at youth level in the Canadian province Newfoundland and Labrador (senior competitions are generally restricted to Canadian teams). At the Newfoundland Cup (Coupe de Terre-Neuve), ASIA won their category ("adult intermediate") in 1978, beating ASSP 6-4 aet in the final, and in 1979 ASM beating Springdale in the "B category" final; in 2012 ASM won their category again, defeating Grand Bank GeeBees 3-1 in the final. The 1977 final in the "Pupils" category saw ASIA beat St Johns 6-2. Other Canadian tournaments with participation from Saint-Pierre et Miquelon include the Newfoundland and Labrador Summer Games (Jeux d'été de Terre-Neuve), since 2000, and the Jeux de l'Acadie (in 1997 and 2003). In 2014, ASIA played for the Bee Gees Cup against Canadian side Bee Gees FC (drawing the first match 1-1 on August 1 before losing the second 1-5 one day later). In 1979, ASM had won the Bee Gees Cup, while ASIA claimed the Premier's Cup of Newfoundland in 1984.
In 1894 an unofficial Pacific Northwest Championship was held, with
Victoria Wanderers (champions of British Columbia) defeating Seattle AFC
(champions of Washington State) 5-1 in the final on May 24 at Beacon Hill
Park, Victoria; Wanderers won all its seven matches that season with an
overall goal record of 47-5.
The Pacific Coast Association Football League in British Columbia was founded
in 1908 and included teams from Seattle (Washington State); it was renamed
British Columbia Professional Association Football League in 1910 but collapsed
after one season.
In 1925 a new league for the Canadian Pacific Coast was founded
which, after numerous interruptions and under varying names, still exists
(as Pacific Coast Soccer League) and occasionally included teams from
the states of Washington and Oregon. On four occasions it was won by
Seattle Hibernian (in 1996, 1999, 2000 and 2001).
Antigua | Bermuda | Brazil | Canada | England | Ireland | Italy | Mexico | Netherlands | Northern Ireland | Puerto Rico | Scotland | Uruguay
In 2011, Antigua Barracuda, founded in 2010, joined the newly formed USL Professional Division, a 'third level' league. They finished bottom of the American Division, one of two 6-team groups. Their next season was worse, finishing last in the 11-team league. Their third season saw them lose every single league match.
USL Professional Division 2011 10.Antigua Barracuda 24 9 2 13 32-32 29 2012 11.Antigua Barracuda 24 5 1 18 16-30 16 2013 13.Antigua Barracuda 26 0 0 26 11-91 0
In 2007, a club from Bermuda, the Bermuda Hogges, entered the USL Second Division, a 'third level' league below the USL First Division which also features a team from Puerto Rico. In 2010, they left this league to enter the 'fourth level' USL Premier Development League.
USL Second Division 2007 11.Bermuda Hogges 20 3 3 14 16-45 12 2008 9.Bermuda Hogges 20 5 2 13 21-50 17 2009 9.Bermuda Hogges 20 4 4 12 19-43 16
In the inaugural 1967 season of the North American Soccer League, all 12 teams entering were foreign club teams representing American and Canadian cities. Rio de Janeiro club side Bangu played as Houston Stars and finished fourth in the Western Division.
NASL Western Division 1967 4.Bangu 12 4 4 4 19-18 12
In 1922/23, two clubs from Windsor, Ontario entered the US Open Cup: Walkerville FC and Windsor Rovers. Walkerville FC reached the fourth round (1/8 finals) in which they lost 1-3 to Jeannette AAFC from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the second attempt (after the American Soccer League in the 1920s) to establish a nationwide, professional association football league in North America. Unlike its predecessor, and as its name indicates, it was not restricted to the United States but also included various clubs (or rather franchises) from Canada. As these were not many and mostly played a secondary role, we nevertheless include them in this section as 'guest' teams in a foreign country. The following Canada-based teams played one or more seasons in the NASL, which was founded in 1968 and folded after the 1984 season: Toronto Falcons, Vancouver Royals (both only played 1968, folding after one season), Toronto Metros (1971-1984; renamed Toronto Metros-Croatia in 1975 and Toronto Blizzard in 1979), Montréal Olympique (1971-1973, folded after three seasons), Vancouver Whitecaps (1974-1984), Edmonton Drillers (1979-1982; formed by relocation of Oakland Stompers, folded after four seasons), Calgary Boomers (1981; formed by relocation of Memphis Rogues, folded after one season) and Montreal Manic (1981-1983; formed by relocation of Philadelphia Fury, folded after three seasons).
After winning the NASL in 1979, the Vancouver Whitecaps won the Canadian Soccer League (as Vancouver 86ers) in four successive seasons between 1988 and 1991, and the Canadian Championship (see below) in 2015, thus winning both American and Canadian top level leagues. Toronto Croatia (formerly Metros, Metros-Croatia and Blizzard during their NASL days; they won the NASL in 1976 as Toronto Metros-Croatia) won the Canadian Premier Soccer League in 2000 and 2004 and its successor, the Canadian Soccer League, in 2007. However, the entrants of those two leagues were predominantly from the Toronto area.
In 2007, a Canadian club (Toronto FC) made its maiden appearance in
the current top level league in the United States,
Major League Soccer (MLS),
established in 1996. In 2011, a second Canadian club, Vancouver Whitecaps
(former NASL members) followed, and 2012 saw a third entrant from Canada,
Montreal Impact.
