 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2021) |
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| Founded | 19th century |
| President John Little | |
| Chairman Sam Ernest [1] | |
| Treasurer Jed Odagbu [2] | |
The Cambridge University Association Football League (CUAFL) is a football league between the Colleges of Cambridge University organised by the Cambridge University Association Football Club. [3]
Football in Cambridge was being played on Parker's Piece as far back as the 1830s. However it was not until 1855 that the university had a formal football club, Cambridge University Association Football Club, making it one of the oldest clubs in the world. Collegiate football helped spread the game in the 1870s, and the first competition for these teams was held in 1882–1883. The format was a knockout tournament based on the FA Challenge Cup, which had been created in 1871. The first entrants included nine colleges (Caius, St. John's, Clare, St. Catharine's, Pembroke, Sidney, Jesus, King's and Trinity Hall) and three old boys sides (Old Harrovians, Trinity Etonians and Trinity Rest). It is likely that the university, quick to follow The FA in hosting a cup competition, also soon followed the idea of William McGregor, the founder of The Football League, by creating the Cambridge University Association Football League.
For the 2006–2007 season, the number of teams in the league reached 78, and in the 2007–2008 season, 31 clubs and 75 teams entered CUAFL competitions. This means that at least 800 people play college football each season, however this is a very conservative estimate.
CUAFL organises Seven divisions as well as four cup competitions, 'Cuppers' and the Plate for first teams, the Shield for second teams and the Vase for lower teams.
Cuppers is a knockout tournament with pairings drawn completely at random at the first captain's meeting of the season. There are no seeds and byes are only awarded if the number of entrants requires them. The final is contested the neutral venue of Grange Road. The competition starts in the fourth week of Michaelmas term. In 2004–2005, 31 teams entered the competition, including 26 full colleges, one college affiliated to the university, two local schools, and Cambridge's other university, ARU. To be eligible for entry, teams must be affiliated to CUAFL. Each club may only enter one team, which must be their 1st team. There are five rounds in total.
Cuppers was first contested in 1882–1883. The first entrants included nine colleges (Caius, St. John's, Clare, St. Catharine's, Pembroke, Sidney, Jesus, King's and Trinity Hall) and three old boys sides (Old Harrovians, Trinity Etonians and Trinity Rest).
The Plate competition is for teams that have been knocked out in the first round.
In recent years, when St. Catharine's College has been victorious in Cuppers they have challenged the Oxford University Cuppers Champions to a one-off "Supercuppers" match. In 2007, they defeated Brasenose College Oxford 3–2 (after extra time) in a match held at St. Catharine's Sports Fields, Cambridge. In 2009, they played St. John's College Oxford at Iffley Road, Oxford, and again were victorious 3–2.
Girton College went mixed in 1976 and the first male under-graduates arrived in October 1979. The college started playing in the college league, in division 5, for the first time in the 1980–81 season and won two successive promotions. In season 1986–87, with two blues players, Chris Elliott and Ian McKinnon, they made it through to the semi-finals of Cuppers, losing narrowly in extra time to Downing. By 1993–94, they made it to the top division and in 1997–98, they were crowned league champions for the first time, a feat they repeated in 2003–04. [4] In 1995 they won Cuppers for the only time in their history, beating APU in the final. Since then they have been Cuppers Runners up on 5 occasions, in 1999, 2001, 2003, 2008 and 2018.
Since 2014, Homerton College and Gonville & Caius College, the only two colleges with fourth teams that year, have competed for the Bucket in an annual informal 'cup' match. Homerton College won the inaugural contest 1–0. As of 2021, Gonville & Caius College hold the Bucket.
