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Cupa României facts for kids

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For other sports, see Cupa României (disambiguation).
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Cupa României
Cupa and Supercupa Romaniei 2016 logo.svg
Organising body Romanian Football Federation
Founded 1933; 92 years ago (1933)
Region Romania
Number of teams 202
Qualifier for UEFA Europa League
Domestic cup(s) Supercupa României
Current champions CFR Cluj (5th title)
Most successful club(s) Steaua București(19 titles) (disputed) FCSB (23 titles) (disputed)
Television broadcasters Digi Sport
Prima Sport
Website cuparomaniei.frf.ro

The Cupa României (which means Romanian Cup) is a big football competition in Romania. It's like a special tournament for football teams across the country. This exciting cup has been held every year since 1933–34. The only time it didn't happen was during World War II.

This cup is Romania's most important football competition. Any football club that is part of the Romanian Football Federation (FRF) can join. It doesn't matter what league they play in. The team that wins the Cupa României gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifiers. This means they can play against other top teams from Europe! They also get to play in the Supercupa României, which is another exciting match.

Most of the final games have been played at the Stadionul Național in Bucharest. Sometimes, other stadiums in Bucharest hosted the final too. While the new Stadionul Național was being built, the final was held in different big cities across Romania. For example, in 2007, the final was in Timișoara. This was only the second time the final was played outside Bucharest. The first time was in 1989 in Brașov. Later, other cities like Piatra Neamț, Târgu Jiu, and Iași also hosted the final.

Teams from Bucharest have won the Cupa României many times. FCSB has won the most trophies, with 23 titles. Rapid București and Dinamo București have each won 13 times. Rapid București holds a special record: they won the cup six times in a row between 1937 and 1942!

Who Sponsors the Cupa României?

Cupa Romaniei
This was the logo for the Cupa României between 2006 and 2016.

Big companies often help support the Cupa României. This is called sponsorship.

  • Samsung Electronics: On July 22, 2005, the Romanian Football Federation (FRF) made a deal with Samsung. For one year, the competition was called Cupa României Samsung.
  • Ursus Breweries: On October 9, 2006, FRF signed a deal with Ursus Breweries. They sponsored the cup for three seasons. The cup's name changed to Cupa României Timișoreana, named after their popular beer.
  • New Sponsors in 2016: On May 16, 2016, FRF announced new sponsors. These included Kaufland, UPC Broadband, and Stanleybet. The competition also got a new look.
  • Casa Pariurilor: On October 20, 2017, the betting company Casa Pariurilor became the main sponsor.

How Does the Competition Work?

The way the Cupa României is played has changed a little over the years. The current system started in the 2009–10 season. The main differences now are when the games happen and that the semifinals are played over two games.

County Level Matches

The first part of the competition happens at the county level. Each county in Romania organizes its own matches.

  • Forty-two teams (one from each county) then move on to the next stage.

National Level Matches

After the county phase, the Romanian Football Federation (FRF) takes over. For the first five rounds, teams are matched up based on where they are located. This helps teams avoid traveling very long distances.

  • Teams from a lower league or those with a lower rank from the previous season get to host the games.

First Five Rounds

  • First Round: 140 teams play. This includes the 42 teams from the county phase and 98 teams from Liga III (the third league).
  • Second Round: 80 teams play. These are the 70 winners from the first round and the remaining 10 Liga III teams.
  • Third Round: 40 teams play. These are the winners from the second round.
  • Fourth Round: 56 teams play. This includes 20 winners from the third round and all 36 teams from Liga II (the second league).
  • Fifth Round: 28 teams play. These are the winners from the fourth round.

Later Rounds: The Round of 32 to the Final

  • Round of 32: 32 teams play. These are the 14 winners from the fifth round and all 18 teams from Liga I (the top league).
    • For this round, teams are put into different groups (called "pots") for the draw:
      • Pot A: The top 6 teams from last season's Liga I.
      • Pot B: The other 12 teams from Liga I.
      • Pot C: The 14 teams from lower leagues.
    • Teams from Pot A play against teams from Pot C.
    • Then, the remaining 8 Pot C teams play against Pot B teams. The lower league clubs host these games.
    • The last 4 Pot B teams play each other. A draw decides which team hosts.
  • Round of 16: The winners from the Round of 32 play.
  • Quarterfinals: The winners from the Round of 16 play.
  • Semifinals: The winners from the Quarterfinals play.
  • Final: The two winning teams from the Semifinals play for the Cupa României trophy!

Sometimes, depending on the football calendar, the FRF might decide if the Round of 16, Quarterfinals, and Semifinals are played as one game or two games. If it's just one game, it's usually played at a neutral stadium. The final game is always held at a special place, usually in Bucharest.

Who Has Won the Cupa României?

Since it started, 23 different clubs have won the Cupa României. Teams shown in italic no longer exist. If two or more teams have won the same number of trophies, the team that won first is listed higher.