So far the Canadian sides have not made much of an impression: between 2007
2012 the 3 clubs played 9 seasons (taken together) and all finished the regular
season with a negative record; however, Vancouver Whitecaps qualified for
the 2012 Wild Card game after finishing 5th in the Western Conference but lost
it 1-2 to defending champions and eventual winners Los Angeles Galaxy.
In 2013 both Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps finished with a positive
record (while Toronto FC had a negative record for the seventh successive season),
and Montreal reached the Wild Card game after finishing 5th in the Eastern
Conference but lost it 0-3 to Houston Dynamo. In 2014 Vancouver Whitecaps
became the first Canadian side to finish in the top-10 overall (5th in the
Western Conference) but lost their Wild Card game 1-2 to FC Dallas, while
Toronto FC finished with a negative record for the eighth year in a row and
Montreal Impact had the worst record of all 19 franchises in the league.
In 2015, all three qualified for the post-season, Vancouver with the third
best record in the regular season, but both the Whitecaps and Impact (who had
earlier eliminated Toronto) bowed out in the conference semifinals (the overall
quarterfinal stage). However, in 2016, both Toronto and Montreal reached the
Eastern Conference final, Toronto winning 7-5 on aggregate after extra time
in the second leg to become the first Canadian club to reach (and host) the
MLS Cup final match, which they however lost after a penalty shoot-out against
Seattle Sounders. Their home stadium, BMO field, had already hosted the
2010 final, Colorado Rapids defeating FC Dallas 2-1; at the time the final
was still played at a neutral venue rather than hosted by the team with the
better regular season record. In 2017, Toronto FC went one better:
after finishing the regular season with the best record (by far) of all clubs,
they again hosted the MLS Cup final, once more facing Seattle Sounders, who
had eliminated Vancouver Whitecaps in the conference semifinals, and this
time the title finally went to Canada thanks to a 2-0 win. As Toronto FC
had also won the official 2017 Canadian championship in a 5-team knock-out
tournament involving all three Canadian MLS clubs, a title they would defend
in 2018, they obtained the unique distinction of being the
ruling champions of two different FIFA member federations.
In addition, there are several Canadian clubs in the American lower level structure. Montreal Impact won the USL First Division (then a second level league without possibility of promotion) title in 2004 and 2009, Vancouver Whitecaps in 2006 and 2008. In 2009, Vancouver Whitecaps finished runners-up after an all-Canadian final. Another Canadian team in the USL First Division was Toronto Lynx (in 2005 and 2006). Note that the Canadian franchises do not enter the tournament for the US Open Cup. Since 2008, the top three Canadian professional clubs (Toronto FC, Montréal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps) play a 6-match qualifying competition, dubbed the Canadian Championship, to determine the Canadian qualifiers for the CONCACAF Champions League; in later years, this competition was joined by additional Canadian clubs playing outside the MLS.
Yukon Selects Soccer Club from Whitehorse, Yukon, was founded in 1998 and represented the Yukon Territory in the Canadian Club National Championships on numerous occasions since 2000 but also entered the State Cup of Alaska several times, winning the tournament in 1999.
Championship (NASL) 1973: semifinal: Toronto Metros (0-3 vs Philadelphia Atoms) 1975: quarterf.: Toronto Metros-Croatia (0-1 vs Tampa Bay Rowdies) 1976: winners: Toronto Metros-Croatia (3-0 vs Minnesota Kicks) 1977: quarterf.: Toronto Metros-Croatia (0-0 (shoot-out loss), 0-1 vs Rochester Lancers) 1978: quarterf.: Vancouver Whitecaps (0-1, 1-2 vs Portland Timbers) 1979: winners: Vancouver Whitecaps (2-1 vs Tampa Bay Rowdies) 1980: quarterf.: Edmonton Drillers (0-1, 3-2, 0-3 vs Fort Lauderdale Strikers) 1981: quarterf.: Montreal Manic (3-2, 2-4, 2-4 vs Chicago Sting) 1982: quarterf.: Montreal Manic (3-2, 0-1 aet, 1-4 vs Fort Lauderdale Strikers) quarterf.: Toronto Blizzard (2-4, 2-1, 2-4 vs Seattle Sounders) quarterf.: Vancouver Whitecaps (1-5, 1-0, 1-2 vs San Diego Sockers) 1983: finalists: Toronto Blizzard (0-2 vs Tulsa Roughnecks) semifinal: Montreal Manic (1-1 (shoot-out loss), 1-0, 