The results of the principal competitions are shown below. [5] [6]
| Season | Division 1 Champions | Cuppers Champions | Plate Winners | Shield Winners | Vase Winners |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945–1946 | St. John's | ||||
| 1946–1947 | NO CONTEST | ||||
| 1947–1948 | Fitzwilliam House | ||||
| 1948–1949 | Christ's | ||||
| 1949–1950 | St. John's | ||||
| 1950–1951 | Emmanuel | ||||
| 1951–1952 | St. Catharine's | ||||
| 1952–1953 | Emmanuel | ||||
| 1953–1954 | Christ's | ||||
| 1954–1955 | Emmanuel | ||||
| 1955–1956 | Downing | ||||
| 1956–1957 | Christ's | ||||
| 1957–1958 | Christ's | ||||
| 1958–1959 | St. John's | ||||
| 1959–1960 | Christ's | ||||
| 1960–1961 | Christ's | ||||
| 1961–1962 | Christ's | ||||
| 1962–1963 | Christ's | ||||
| 1963–1964 | Christ's | ||||
| 1964–1965 | Christ's | ||||
| 1965–1966 | Christ's | ||||
| 1966–1967 | |||||
| 1967–1968 | |||||
| 1968–1969 | Fitzwilliam & Queens' (Shared) | ||||
| 1969–1970 | St. John's | ||||
| 1970–1971 | Christ's | ||||
| 1971–1972 | |||||
| 1972–1973 | |||||
| 1973–1974 | Trinity | ||||
| 1974–1975 | St. Catharine's | ||||
| 1975–1976 | St. Catharine's | ||||
| 1976–1977 | St. Catharine's | ||||
| 1977–1978 | St Catharine's | ||||
| 1978–1979 | Christ's | ||||
| 1979–1980 | Christ's | ||||
| 1980–1981 | St. Catharine's & Downing (Shared) | ||||
| 1981–1982 | St. Catharine's | ||||
| 1982–1983 | St. Catharine's | ||||
| 1983–1984 | Trinity Hall | ||||
| 1984–1985 | Robinson | St. John's | |||
| 1985–1986 | Fitzwilliam & St. Catharine's (Shared) | ||||
| 1986–1987 | Fitzwilliam | Selwyn | |||
| 1987–1988 | Downing | ||||
| 1988–1989 | |||||
| 1989–1990 | |||||
| 1990–1991 | St. John's | ||||
| 1991–1992 | Fitzwilliam | ||||
| 1992–1993 | Trinity | Downing | |||
| 1993–1994 | Anglia University | Fitzwilliam | |||
| 1994–1995 | Downing | Girton | |||
| 1995–1996 | Fitzwilliam | Long Road | Girton | ||
| 1996–1997 | Downing | Long Road | Clare | ||
| 1997–1998 | Girton | Fitzwilliam | Magdalene | ||
| 1998–1999 | Fitzwilliam | Christ's | Homerton | Long Road II | |
| 1999–2000 | Jesus | Long Road | APU | Fitzwilliam II | |
| 2000–2001 | St Catharine's | St. Catharine's | Homerton | Fitzwilliam II | |
| 2001–2002 | Fitzwilliam | Long Road | Churchill | Hills Road II | |
| 2002–2003 | St John's | St. John's | Kings | Hills Road II | |
| 2003–2004 | Girton | St. John's | Clare | APU II | |
| 2004–2005 | Fitzwilliam | Jesus | Gonville & Caius | APU II | |
| 2005–2006 | Churchill | Fitzwilliam | Anglia Ruskin | Long Road II | ARU III |
| 2006–2007 | Churchill | St. Catharine's | Corpus Christi | St. Catharines's III | |
| 2007–2008 | Trinity | Christ's | St. Catharine's | Gonville & Caius II | |
| 2008–2009 | Downing | St. Catharine's | Pembroke | Trinity Hall II | Churchill III |
| 2009–2010 | Downing | Trinity | |||
| 2010–2011 | Trinity | Queens' | Jesus III | ||
| 2011–2012 | Downing | Fitzwilliam | Trinity Hall | Homerton II | Jesus III |
| 2012–2013 | Fitzwilliam | Fitzwilliam | Selwyn | Selwyn II | Jesus III |
| 2013–2014 | Trinity Hall | Jesus | Robinson | Fitzwilliam II | Jesus III |
| 2014–2015 | Downing | St John's | Selwyn | Jesus II | Girton III |
| 2015–2016 | Queens' | Robinson | Christ's | Queens' II | Queens' III |
| 2016–2017 | Fitzwilliam | Fitzwilliam | Selwyn | Fitzwilliam II | Fitzwilliam III |
| 2017-2018 | Queens' | Fitzwilliam | Emmanuel | Gonville & Caius II | Gonville & Caius III |
| 2018-2019 | Fitzwilliam | Fitzwilliam | Trinity Hall | Queens' II | Fitzwilliam III |
| 2019-2020 | Fitzwilliam & Churchill (shared/Covid) | Fitzwilliam & Queens' (shared/Covid) | St. Catharine's | Jesus II | Jesus III |
| 2020-2021 | N/A | Fitzwilliam [7] | Gonville & Caius [8] | N/A | N/A |
| 2021-2022 | Fitzwilliam [9] | Fitzwilliam | Downing | Fitzwilliam II | |
| 2022-23 | Fitzwilliam |
The combined results of the Cuppers competition is shown below.
