| Founded | 1889 |
|---|---|
| Region |  Kent |
| Number of teams | 24 (2023–24) |
| Current champions | Maidstone United |
| Most successful club(s) | Maidstone United (19 times) |
| Website | 2023–24 Fixtures / Results |
The Kent Senior Cup is an English football knock-out competition played between senior clubs in the county of Kent. It is administered by the Kent County Football Association (KCFA).
Now known as the Kent Senior Cup it was originally named, until the 1897–98 season, as the Kent Cup with the first competition played during the 1888–89 season. The cup itself, engraved as the "Kent County Football Association Challenge Cup", [1] cost £33 and is made of 62 ounces of silver and surmounted by the rampant horse of Kent. [2] (2018 Photograph [3] ). The Kent Cup competition was preceded as the KCFA's County knock-out tournament by the Kent County Badge: this was first competed for in 1886 and won for each of its three seasons by Chatham – who were also the first winners of the Kent Cup.
Following the founding of the Kent League in 1894 for the three seasons from 1894–95 until 1896–97 the Kent Cup was awarded to the champions of the League. The knock-out competition for the cup resumed from the 1897–98 season when it was renamed the Kent Senior Cup, [4] with Gravesend United the winners. For the 1919–1920 season only a trophy presented as a gift to the KCFA named as the Victory Cup [5] replaced the Kent Senior Cup trophy. The competition was suspended for four seasons between 1914 and 1918 owing to the World War I and there have been two other seasons in which the Kent Senior Cup has not been competed for: in 1940–1941 owing to World War II; and 2020–2021 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. [6]
Initially the final of the competition was played at a venue pre-selected by the KCFA: for the first six seasons this was at Chatham, then after taking place at New Brompton, Ashford, Tunbridge Wells and returning to Chatham for one season the final was held at Faversham for the next six years. For a long spell between 1908 until 1950 the venue for the final was the Athletic Ground, Maidstone (except 1942 at Belvedere). Thereafter the final was held mostly at the Priestfield Stadium, Gillingham until 1965 after which for the next eight seasons it was contested (as it had been in the 1961–62 season) over two legs held at each of the finalists ground with the aggregate score determining the winner. The venue for the final then reverted to Maidstone then to Gillingham for fourteen seasons. Then following playing the final at Sittingbourne and for the first time outside Kent at Millwall, since 1998 (with several exceptions) the winner of a coin toss between the final protagonists decided which would have the choice to host the final match. The semi–finals were played on neutral grounds until the mid-1950s.
From 1902 until 1961 the final took place on Easter Monday and into the 1950s would attract in excess of ten thousand spectators – 13,119 were at the 1951–1952 final between Kent League club Dover and Southern League club Dartford. [7] Between 1983 until 2002 the final was held on the early May bank holiday however since then the final has struggled for a set date owing to end of season promotion and relegation play-off matches and in the 2007–2008 season was even deferred until the 2008–2009 pre–season. [8]
For five seasons from 1980–1981 until 1985–1986 the Kent Senior Cup competition was sponsored by the Chatham Reliance Building Society. The Swedish office business machine company Facit was then the sponsor for the next eleven seasons until 1996–1997. Bose were the sponsor in the early 2000s after which between 2003–04 and 2006–07 the cup was sponsored and named after Kent football patron John Ullmann. Between 2010–11 and 2013–14 portablefoodlights.com sponsored the cup, then for the 2014–15 season Kent Reliance Building society revived their sponsorship from thirty years previously [9] and this continued through to the 2017–18 season. In 2022 the KCFA announced that all Kent County Cups, including the Senior Cup, would be sponsored by the ferry operator DFDS. [10]
The 2013–14 Kent Senior Cup competition marked the 125th anniversary since its inception in the 1888–89 season; [11] to celebrate the landmark the final took place at Priestfield Stadium, home of Gillingham FC. The match was won by Ebbsfleet United who beat Dover Athletic 4–0 [12] – the winning club being a descendant of Northfleet United who in the 1920s achieved an enduring record of five consecutive season Kent Senior Cup wins.