0-3 vs Tulsa Roughnecks) quarterf.: Vancouver Whitecaps (1-0, 3-4, 0-1 vs Toronto Blizzard) 1984: finalists: Toronto Blizzard (0-2 vs Chicago Sting) semifinal: Vancouver Whitecaps (1-0 aet, 1-3, 3-4 vs Chicago Sting) Championship (MLS) Toronto FC (18 top level seasons) 2007 13.Toronto FC 30 6 7 17 25-49 25 2008 12.Toronto FC 30 9 8 13 34-43 35 2009 12.Toronto FC 30 10 9 11 37-46 39 2010 11.Toronto FC 30 9 8 13 33-41 35 2011 16.Toronto FC 34 6 15 13 36-59 33 2012 19.Toronto FC 34 5 8 21 36-62 23 2013 17.Toronto FC 34 6 11 17 30-47 29 2014 13.Toronto FC 34 11 8 15 44-54 41 2015 12.Toronto FC 34 15 4 15 58-58 49 wild card: Toronto FC (0-3 vs Montreal Impact) 2016 5.Toronto FC 34 14 11 9 51-39 53 finalists: Toronto FC (0-0 aet, 4-5 pen vs Seattle Sounders) 2017 1.Toronto FC 34 20 9 5 74-37 69 winners: Toronto FC (2-0 vs Seattle Sounders) 2018 18.Toronto FC 34 10 6 18 59-64 36 2019 9.Toronto FC 34 13 11 10 57-52 50 finalists: Toronto FC (1-3 vs Seattle Sounders) 2020 2.Toronto FC 23 13 5 5 33-26 44 1/8 final: Toronto FC (0-1 aet vs Nashville SC) 2021 26.Toronto FC 34 6 10 18 39-66 28 2022 27.Toronto FC 34 9 7 18 49-66 34 2023 29.Toronto FC 34 4 10 20 26-59 22 2024 22.Toronto FC 34 11 4 19 40-61 37 Vancouver Whitecaps (14 top level seasons) 2011 18.Vancouver Whitecaps 34 6 10 18 35-55 28 2012 11.Vancouver Whitecaps 34 11 10 13 35-41 43 wild card: Vancouver Whitecaps (1-2 vs Los Angeles Galaxy) 2013 13.Vancouver Whitecaps 34 13 9 12 53-45 47 2014 9.Vancouver Whitecaps 34 12 14 8 42-40 50 wild card: Vancouver Whitecaps (1-2 vs FC Dallas) 2015 3.Vancouver Whitecaps 34 16 5 13 45-36 53 quarterf.: Vancouver Whitecaps (0-0, 0-2 vs Portland Timbers) 2016 16.Vancouver Whitecaps 34 10 9 15 45-52 39 2017 8.Vancouver Whitecaps 34 15 7 12 50-49 52 quarterf.: Vancouver Whitecaps (0-0, 0-2 vs Seattle Sounders) 2018 14.Vancouver Whitecaps 34 13 8 13 54-67 47 2019 23.Vancouver Whitecaps 34 8 10 16 37-59 34 2020 17.Vancouver Whitecaps 23 9 0 14 27-44 27 2021 12.Vancouver Whitecaps 34 12 13 9 45-45 49 1/8 final: Vancouver Whitecaps (1-3 vs Sporting Kansas City) 2022 17.Vancouver Whitecaps 34 12 7 15 40-57 43 2023 13.Vancouver Whitecaps 34 12 12 10 55-48 48 1/8 final: Vancouver Whitecaps (2-5, 0-1 vs Los Angeles FC) 2024 14.Vancouver Whitecaps 34 13 8 13 52-49 47 1/8 final: Vancouver Whitecaps (1-2, 3-0, 0-1 vs Los Angeles FC) Montreal Impact/Montreal CF (13 top level seasons) 2012 12.Montreal Impact 34 12 6 16 45-51 42 2013 11.Montreal Impact 34 14 7 13 50-49 49 wild card: Montreal Impact (0-3 vs Houston Dynamo) 2014 19.Montreal Impact 34 6 10 18 38-58 28 2015 8.Montreal Impact 34 15 6 13 48-44 51 quarterf.: Montreal Impact (2-1, 1-3 aet vs Columbus Crew) 2016 11.Montreal Impact 34 11 12 11 49-53 45 semifinal: Montreal Impact (3-2, 2-5 aet vs Toronto FC) 2017 17.Montreal Impact 34 11 6 17 52-58 39 2018 15.Montreal Impact 34 14 4 16 47-53 46 2019 18.Montreal Impact 34 12 5 17 47-60 41 2020 18.Montreal Impact 23 8 2 13 33-43 26 wild card: Montreal Impact (1-2 vs New England Revolution) 2021 18.Montreal CF 34 12 10 12 46-44 46 2022 3.Montreal CF 34 20 5 9 63-50 65 quarterf.: Montreal CF (1-3 vs New York City) 2023 20.Montréal CF 34 12 5 17 36-52 41 2024 17.Montréal CF 34 11 10 13 48-64 43 wild card: Montreal CF (2-2, 4-5 pen vs Atlanta United)
In the inaugural 1967 season of the North American Soccer League, all 12 teams entering were foreign club teams representing American and Canadian cities. Stoke City played as Cleveland Rovers, Sunderland as Vancouver Royal Canadians and Wolverhampton Wanderers as Los Angeles Wolves. The Wolves won the Western Division and were crowned champions after beating Aberdeen in the final.
NASL Eastern Division 1967 2.Stoke City 12 5 4 3 19-13 14 NASL Western Division 1967 1.Wolverhampton Wanderers 12 5 5 2 21-14 15 winners: Wolverhampton Wanderers (6-5 aet vs Aberdeen) 1967 5.Sunderland 12 3 5 4 20-28 11
In the inaugural 1967 season of the North American Soccer League, all 12 teams entering were foreign club teams representing American and Canadian cities. Shamrock Rovers of Dublin played as Boston Rovers and finished sixth in the Eastern Division.
NASL Eastern Division 1967 6.Shamrock Rovers 12 2 3 7 12-26 7
In the inaugural 1967 season of the North American Soccer League, all 12 teams entering were foreign club teams representing American and Canadian cities. Sardinian club side Cagliari played as Chicago Mustangs and finished third in the Western Division.
