Kate Sheppard Cup
The Kate Sheppard Cup, currently known as the New Zealand Football Foundation Kate Sheppard Cup for sponsorship purposes[2], is New Zealand's premier knockout tournament in women's association football.[3] Founded in 1994, it was known as the Women's Knockout Cup, until it was renamed in 2018.[2]
 | |
| Founded | 1994 |
|---|---|
| Region | New Zealand |
| Number of teams | 40 (group stage) 2 (finalists) |
| Current champions | Eastern Suburbs AFC (1st title)[1] |
| Most successful club(s) | Lynn-Avon United (9 titles)[1] |
 | |
Format
The Kate Sheppard Cup is a national club based competition, women's teams from all clubs that are members of their regional association affiliated to New Zealand Football are allowed to enter and is competed for during the winter club season. In March each year NZ Football calls for clubs to enter their teams and all teams that have entered shall compete on a knockout basis until two teams remain unbeaten to contest the final in September.
New Zealand football handles the drawing of teams and at the start of the competition teams from within certain Football Federations are drawn against each other to save on travel costs. Football Federations Northern, Auckland and Waikato/Bay of Plenty could be drawn against each other, as could teams from Waikato/Bay of Plenty and Central Football, Central Football and Capital Football, and Mainland and Southern Region. The competition becomes an open draw from the semi final stage with teams being required to travel, at their cost, throughout New Zealand.[4]
History
The Kate Sheppard Cup is New Zealand Footballs women's national club based knockout competition that was first played in 1994 and called the Women's Knockout Cup. The competition starts with regional games until the semi-final then two Northern Region teams will play each other in one semi-final, and the Central Region winner will play the Southern Region winner in the other semi.
The final is usually played as part of a double-header, with the Chatham Cup Final (the men's club teams competition) as part of the traditional ending to the New Zealand football season in September.
The very first game saw Halswell United defeat New Brighton 2–0. The first final took place at Christchurch's English Park and saw local team Nomads United emerge as the first winners of the competition, beating Waikato Unicol on penalties 4–3 after a scoreless final.
The second year of the competition saw Waikato Unicol make the final again but this time winning the competition, before the start of the Northern Region dominance at the expense of Lower Hutt club Petone who in four consecutive finals from 1995 to 1998 finished runners-up.
Three Kings United where the first team to complete a "three-peat" winning the cup from 1997 to 1999 only to be succeeded by Lynn-Avon United who won it five years in a row from 2002–2006. They are also the cups most successful team winning the trophy nine times.[5]
On 8 March 2018, coinciding with International Women's Day and in celebration of the 125th anniversary of the women's suffrage movement, which was led by Kate Sheppard who helped women earn the right to vote in New Zealand. The cup was renamed as the Kate Sheppard Cup.[2]
Past winners
Performances
By team
| Team | Winners | Runners-up | Years won | Years runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lynn-Avon United | 9 | 1 | 1996, 2000, 2002–06, 2008–09 | 2001 |
| Three Kings United | 4 | 2 | 1997–99, 2012 | 2004, 2010 |
| Glenfield Rovers | 4 | 3 | 2011, 2014–15, 2017 | 2007, 2013, 2016 |
| Coastal Spirit | 1 | 2 | 2013 | 2011, 2019 |
| Eastern Suburbs | 1 | 2 | 2019 | 2005, 2017 |
| Ellerslie | 1 | 2 | 2001 | 2002–03 |
| Forrest Hill-Milford United | 1 | 2 | 2016 | 2014, 2018 |
| Claudelands Rovers | 1 | 1 | 2009 | 2010 |
| Waikato Unicol | 1 | 1 | 1995 | 1994 |
| Western Springs | 1 | 1 | 2007 | 2006 |
| Dunedin Technical | 1 | 0 | 2018 | - |
| Nomads United | 1 | 0 | 1994 | — |
| Petone | 0 | 4 | — | 1995–1998 |
| Massey University | 0 | 2 | — | 2012, 2015 |
| Wairarapa United | 0 | 2 | — | 1999–2000 |
| Western | 0 | 1 | — | 2008 |
By Federation
| Federation | Winners | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| Northern | — | 4 |
| Auckland | 16 | 8 |
| Waikato/Bay of Plenty | 2 | 2 |
| Central Football | — | 2 |
| Capital Football | — | 6 |
| Mainland | 2 | 3 |
| Southern Region | 1 | — |
See also
References
- "WKOC Finals". Ultimatenzsoccer.
- Hyslop, Liam (8 March 2018). "NZ Football rename Women's Knockout Cup after Kate Sheppard". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- "Women's Knockout Cup". New Zealand Football.
- "New Zealand Football Women's Knockout Cup Regulations" (PDF). NZ Football. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
- "WKOC History". Ultimatenzsoccer.
External links
*Until 2017, the tournament was simply known as the Women's Knockout Cup |
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