Teams with the Most Wins

Club Winners Runners-up Winning years
Steaua București/FCSB
23
8
 1948–49, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1955, 1961–62, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1975–76, 1978–79, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1991–92, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 2010-11, 2014–15, 2019–20
Dinamo București
13
9
 1958–59, 1963–64, 1967–68, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1989–90, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2011–12
Rapid București
13
6
 1934–35, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1941–42, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2005–06, 2006–07
Universitatea Craiova
7
2
 1976–77, 1977–78, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1990–91, 2017–18, 2020–21
CFR Cluj
5
1
 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2015–16, 2024–25
Petrolul Ploiești
3
1
 1962–63, 1994–95, 2012–13
Politehnica Timișoara
2
6
 1957–58, 1979–80
Ripensia Timișoara
2
2
 1933–34, 1935–36
UTA Arad
2
2
 1947–48, 1953
Sepsi OSK
2
1
 2021–22, 2022–23
Universitatea Cluj
1
5
 1964–65
Progresul București
1
4
 1959–60
FC U Craiova 1948
1
3
 1992–93
Astra Giurgiu
1
3
 2013–14
Progresul Oradea
1
1
 1956
Jiul Petroșani
1
1
 1973–74
Gloria Bistrița
1
1
 1993–94
Voluntari
1
1
 2016–17
CFR Turnu Severin
1
–
 1942–43
Metalul Reșița
1
–
 1954
Arieșul Turda
1
–
 1960–61
Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea
1
–
 1972–73
Viitorul Constanța
1
–
 2018–19
Corvinul Hunedoara
1
–
 2023–24
Sportul Studențesc București
–
3
 –
Unirea Tricolor București
–
2
 –
Baia Mare
–
2
 –
Oțelul Galați
–
2
 –
Hermannstadt
–
2
 –
CAM Timișoara
–
1
 –
Venus București
–
1
 –
CFR Timișoara
–
1
 –
Flacăra Mediaș
–
1
 –
Energia Câmpia Turzii
–
1
 –
Dinamo Obor București
–
1
 –
Siderurgistul Galați
–
1
 –
Dinamo Pitești
–
1
 –
Foresta Fălticeni
–
1
 –
Constructorul Galați
–
1
 –
CSU Galați
–
1
 –
Olimpia Satu Mare
–
1
 –
Bacău
–
1
 –
Dacia Unirea Brăila
–
1
 –
Rocar București
–
1
 –
Farul Constanța
–
1
 –
Unirea Urziceni
–
1
 –
Vaslui
–
1
 –

Which Cities Have Won the Most Cups?

This table shows which cities have teams that won the most Cupa României titles. Bucharest is by far the most successful city. This is because it has three of the most winning teams and has hosted most of the finals.

City Cups Winning clubs
Coat of arms of Bucharest.svg Bucharest
51
 FCSB (23), Dinamo (13), Rapid (13), Progresul (1)
ROU DJ Craiova CoA1.png Craiova
8
 Universitatea Craiova (6), U Craiova 1948 (2)
Coa Romania Town Cluj History.svg Cluj
6
 CFR (5), Universitatea Cluj (1)
ROU TM Timisoara CoA.svg Timișoara
4
 FC Politehnica (2), Ripensia (2)
ROU PH Ploiesti CoA1.png Ploiești
3
 Petrolul (3)
Coa Romania Town Arad.svg Arad
2
 UTA (2)
ROU CV Sfantu Gheorghe CoA.svg Sfântu Gheorghe
2
 Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe (2)
ROU BH Oradea CoA2.png Oradea
1
 Club Atletic (1)
ROU HD Petrosani CoA.png Petroșani
1
 Jiul (1)
ROU BN Bistrita CoA.jpg Bistrița
1
 Gloria (1)
ROU MH Drobeta-Turnu Severin CoA1.png Drobeta-Turnu Severin
1
 CFR (1)
ROU CS Resita CoA1.png Reșița
1
 Metalul (1)
ROU CJ Turda CoA.png Turda
1
 Arieșul (1)
Interbelic Ramnicu Valcea CoA.jpg Râmnicu Vâlcea
1
 Chimia (1)
ROU GR Giurgiu CoA1.png Giurgiu
1
 Astra (1)
ROU IF Voluntari CoA.jpg Voluntari
1
 Voluntari (1)
ROU CT Ovidiu CoA.jpg Ovidiu
1
 Viitorul (1)


Top Goal Scorers in Cupa României History

Top Five Goal Scorers
Player Club Goals
1 Romania Florea Voinea Steaua București, Prahova Ploiești 40
2 Romania Gyula Barátky Rapid București, Crișana Oradea 37
3 Romania Ionel Dănciulescu Electroputere Craiova, Dinamo București, Steaua București 35
4 Romania Ion Alecsandrescu Steaua București, CA Câmpulung Moldovenesc 34
5 Romania Ștefan Dobay Ripensia Timișoara 33

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Copa de Rumania para niños

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