NASL Western Division 1967 3.Cagliari 12 3 7 2 20-14 13
In the 1973 season of the North American Soccer League, Tiburones Rojos from Veracruz played nine so-called exhibition games against NASL club sides which counted in the league standings for their opponents (although the Mexican club played hors concours).
In the inaugural 1967 season of the North American Soccer League, all 12 teams entering were foreign club teams representing American and Canadian cities. A.D.O. from Den Haag played as San Francisco Golden Gate Gales and finished second in the Western Division.
NASL Eastern Division 1967 2.A.D.O. 12 5 3 4 25-19 13
In the inaugural 1967 season of the North American Soccer League, all 12 teams entering were foreign club teams representing American and Canadian cities. Glentoran of Belfast played as Detroit Cougars and finished fourth in the Eastern Division.
NASL Eastern Division 1967 4.Glentoran 12 3 6 3 11-18 12
Since 2004, the Islanders, from Bayamón on Puerto Rico, play in the USL First Division (formerly A League), a 'second level' league without possibility of promotion to the 'first level' MLS. In 2008 they finished top of the table in the regular season, and reached the final of the championship playoffs, in which they lost to Vancouver Whitecaps. Even more sensationally, the Puerto Rico Islanders reached the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions League 2008/09, for which they had qualified as Puerto Rican representatives, only losing to Mexican giants Cruz Azul after a penalty shoot-out following a 3-3 aggregate draw. In 2010, the Islanders won the temporary USSF Division 2 Professional League, again a 'second level' league, in spite of having finished only 8th (from 12 clubs) during the regular season. They then entered the Puerto Rican championship but lost the final 0-3 on aggregate against CA River Plate. In 2011 and 2012 they played in the North American Soccer League, again a second level league.
In 2016, Puerto Rico FC, also based in Bayamón but a separate entity, entered the fall season of the North American Soccer League, finishing 9th out of 12 clubs, and they played again in 2017, improving to 8th place, thanks to the reduction of the NASL to eight clubs.
USL First Division 2004 9.Puerto Rico Islanders 28 5 6 17 22-48 21 2005 7.Puerto Rico Islanders 28 10 8 10 46-43 38 2006 6.Puerto Rico Islanders 28 10 8 10 38-36 38 2007 6.Puerto Rico Islanders 28 10 10 8 35-34 40 2008 1.Puerto Rico Islanders 30 15 9 6 43-23 54 finalists: Puerto Rico Islanders (1-2 vs Vancouver Whitecaps) 2009 3.Puerto Rico Islanders 30 15 8 7 44-31 53 semifinal: Puerto Rico Islanders (1-2, 1-2 vs Montreal Impact) USSF Division 2 Professional League 2010 8.Puerto Rico Islanders 30 9 10 11 37-35 37 winners: Puerto Rico Islanders (2-0, 1-1 vs Carolina RailHawks) North American Soccer League 2011 2.Puerto Rico Islanders 28 15 7 6 41-32 52 semifinal: Puerto Rico Islanders (1-3, 1-2 vs Fort Lauderdale Strikers) 2012 3.Puerto Rico Islanders 28 11 8 9 32-30 41 quarterf.: Puerto Rico Islanders (1-2 vs Minnesota Stars) 2016 F. 9.Puerto Rico FC 22 5 9 8 19-31 24 2017 8.Puerto Rico FC 32 5 10 17 32-51 25
In the inaugural 1967 season of the North American Soccer League, all 12 teams entering were foreign club teams representing American and Canadian cities. Aberdeen played as Washington Whips, Dundee United as Dallas Tornado and Hibernian (of Edinburgh) as Toronto City. Aberdeen won the Eastern Division but lost the final to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
NASL Eastern Division 1967 1.Aberdeen 12 5 5 2 19-11 15 finalists: Aberdeen (5-6 aet vs Wolverhampton Wanderers) 1967 3.Hibernian 12 4 5 3 23-17 13 NASL Western Division 1967 6.Dundee United 12 3 3 6 14-23 9
In the inaugural 1967 season of the North American Soccer League, all 12 teams entering were foreign club teams representing American and Canadian cities. Montevideo club side Cerro played as New York Skyliners and finished fifth in the Eastern Division.
NASL Eastern Division 1967 5.Cerro 12 2 6 4 15-17 10
During the Spanish civil war, the Basque regional government sent the
Basque Country football team abroad to
raise funds for aiding the many refugees, and to inform the world of its struggle
against Franco's forces. The team left Bilbao on 24 April 1937 to start a tour of
Europe, playing matches in France, Czechoslovakia, Poland, the Soviet Union, Norway
and Denmark over a period of four months. During this time, the Basque country was
captured by the fascists and the team decided not to return but continue the tour
in Mexico, where several matches had already been arranged.
They arrived there on 3 November 1937 and played eleven matches before leaving for
Cuba in January 1938. Meanwhile, the Spanish football federation (now controlled by
the fascists) had requested FIFA to ban the team. Thus, when the team, which in
anticipation had affiliated with the Mexican federation, renouncing on their formal
ties with the Spanish one, arrived in Argentina to play a number of club sides there,
they could find no opponents. After playing some more matches in Chile and Cuba
they returned to Mexico on 3 August 1938 and requested entrance in the
Liga Mayor del Distrito Federal, the strongest regional league in the country,
based in Ciudad de México, whose winners were (and are) considered national champions.
