The Rhineland Cup (German: ''Rheinlandpokal'') is one of the 21 regional cup competitions of

German football Football (or "soccer") is the most popular sport in Germany. The German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fußball-Bund, link=no or ) is the sport's national governing body, with 6.6 million members (roughly eight percent of the popul ...

. The winner of the competition gains entry to the first round of the

German Cup The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...

. It is limited to clubs from the northern part of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

, however, teams from the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

and

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

are not permitted to compete. It is one of two cup competitions in the state, the other being the

South West Cup The South West Cup (german: Südwestpokal) is one of the 21 regional cup competitions of German football. The winner of the competition gains entry to the first round of the German Cup. It is limited to clubs from the Rheinhessen-Pfalz region of ...

, which covers roughly the southern half of the state. The competition is sponsored by the

Bitburger brewery Bitburger Brewery (Bitburger Brauerei Th. Simon GmbH) is a large German brewery headquartered in Bitburg, Rhineland-Palatinate. Founded in 1817 by Johann Wallenborn, its beer is the third best-selling beer in Germany, and the nation's number on ...

and carries the name Bitburger-Verbandspokal. In the past, it was sponsored by Oddset (

Sports betting Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome. The frequency of sports bet upon varies by culture, with the vast majority of bets being placed on association football, American football, basket ...

) and named Oddset-Pokal. It is operated by theRhineland Football Association, the Fußballverband Rheinland, or FVR. The competition does not cover the whole of the historical region of

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

, only a part of it.

History

The Cup was established in 1953. The Rhineland Cup is played annually. From 1974 onwards, the winner of the South West Cup qualified for the first round of the German Cup. Since the establishment of the 3. Liga in 2008, reserve teams can not take part in the German Cup anymore, but are permitted to play in the regional competitions.

Modus

Clubs from fully professional leagues are not permitted to enter the competition, meaning, no teams from the

and the

can compete. The fact that professional clubs were never permitted to compete in the competition accounts for the regions most successful club,

Eintracht Trier SV Eintracht Trier 05 is a German association football club based in Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate. It was formed on 11 March 1948 out of the merger of Westmark 05 Trier and Eintracht Trier 06, on the 43rd anniversary of the establishment of pred ...

, not taking out the cup until after it was relegated from professional football in 1973. All clubs from the Rhineland playing in the

3. Liga The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga. The modern 3. Liga was formed for th ...

(III),

Regionalliga West The Regionalliga West is a German semi-professional football division administered by the Western German Football Association based in Duisburg. It is one of the five German regional football associations. Being the single flight of the Western ...

(IV), Oberliga Südwest (V), Verbandsliga Rheinland (VI) and the three Bezirksligas (VII) gain direct entry to the first round. Additionally, the best teams out of the regional Kreis (District) cup competitions also qualify for the first round. The lower classed team always receives home advantage, except in the final, which is played on neutral ground.

Cup finals

Held annually at the end of season, these were the cup finals since 1954: * Source: * Winners in bold * ¹ TuS Mayen left the field at 4–4, Metternich declared the winner.

Winners

Listed in order of wins, the Cup winners are:

References

Sources

*''Deutschlands Fußball in Zahlen'', An annual publication with tables and results from the Bundesliga to Verbandsliga/Landesliga, publisher: DSFS

External links

Rhineland Football Association

Fussball.de: Rhineland Cup
{{Football in Rhineland-Palatinate Recurring sporting events established in 1953 Football cup competitions in Germany Football competitions in Rhineland-Palatinate 1953 establishments in West Germany