The Kate Sheppard Cup, currently known as the New Zealand Football Foundation Kate Sheppard Cup for sponsorship purposes, is New Zealand's premier

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

tournament in women's

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. Founded in 1994, it was known as the Women's Knockout Cup, until it was renamed in 2018. What would have been the 2020 edition of the competition, was cancelled because of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

but the competition continued again in 2021.

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 New Zealand Football is the governing body for the sport of association football in New Zealand. It oversees the seven New Zealand Football federations, as well as the New Zealand national football team (nicknamed the "All Whites"), the nationa ...

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

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 Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

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 Capital Football is the trading name for the ACT Football Federation Incorporated, the state governing body for association football, soccer in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), but also has affili ...

, 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.

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 Halswell United is an amateur association football club based in Christchurch, New Zealand in the suburb of Halswell. They will compete in the New World Mainland Premier League. The club was founded in 1964 as Halswell United Soccer, changing i ...

defeat

New Brighton New Brighton is the name of several places, sports teams etc.: Australia * New Brighton, New South Wales, a town near Ocean Shores Canada * New Brighton, Calgary, Alberta, a neighborhood * New Brighton (Gambier Island), a settlement in British ...

2–0. The first final took place at Christchurch's

English Park The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...

and saw local team

Nomads United Nomads United is an association football club based in Casebrook, Christchurch, New Zealand. The club competes in the Southern League, the second tier of New Zealand football. Club history Nomads were a prominent team in early New Zealand footb ...

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 Three Kings United Football Club is a youth football club based in Three Kings, Auckland, New Zealand. They previously competed in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1, with their last appearance coming in 2019. In 2020, Three Kings United m ...

where the first team to complete a "three-peat" winning the cup from 1997 to 1999 only to be succeeded by

Lynn-Avon United Lynn-Avon United is a semi-professional association Football club based in New Lynn, Auckland, New Zealand. Their first team plays in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1. History The club was formed in 1996 through an amalgamation of Lynndale ...

who won it five years in a row from 2002–2006. They are also the cups most successful team winning the trophy nine times. On 8 March 2018, coinciding with International Women's Day and in celebration of the 125th anniversary of the

women's suffrage movement Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to gran ...

, 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. In 2021, the Kate Sheppard Cup saw a record number of 57 teams enter, increasing by 40% from the previous edition.

Past winners

Maia Jackman Trophy

A Maia Jackman Trophy is presented annually to the player adjudged to have made the most positive impact in the Kate Sheppard final. Originally just the

Most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

trophy, it was renamed in 2013 after

Maia Jackman Maia Giselle Jackman (born 25 May 1975) is an association football player who represented New Zealand at international level. Jackman made her full Football Ferns debut in a 0–0 draw with Canada on 6 August 1993, and represented New Zealand ...

who herself won the MVP trophy in the 1996 and 1998 Women's Knockout Cup finals. * 1994 – ''Not Awarded'' * 1995 – ''Not Awarded'' * 1996 –

(Lynn-Avon United) * 1997 – Maria Wilkie (Three Kings United) * 1998 –

(Three Kings United) * 1999 – Nicky Smith (Wairarapa United) * 2000 – Amanda Crawford (Lynn-Avon United) * 2001 –

Priscilla Duncan Priscilla "Cilla" Duncan (born 19 May 1983) is a former association football player who represented New Zealand at international level as a central midfielder. Following her retirement from playing, she has been involved with the media aspect of ...

(Ellerslie) * 2002 –

Yvonne Vale Yvonne Vale (née van Bakel) (born 29 August 1970) is an association football goalkeeper who represented New Zealand at international level. Vale made her Football Ferns début as a substitute in a 0–1 loss to Russia on 28 August 1994, and fi ...

(Lynn-Avon United) * 2003 –

Sara Clapham Sara Clapham (born 13 January 1985) is a former association football player who represented New Zealand at international level. Clapham made her Football Ferns début in a 0–2 loss to Australia on 18 February 2004, and finished her internat ...

(Lynn-Avon United) * 2004 –

Melissa Ray Melissa Ray (born 25 April 1984) is an association football player who represented New Zealand at international level. Ray made her Football Ferns début as a substitute in 9-0 World Cup qualifier win over Cook Islands on 9 April 2003, and fini ...

(Lynn-Avon United) * 2005 – Michele Keinzley (Lynn-Avon United) * 2006 –

Ria Percival Ria Dawn Percival (born 7 December 1989) is a New Zealand professional women's footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur in the FA WSL and the New Zealand national team. She previously played for FFC Frankfurt and F ...

(Lynn-Avon United) * 2007 – Nicky Smith (Western Springs) * 2008 –

Kirsty Yallop Kirsty Lee Yallop (born 4 November 1986) is an association football player who represented New Zealand at the international level and last played for Melbourne Victory in Australia's W-League. Club career At club level she played for Lynn-Av ...

(Lynn-Avon United) * 2009 –

Katie Hoyle Katie Cherie Duncan (, 1 February 1988) is a New Zealand footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Onehunga Sports and the New Zealand national team. Club career Duncan signed for the Melbourne Victory ahead of the 2013–14 season. ...

(Lynn-Avon United) * 2010 –

Olivia Chance Olivia Juliet Bridget Chance (born 5 October 1993) is a New Zealand Association football, footballer who plays as an Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder or a Midfielder#Winger, left winger for Scottish Women's Premier League c ...

(Claudelands Rovers) * 2011 –

Steph Skilton Stephanie Skilton (born 27 October 1994 in Auckland, New Zealand) is an association footballer who has represented New Zealand at international level by being capped in the New Zealand women's national football team. Skilton was a member of the ...

(Glenfield Rovers) * 2012 –

Annalie Longo Annalie Antonia Longo (born 1 July 1991) is an association football player who represents New Zealand at international level. She has played for Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory in the Australian W-League. From her time in the W-League with Mel ...

(Three Kings United) * 2013 – Laura Merrin (Coastal Spirit) *

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

–

Katie Rood Kathryn Elizabeth "Katie" Rood (born 2 September 1992) is a New Zealand professional footballer who currently plays for Hearts in Scottish Women's Premier League and the New Zealand national team. Club career Rood developed into a consistent ...

(Glenfield Rovers) *

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

– Estelle Harrison (Glenfield Rovers) *

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

– Tessa Berger (Forrest Hill-Milford United) *

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

– Kate Loye (Glenfield Rovers) *

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

– Shontelle Smith (Dunedin Technical) *

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

– Tayla O'Brien and Erinna Wong (Eastern Suburbs) * 2020 – ''Not Awarded'' *

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

– Emma Main (Wellington United) *

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

–

Katie Duncan Katie Cherie Duncan (, 1 February 1988) is a New Zealand footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Onehunga Sports and the New Zealand national team. Club career Duncan signed for the Melbourne Victory ahead of the 2013–14 season. ...

(Auckland United)

Performances

By team

By Federation

References

External links

Official website
{{Association football in New Zealand Women's association football in New Zealand Association football cup competitions in New Zealand Women's association football competitions in Oceania Women's national association football cups 1994 establishments in New Zealand Cultural depictions of Kate Sheppard