Under the name of Club Deportivo Euzkadi, they played their first match
on 27 November 1938, defeating América 3-2, and their last on 7 May 1939, losing 2-7 to
Real Club España. They finished the season as runners-up, two points behind
champions Asturias. After the season, the team played one more match against touring
side Atlético Corrales (from Asunción, Paraguay) before disbanding; the players joined
other Mexican clubs (mostly España and Asturias) while star striker Isidro Lángara
joined San Lorenzo de Almagro in Buenos Aires (only to return to Mexico in 1943 and
writing history by becoming league top scorer in countries from three different
confederations: in Spain in 1933/34, 1934/35 and 1935/36 with Real Oviedo, in Argentina
in 1940 with San Lorenzo and in Mexico in 1943/44 and 1945/46 with España).
CD Euzkadi (1 season) 1938/39 2.Euzkadi 12 7 1 4 44-33 15 NB: match details Euzkadi in 1938/39 Mexican league.
Since 1993, when Italy started the thrend, several Latin European countries staged
one or more (or nearly all, in the French case) "Super Cup" matches abroad, mostly
for financial reasons – and presumably also because back home nobody could care
less about Juventus or Paris Saint-Germain winning yet another superfluous
piece of silverware.
After all four major football federations from the region (France, Italy, Portugal
and Spain) had thus at least once made a mockery of a supposedly domestic competition,
in 2018 the Spanish league went one step further by signing a contract to stage one
La Liga match in the United States or Canada for the each of the next fifteen
seasons, intending to start with the Catalan derby between Girona and
Barcelona, to be played in January 2019 in Miami, Florida. The Barcelona board
eventually declined playing the match there, but in the 2019/20 season the Spanish
league again scheduled a match (Villarreal "hosting" Atlético de Madrid) in Miami,
to be played in December 2019; this time, the venture was stopped by the Spanish FA.
Likewise, the proposed staging of an Ecuadorian league match between Barcelona's
namesakes from Guayaquil and Deportivo Cuenca in New Jersey in April 2019 failed
to materialise after US Soccer did not permit the match to go ahead there.
A decade before, early in 2008, the English Premiership had already suggested to
organise an extra, 39th round of league matches abroad, but that idea had been shot
down more or less immediately by the FIFA and the English FA.
The overview below of course does not include the six FA Cup and Community Shield
finals between 2001 and 2006 played in Cardiff, Wales, but it does include the 2006
match for the Super Cup of Northern Cyprus held in London.
The first non-European case of a Super Cup match played abroad was Latin as well,
when two Mexican tournaments, the Campeón de Campeones, between the winners
of the Apertura and Clausura league seasons, and the Supercopa MX,
between the winners of the Apertura and Clausura cup tournaments, were
both played north of the border in 2015; the latter tournament has meanwhile been
discontinued, but Tigres have now won four of the former in Carson, California.
Three other non-European cases are those of the 2018 Sudan Super Cup, played
between the two Omdurman powerhouses Al-Hilal and Al-Merreikh in Abu Dhabi, the
former winning 2-1, the Saudi Arabian Super Cup, played three times in London,
and the Argentinian 2022 Supercopa Internacional, played in Al-Ain in January 2023.
Another inter-continental case is the 2020 edition of the Super Cup of Kosovo,
contested in the Asian part of Turkey in January 2021. It appears the Turks
considered that match more interesting than the 2021 edition of their own
Super Cup, which was outsourced to Qatar in January 2022. Three earlier
editions had been played in Germany, but that at least made some sense in
view of the large Turkish community there.
The absurdity of playing such matches abroad was laughably
illustrated on December 29, 2023, when the Turkish Super Cup final to be
played in Riyadh was called off after the Saudi authorities had allegedly
forbidden that the
Turkish anthem would be played and that players of the two Istanbul clubs
involved, Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, would wear T-shirts honouring Kemal
Atatürk at the occasion of the centenary of the Turkish republic he had founded.
The farce was completed three months later, when the match, refixtured
for April 7, 2024 in Şanlıurfa was stopped after three minutes of
play due to Fenerbahçe, who had showed up with a youth team and had just
conceded the first goal, walked off protesting their supposedly unfair treatment
in the league.
The choice of Riyadh as original venue was all the more remarkable given that
five years earlier, on Oct 2, 2018, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi had been
assassinated and dismembered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul at the behest
of Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, who had the second level league in
the country named after him for four seasons,
from 2017/18
until 2020/21. In spite of that, both
the Italian and Spanish federations staged their 4-team 2023 Super Cup tournaments
in Riyadh in January 2024, within a month after the Turkish fiasco.