| College | Number of Cuppers Titles |
|---|---|
| Christ's | 16 |
| Fitzwilliam | 16 |
| St. Catharine's | 12 |
| St. John's | 9 |
| Long Road | 4 |
| Downing | 4 |
| Emmanuel | 3 |
| Jesus | 2 |
| Trinity | 2 |
| Queens' | 2 |
| Robinson | 1 |
| Girton | 1 |
| Trinity Hall | 1 |
| Selwyn | 1 |
CUAFL President: Dr John Little
| Year | Chairman |
|---|---|
| 2001–2002 | Chris Palmer |
| 2002–2003 | Rod Latham |
| 2003–2004 | Will Jobling |
| 2004–2005 | Martyn Race |
| 2005–2006 | Martyn Race |
| 2006–2007 | Bob Myhill |
| 2007–2008 | Jamie Aspinall |
| 2008–2009 | Rory Scott |
| 2009–2010 | Luke Jesson |
| 2010–2011 | Mark Baxter |
| 2011–2012 | George Deeks |
| 2012–2013 | Adam Donald |
| 2013-2014 | Matt Reizenstein, Nikos Yerolemou |
| 2014-2015 | Nicholas Hilton, Nikos Yerolemou |
| 2015-2016 | John Harrison, Marcus Nielsen |
| 2016-2017 | John Harrison, Marcus Nielsen |
| 2017-2018 | John Harrison, Pablo Lemos Portela |
| 2018-2019 | John Harrison |
| 2019-2020 | Sam Ernest |
| 2020-2021 | Sam Ernest |
| 2021-2022 | Sam Ernest |
The University of Cambridge is composed of 31 colleges in addition to the academic departments and administration of the central university. Until the mid-19th century, both Cambridge and Oxford comprised a group of colleges with a small central university administration, rather than universities in the common sense. Cambridge's colleges are communities of students, academics and staff – an environment in which generations and academic disciplines are able to mix, with both students and fellows experiencing "the breadth and excellence of a top University at an intimate level".
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Gonville & Caius AFC, more commonly known as Caius, is the representative football club of Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, England. It is one of only a few university teams to have entered the FA Cup 1st round proper.
The May Bumps are a set of rowing races, held annually on the River Cam in Cambridge, England. They began in 1887 after separating from the Lent Bumps, the equivalent bumping races held at the end of February or start of March. Prior to the separation there had been a single set of annual bumps dating from its inception in 1827. The races are open to all college boat clubs from the University of Cambridge, the University Medical and Veterinary Schools and the Anglia Ruskin Boat Club. The May Bumps takes place over four days in mid-June and is run as a bumps race.
The May Bumps 2009 were a set of rowing races held in Cambridge, UK from Wednesday 10 June 2009 to Saturday 13 June 2009. The bumps featured crews from all Cambridge University Colleges and Anglia Ruskin University. The races were run as a bumps race and were the 118th set of races in the series of May Bumps which have been held annually in mid-June in this form since 1887. In 2009, a total of 171 crews are expected to take part, with over 1500 participants in total.
Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius, is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of the wealthiest. In 1557, it was refounded by alumnus John Caius. The college has been attended by many students who have gone on to significant accomplishment, including fifteen Nobel Prize winners, the second highest of any Oxbridge college.
Cuppers are intercollegiate sporting competitions at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. The term comes from the word "cup" and is an example of the Oxford "-er". Each sport holds only one Cuppers competition each year, which is open to all colleges. Most Cuppers competitions use the single elimination system. The main exception is that rowing is organised into The Bumps as opposed to a Cuppers-style tournament.
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