The Kent Senior Cup is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

competition played between senior clubs in the county of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. It is administered by the

Kent County Football Association The Kent County Football Association, known as ''Kent FA'', is the governing body of football in the county of Kent, England, and was formed in 1881. The Kent FA run over 20 County Cups at different levels of football for affiliated teams across K ...

History

The Kent Badge preceded the Kent Senior Cup, and was won in its three-year history by

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

. This competition was replaced by the Kent Senior Cup in 1889. Between 1894 and 1897 the cup was awarded to the Kent League champions. Past winners of the Kent Senior Cup include

Royal Arsenal The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proofing, and explosives research for the Britis ...

(now Arsenal) in 1889–90, and Gillingham in 1945–46 and 1947–48; the two sides are now members of the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

and

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

respectively. The 2013–14 Kent Senior Cup marked the 125th anniversary year of the competition, with the first match having been played in 1889. The final was played at

Priestfield Stadium Priestfield Stadium (popularly known simply as Priestfield and officially known from 2007 to 2010 as KRBS Priestfield Stadium and from 2011 as MEMS Priestfield Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is a football stadium in Gillingham, Kent. It has ...

, home of Gillingham, on 5 May 2014 and was won by

Ebbsfleet United Ebbsfleet United Football Club is a professional football club based in Northfleet, Kent, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the club competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 1946 fr ...

, beating

Dover Athletic Dover Athletic Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in the town of Dover, Kent, England. The club currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 198 ...

4-0. Just days later, Dover Athletic would beat Ebbsfleet United 1-0 in the

Conference South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

playoff final to win promotion to the

Conference Premier The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profess ...

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

beat Gillingham 1-0 at

on 30 April 2015 in the 2014–15 final.

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

beat

3-1 at Princes Park on 26 April 2016 in the 2015–16 final.

beat

Welling United Welling United Football Club is a professional football club, based in Welling in the London Borough of Bexley, England. The club's first team play in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football. History Welling United Foot ...

2-0 at

Gallagher Stadium Gallagher Stadium is a football stadium built for the National League club Maidstone United. The stadium opened in 2012 when the club hosted Brighton & Hove Albion in a friendly. The stadium 3G artificial pitch Rather than the traditional cho ...

on 1 May 2017 in the 2016–17 final. Maidstone United beat

Folkestone Invicta Folkestone Invicta Football Club is a association football, football club based in Folkestone, Kent, England. They are currently members of the and play at Cheriton Road. History The club was established in 1936 and joined the East Kent Wedne ...

4-3 on penalties after a 0-0 draw at

on 24 April 2018 in the 2017–18 final. Maidstone United beat

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

3-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at

Hayes Lane Hayes Lane is a football stadium in Bromley, Greater London, England. Located between Bromley town centre and Hayes, it is the home of Bromley F.C., and also used by Cray Wanderers and Crystal Palace Women. The current capacity of the groun ...

on 16 April 2019 in the 2018–19 final to retain the Cup.

beat Whitstable Town 6-1 at Princes Park on 24 November 2021 in the delayed 2019–20 final, postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.''

retained their title just a few months after the postponed 2019-20 final, on 17 May 2022, beating

comfortably 6-2 at Chatham Town's Bauvill Stadium.

Winners

Wins by club

External links

Official website

References

{{English Senior Cups

Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

County Cup competitions Recurring sporting events established in 1889