Argentina - Supercopa en el extranjero Year Venue 2022 Al-Ain (UAE) Racing Club 2-1 Boca Juniors France - Trophée des champions à l'étranger Year Venue 2009 Montréal (Canada) Girondins Bordeaux 2-0 En Avant Guingamp 2010 Radès (Tunisia) Olympique Marseille 0-0 Paris Saint-Germain [5-4 pen] 2011 Tanger (Morocco) Olympique Marseille 5-4 Lille 2012 Harrison (USA) Olympique Lyon 2-2 Montpellier [4-2 pen] 2013 Libreville (Gabon) Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 Girondins Bordeaux 2014 Beijing (China) Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 En Avant Guingamp 2015 Montréal (Canada) Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 Olympique Lyon 2016 Klagenfurt (Austria) Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 Olympique Lyon 2017 Tanger (Morocco) Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 Monaco 2018 Shenzhen (China) Paris Saint-Germain 4-0 Monaco 2019 Shenzhen (China) Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 Stade Rennais 2021 Tel-Aviv (Israel) Lille 1-0 Paris Saint-Germain 2022 Tel-Aviv (Israel) Paris Saint-Germain 4-0 Nantes NB: between 2009 and 2022, the match was played in nine countries on four different continents, but only once (for 2020, caused by restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic) in France (where, unsurprisingly, noone cares anymore whether Qataris Saint-Germain wins yet another trophy); in addition, in January 1987 the Challenge des champions was played for in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, but that is officially part of France. Italy - Supercoppa all'estero Year Venue 1993 Washington DC (USA) Milan 1-0 Torino 2002 Tripoli (Libya) Juventus 2-1 Parma 2003 New York (USA) Juventus 1-1 Milan [aet, 5-3 pen] 2009 Beijing (China) Lazio 2-1 Internazionale 2011 Beijing (China) Milan 2-1 Internazionale 2012 Beijing (China) Juventus 4-2 Napoli [aet] 2014 Doha (Qatar) Napoli 2-2 Juventus [aet, 6-5 pen] 2015 Shanghai (China) Juventus 2-0 Lazio 2016 Doha (Qatar) Milan 1-1 Juventus [aet, 4-3 pen] 2018 Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) Juventus 1-0 Milan 2019 Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) Lazio 3-1 Juventus 2022 Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) Internazionale 3-0 Milan 2023 Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) Internazionale 1-0 Napoli NB: between 2009 and 2019, China hosted the match more often than any other country, including Italy. Juventus have won the trophy on four different continents (including Europe). Kazakhstan - Superkubok şetelde Year Venue 2023 Antalya (Turkey) Tobil Qostanay 1-1 Ordabasy Chimkent [5-4 pen] Kosovo - Super Kupa jashtë vendit Year Venue 2020 Antalya (Turkey) Prishtina 3-1 Drita Mexico - Campeón de Campeones en el extranjero Year Venue 2015 Frisco (USA) Santos Laguna 1-0 América 2016 Carson (USA) Tigres 1-0 Pachuca 2017 Carson (USA) Tigres 1-0 Guadalajara 2018 Carson (USA) Tigres 4-0 Santos Laguna 2019 Carson (USA) América 0-0 Tigres [6-5 pen] 2021 Carson (USA) Cruz Azul 2-1 León 2023 Carson (USA) Tigres 2-1 Pachuca Mexico - Supercopa en el extranjero Year Venue 2015 Frisco (USA) Puebla 1-0 Morelia 2016 Carson (USA) Guadalajara 2-0 Veracruz 2017 Carson (USA) Querétaro 2-0 América 2018 Carson (USA) Necaxa 1-0 Monterrey 2019 Carson (USA) Cruz Azul 4-0 Necaxa Northern Cyprus - Süper Kupası yurt dışı Year Venue 2006 London (England) Çetinkaya 1-1 Mağusa Türk Gücü [6-5 pen] NB: after the 2006 edition above, four more competitions for the Londra Kupası were organised between 2007 and 2010, but these also involved the champions and cup winners of the London Turkish league and therefore are not counted as official tournaments for the Northern Cyprus Super Cup. Portugal - Supertaça no exterior Year Venue 1995 Paris (France) Sporting 3-0 Porto [replay, Apr 1996] NB: Finalíssima after both matches in August 1995 in Lisbon (0-0) and Porto (2-2) had been drawn. Saudi Arabia - Kas al-Suwbir kharij al-bilad Year Venue 2015 London (England) Al-Hilal 1-0 Al-Nasr 2016 London (England) Al-Ahly 1-1 Al-Hilal ´[4-3 pen] 2018 London (England) Al-Hilal 2-1 Al-Ittihad NB: the 2017 edition between Al-Hilal an Al-Ittihad was to be played in Al-Ain (United Arab Emirates) but eventually did not take place. Spain - Supercopa en el extranjero Year Venue 2018 Tanger (Morocco) Barcelona 2-1 Sevilla 2019 Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) Real Madrid 1-1 Atlético Madrid [aet, 4-1 pen] 2021 Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) Real Madrid 2-0 Athletic Bilbao 2022 Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) Barcelona 3-1 Real Madrid 2023 Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) Real Madrid 4-1 Barcelona NB: the 2019 edition was played in January 2020 and involved four clubs; likewise, the 2021, 2022 and 2023 editions were played in January of the next year between four clubs. Sudan - Kas al-Suwbir kharij al-bilad Year Venue 2018 Abu Dhabi (UAE) Al-Hilal (Omdurman) 2-1 Al-Merreikh (Omdurman) Turkey - Süper Kupası yurt dışı Year Venue 2006 Frankfurt/M (Germany) Beşiktaş 1-0 Galatasaray 2007 Köln (Germany) Fenerbahçe 2-1 Beşiktaş 2008 Duisburg (Germany) Galatasaray 2-1 Kayserispor 2021 Al-Rayyan (Qatar) Beşiktaş 1-1 Antalyaspor [aet, 4-2 pen] 2023 Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) Galatasaray n/p Fenerbahçe
Notes: no distinction is made between Germany and West Germany, between Ireland (pre-1920) and Northern Ireland, between Serbia with or without Montenegro (or when still called Yugoslavia), or between Cyprus before and after the de facto secession of the North. Non-UEFA members (e.g. Northern Cyprus) not included.
