The 2016–17

Moldovan Cup Cupa Moldovei (), officially known as Cupa Orange Group, Orange for sponsorship reasons, is a association football, football competition, held annually in Moldova. The winner qualifies for the UEFA Europa League first qualifying round. Finals Th ...

() was the 26th season of the

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

n annual

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

tournament. Zaria Bălți entered as the defending champions after winning the 2015–16 edition. The competition started on 20 August 2016 with the first preliminary round and concluded with the final at the

Zimbru Stadium The Zimbru Stadium () is a football-specific stadium in Chișinău, Moldova, completed in May 2006 with a capacity of 10,104 people, meeting all norms required by UEFA and FIFA for national and international matches. Starting from June 2016, th ...

on 25 May 2017.

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

won a record 9th title following a 5–0 win over Zaria in the final. As winners, Sheriff would have been assured a place for the 2017–2018 UEFA Europa League first qualifying round; however, since they already qualified for the 2017–2018 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round by winning the title in the

Divizia Națională The Moldovan Liga, officially known as Liga 7777.md for sponsorship reasons, is an association football league that is the top division of Moldovan football league system. The competition was established in 1992, when Moldova became independent ...

, the Europa League entry went to Zaria Bălți, the highest team in the Divizia Națională table which had not already qualified for European competitions.

Format and Schedule

51 clubs entered this season's competition, an increase of four clubs compared with the 2015–16 total of 47 clubs. Both preliminary rounds and the first two rounds proper were regionalised to reduce teams travel costs. All ties level after 90 minutes used extra time to determine the winner, with a penalty shoot-out to follow if necessary.

Participating teams

The following teams are qualified for the competition. Reserve teams are excluded. Number in brackets denote the level of respective league in

Football in Moldova After gaining its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Moldova became a member of FIFA in 1994. Football is the most popular sport in Moldova. National team The national team has limited international success and have never qualifie ...

First preliminary round

28 clubs from the

Divizia B The Liga 2, most commonly spelled as Liga II, is the second level of the Romanian football league system. The league changed its name from Divizia B just before the start of the 2006–07 football season. It is currently sponsored by Casa Pariu ...

entered this round. Teams that finished higher on the league in the previous season played their ties away. All matches were played on 20 August 2016. Teams in bold continue to the next round of the competition.

Second preliminary round

4 clubs from the

entered this round. Teams that finished higher on the league in the previous season played their ties away. Matches were played on 23 August 2016. Teams in bold continue to the next round of the competition.

Rîșcani Rîșcani (, also spelled ''Râșcani'') is a city in Moldova. It is located in the north-western part of the country, in the old Bessarabia region. It is the largest city and administrative center of Riscani District. Spread across an area of ...

, Intersport Sănătăuca, Maiac Cioropcani, Grănicerul Glodeni, Cruiz Camenca, Sinteza Căușeni, Anina Anenii Noi, Sparta Chișinău, Sireți and

Congaz Congaz () is a commune and village in the Gagauz Autonomous Territorial Unit of the Republic of Moldova. The 2004 census listed the commune as having a population of 12,327 people.''Statistica Moldovei''.. Accessed March 8, 2009. Gagauz peop ...

received a bye for the second preliminary round.

First round

The 12 winners from the preliminary rounds joined the 12

Divizia A Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...

teams. In a match, the home advantage was granted to the team from the lower league. All matches were played on 3 September 2016. Teams in bold continue to the next round of the competition.

Second round

The 11 winners from the previous round joined the 3

sides seeded 9-11,

Academia An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

, Saxan and

Ungheni Ungheni () is a municipality in Moldova. With a population of 35,157, it is the seventh largest town in Moldova and the seat of Ungheni District. There is a bridge across the Prut and a List of Moldova–Romania border crossings, border chec ...

.
Gagauziya-Oguzsport received a bye for the second round. The home teams and the pairs for 3 Divizia Națională sides were determined in a draw held on 7 September 2016. Matches were played on 20 and 21 September 2016. Teams in bold continue to the next round of the competition.

Final stage

Bracket

Round of 16

The 7 winners from the previous round and Gagauziya-Oguzsport joined the remaining 8

sides seeded 1-8. The home teams and the pairs were determined in a draw held on 23 September 2016. Matches were played on 25 and 26 October 2016. Teams in bold continue to the next round of the competition.

Quarter-finals

The 8 winners from the previous round entered the quarter-finals. The home teams were determined in a draw held on 28 October 2016. Matches were played on 26 April 2017. Teams in bold continue to the next round of the competition.

Semi-finals

The 4 winners from the previous round entered the semi-finals. The home teams were determined in a draw held on 28 April 2017. Matches were played on 16 May 2017. Teams in bold continue to the next round of the competition.

Final

The final was played on Thursday 25 May 2017 at the

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...

. The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held on 17 May 2017.

References

External links

Cupa Moldovei
on soccerway {{DEFAULTSORT:2016-17 Moldovan Cup Moldovan Cup seasons

Cup A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about . Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain), glass, metal, wood, stone, pol ...