Past winners of the Kent Senior Cup include Royal Arsenal (now Arsenal) in 1889–90, and Gillingham in 1945–46 and 1947–48; the two sides went on to become members of the Premier League and Football League respectively. Both Charlton Athletic and Maidstone United won the cup whilst members of the Football league and Gillingham have continued to compete. The Football League clubs field a development team rather than their full league side in the competition.
(As of matches played 17 April 2024}
There have been 32 clubs (including follow-on clubs) who have won the Kent Senior Cup; a further seven clubs have competed in the final without winning; and an additional 14 clubs reached the semi-final stage but didn't progress to the final match.
| KENT SENIOR CUP FINALS: RECORD BY CLUB (excludes the County Badge and occasions the cup was awarded to the Kent League champions)
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| Notes | †: "Rank" calculated by wins, then runner-up, then semi-finals, then latest year (of the deciding factor). ‡: "Club" allows for follow-on of disbanded clubs (as indicated) and excludes significant club amalgamations. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(As of matches played 17 April 2024}
Consecutive Final wins:
Consecutive Final losses:
Run of winning the Final match (not consecutive):
Run of losing the Final match (not consecutive):
Run of winning a Semi-final match (not consecutive):
Run of losing a Semi-final match (not consecutive):
Maidstone United Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Maidstone, Kent, England. The team competes in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. The club's nickname is "The Stones" and they play in black and amber.
Ashford United F.C. are an English football club based in Ashford, Kent. The 'new' United was formed in 2011, resurrecting the name used by the town's football club between 1891 and 1907. Following the demise of the original Ashford United club in 1907 and through to 1928 Ashford was represented by Ashford Railway Works FC and after that between 1930 and 2010 by Ashford Town F.C. The current club is effectively a 'phoenix club' having risen from the ashes of the financial ruin of its predecessor. Although not a supporter owned club, like most non-league clubs, it relies on contributions of volunteers and supporters.
Folkestone Invicta Football Club is a football club based in Folkestone, Kent, England. They are currently members of the Isthmian League Premier Division and play at Cheriton Road.
Dartford Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Dartford, Kent, England. In the 2024-25 season, the club participates in the Isthmian League Premier Division, the seventh tier of the English football league system.
The Kent County Football Association, known as Kent FA, is the governing body of football in the county of Kent, England, and was formed in 1881. The Kent FA run over 20 County Cups at different levels of football for affiliated teams across Kent.
Northfleet United Football Club was a football club based in Northfleet, Kent.
Anthony Douglas Weston is an English former professional footballer. He spent his entire professional career with Gillingham, where he made 162 Football League appearances.
Jason Warren Lillis is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He made a total of 151 appearances scoring 22 goals in the Football League playing for Gillingham, Maidstone United, Carlisle United, Walsall and Cambridge United.
Scott Lindsey is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder in the Football League for Gillingham. He is the current manager of EFL League Two side Milton Keynes Dons.
The Kent League was a football league which existed from 1894 until 1959, based in the English county of Kent. Another, unrelated, Kent League was formed in 1966, and is now known as the Southern Counties East Football League.
The 2007–08 Kent Football League season was the 42nd in the history of Kent Football League a football competition in England.
The 2005–06 Kent Football League season was the 40th in the history of Kent Football League a football competition in England.
The 2003–04 Kent Football League season was the 38th in the history of Kent Football League a football competition in England.
The 2002–03 Kent Football League season was the 37th in the history of Kent Football League a football competition in England.
The 1999–2000 Kent Football League season was the 34th in the history of Kent Football League a football competition in England.
The 1980–81 Kent Football League season was the fifteenth in the history of the Kent Football League, a football competition featuring teams based in and around the county of Kent in England.
The 1968–69 Kent Football League season was the third in the history of the Kent Football League, a football competition based in and around the county of Kent in England.
The 1975–76 Kent Football League season was the tenth in the history of the Kent Football League, a football competition featuring teams based in and around the county of Kent in England.
The 1976–77 Kent Football League season was the eleventh in the history of the Kent Football League, a football competition featuring teams based in and around the county of Kent in England.