Ararat Yerevan Soviet Union, Armenia Baník Ostrava Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic Concordia Zagreb Yugoslavia, Croatia Crvena zvezda Yugoslavia, Serbia CSKA Moskva Soviet Union, Russia + Derry City Northern Ireland, (Republic of) Ireland Dinamo Tbilisi Soviet Union, Georgia Dinamo Zagreb Yugoslavia, Croatia Dynamo Kyiv Soviet Union, Ukraine Dynamo Minsk Soviet Union, Belarus Građanski Zagreb - Yugoslavia, Croatia Hajduk Split Yugoslavia, Croatia + IC Oradea - Hungary, Romania Internacional Bratislava Czechoslovakia, Slovakia Partizan Beograd Yugoslavia, Serbia + Rapid Wien Austria, Germany FK Sarajevo Yugoslavia, Bosnia-Herzegovina Slavia Praha Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic Slovan Bratislava Czechoslovakia, Slovakia Sparta Praha Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic Spartak Moskva Soviet Union, Russia Vardar Skopje Yugoslavia (*), Macedonia Željezničar Sarajevo Yugoslavia, Bosnia-Herzegovina + clubs preceded by + were champions of two currently existing UEFA members; among these 3, Derry City and Rapid Wien also won domestic cups in both countries involved, while IC Oradea won the cup in Romania (as Progresul Oradea) but not in Hungary; Derry City also collected League Cups in the Republic of Ireland, but not in Northern Ireland (where the tournament was introduced after their withdrawal; they did win 1 Gold Cup and 2 City Cups). - clubs followed by - have ceased to exist. * Vardar had their 1986/87 championship in Yugoslavia revoked after legal procedures but entered the UEFA Champions' Cup. Countrywise FORMER CZECHOSLOVAKIA Baník Ostrava Czechoslovakia Champions 1975/76, 1979/80, 1980/81 Czech Republic Champions 2003/04 Internacional Bratislava Czechoslovakia Champions 1958/59 Slovakia Champions 1999/00, 2000/01 Slavia Praha Czechoslovakia Champions 1925, 1928/29, 1929/30, 1930/31, 1932/33, 1933/34, 1934/35, 1936/37, 1946/47 Czech/Moravia Champions 1939/40, 1940/41, 1941/42, 1942/43 Czech Republic Champions 1995/96, 2007/08, 2008/09, 2016/17, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 Slovan Bratislava (includes ŠK Bratislava) Czechoslovakia Champions 1949, 1950, 1951, 1955, 1969/70, 1973/74, 1974/75, 1991/92 Slovakia Champions 1939/40, 1940/41, 1941/42, 1943/44, 1993/94, 1994/95, 1995/96, 1998/99, 2008/09, 2010/11, 2012/13, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 Sparta Praha Czechoslovakia Champions 1925/26, 1927, 1931/32, 1935/36, 1937/38, 1945/46, 1947/48, 1952, 1954, 1964/65, 1966/67, 1983/84, 1984/85, 1986/87, 1987/88, 1988/89, 1989/90, 1990/91, 1992/93 Czech/Moravia Champions 1938/39, 1943/44 Czech Republic Champions 1993/94, 1994/95, 1996/97, 1997/98, 1998/99, 1999/00, 2000/01, 2002/03, 2004/05, 2006/07, 2009/10, 2013/14, 2022/23, 2023/24 Spartak Trnava Czechoslovakia Champions 1967/68, 1968/69, 1970/71, 1971/72, 1972/73 Slovakia Champions 2017/18 GERMANY/AUSTRIA Rapid Wien Austria Champions 1911/12, 1912/13, 1915/16, 1916/17, 1918/19, 1919/20, 1920/21, 1922/23, 1928/29, 1929/30, 1934/35, 1937/38, 1939/40, 1940/41, 1945/46, 1947/48, 1950/51, 1951/52, 1953/54, 1955/56, 1956/57, 1959/60, 1963/64, 1966/67, 1967/68, 1981/82, 1982/83, 1986/87, 1987/88, 1995/96, 2004/05, 2007/08 Germany Champions 1940/41 IRELAND Derry City Northern Ireland Champions 1964/65 Rep. of Ireland Champions 1988/89, 1996/97 HUNGARY/ROMANIA IC Oradea Hungary Champions 1943/44 as Nagyváradi AC Romania Champions 1948/49 as IC Oradea FORMER SOVIET UNION Ararat Erevan Soviet Union Champions 1973 Armenia Champions 1993 CSKA Moskva Soviet Union Champions 1946, 1947, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1970, 1991 Russia Champions 2003, 2005, 2006, 2012/13, 2013/14, 2015/16 Dinamo Tbilisi Soviet Union Champions 1964, 1978 Georgia Champions 1990, 1991, 1991/92, 1992/93, 1993/94, 1994/95, 1995/96, 1996/97, 1997/98, 1998/99, 2002/03, 2004/05, 2007/08, 2012/13, 2013/14, 2015/16, 2019, 2022 Dynamo Kyiv Soviet Union Champions 1961, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1990 Ukraine Champions 1992/93, 1993/94, 1994/95, 1995/96, 1996/97, 1997/98, 1998/99, 1999/00, 2000/01, 2002/03, 2003/04, 2006/07, 2008/09, 2014/15, 2015/16, 2020/21 Dynamo Minsk Soviet Union Champions 1982 Belarus Champions 1992, 1992/93, 1993/94, 1994/95, 1995, 1997, 2004 Spartak Moskva Soviet Union Champions 1936 (fall), 1938, 1939, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1962, 1969, 1979, 1987, 1989 Russia Champions 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2016/17 Zenit Sankt Peterburg Soviet Union Champions 1984 Russia Champions 2007, 2010, 2011/12, 2014/15, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 FORMER YUGOSLAVIA Concordia Zagreb Yugoslavia Champions 1930, 1932 Croatia Champions 1941/42 Crvena zvezda Beograd Yugoslavia Champions 1951, 1952/53, 1955/56, 1956/57, 1958/59, 1959/60, 1963/64, 1967/68, 1968/69, 1969/70, 1972/73, 1976/77, 1979/80, 1980/81, 1983/84, 1987/88, 1989/90, 1990/91, 1991/92 Serbia-Montenegro Champions 1994/95, 1999/00, 2000/01, 2003/04 Serbia Champions 2006/07, 2013/14, 2015/16, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 NB: Serbia-Montenegro championships include all titles won since 1992/93, when the former Yugoslav championship became that of Serbia and Montenegro though not yet in name; the 1991/92 league still included clubs from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia so is included under Yugoslavia; in May 2019 the FA of Serbia also recognised a title won in 1946 in a regional qualification tournament for the national championship (which eventually was cancelled). Dinamo Zagreb Yugoslavia Champions 1947/48, 1953/54, 1957/58, 1981/82 Croatia Champions 1992/93, 1995/96, 1996/97, 1997/98, 1998/99, 1999/00, 2002/03, 2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2013/14, 2014/15, 2015/16, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 Građanski Zagreb Yugoslavia Champions 1923, 1926, 1928, 1936/37, 1939/40 Croatia Champions 1942/43 Hajduk Split Yugoslavia Champions 1927, 1929, 1950, 1952, 1954/55, 1970/71, 1973/74, 1974/75, 1978/79 Croatia Champions 1992, 1993/94, 1994/95, 2000/01, 2003/04, 2004/05 NB: does not include 'titles' in 1941 and 1946 in Croatia, as the regional league there was meant as qualifying tournament for the Yugoslav championship (which was cancelled) Partizan Beograd Yugoslavia Champions 1946/47, 1948/49, 1960/61, 1961/62, 1962/63, 1964/65, 1975/76, 1977/78, 1982/83, 1985/86, 1986/87 Serbia-Montenegro Champions 1992/93, 1993/94, 1995/96, 1996/97, 1998/99, 2001/02, 2002/03, 2004/05 Serbia Champions 2007/08, 2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2014/15, 2016/17 NB: Serbia-Montenegro championships include all titles won since 1992/93, when the former Yugoslav championship became that of Serbia and Montenegro though not yet in name; the 1991/92 league still included clubs from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia so is included under Yugoslavia FK Sarajevo Yugoslavia Champions 1966/67, 1984/85 Bosnia-Herzegovina Champions 1998/99, 2006/07, 2014/15, 2018/19, 2019/20 NB: the 1998/99 championship did not involve clubs from the 'Republik Srpska' who did not enter the Bosnian league until 2002; the Bosnian champions were excluded from the UEFA Champions League (qualifying) until the 2000/01 season Željezničar Sarajevo Yugoslavia Champions 1971/72 Bosnia-Herzegovina Champions 1997/98, 2000/01, 2001/02, 2009/10, 2011/12, 2012/13 NB: the three championships between 1997 and 2002 did not involve clubs from the 'Republik Srpska' who did not enter the Bosnian league until 2002; the Bosnian champions were excluded from the UEFA Champions League (qualifying) until the 2000/01 season Vardar Skopje Yugoslavia Champions 1986/87 (revoked) Macedonia Champions 1992/93, 1993/94, 1994/95, 2001/02, 2002/03, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2014/15, 2015/16, 2016/17 NB: 10 clubs had started the 1986/87 season with a deduction of 6 points, among them Partizan and Crvena zvezda, because of the events in the previous season. Vardar Skopje, who had not been deducted 6 points, won the title, and participated in the 1987/88 Champions Cup, but the points deduction was later revoked after more legal proceedings, and the title was awarded to Partizan, who headed the table without the deduction.
Note the Disclaimers in the Introduction.
Thanks to Sean DeLoughry (seandeloughry@yahoo.co.uk), who provided the last section (on champions in two European countries); many thanks to Alexey Khaydukov and Hans Schöggl for numerous suggestions on additional cases, and thanks to Dinant Abbink, Dale Arnett, Yaniv Bleicher, Fer van Dijk, Sheridan Elliott, Scott Ferguson, László Földesi, Lluís Gabarró, Erik Garin, Mark Gleeson, Kent Hedlundh, Oshebeng Koonyaditse, Hassanin Mubarak, Claudio Nicoletti, Henry Ong Heong Yong, Heikki Pietarinen, Jan Schoenmakers, Elisha Shohat and Andre Zlotkowski for various additions, corrections and suggestions.
Prepared and maintained by Karel Stokkermans for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
Author: Karel Stokkermans
(karel.rsssf@gmail.com)
Last updated: 10 Dec 2024
(C) Copyright Karel Stokkermans and RSSSF 2007/24
All rights reserved.