Founded | 1945 |
---|---|
Region | Liechtenstein |
Number of teams | 7 (and 10 reserve teams) |
Qualifier for | UEFA Conference League |
Current champions | FC Vaduz (50th title) |
Most successful club(s) | FC Vaduz (50 titles) |
Website | lfv.li/aktiv-cup |
2024–25 Liechtenstein Cup |
The Liechtenstein Football Cup is Liechtenstein's premier football competition, and has been organised annually by the Liechtenstein Football Association (LFV) since 1946. The winner qualifies to take part in the UEFA Conference League.
As there is no national league in Liechtenstein, the Liechtenstein Football Cup is the only national football competition in the country. The country has only seven clubs, all of which historically have already established themselves in the Swiss league competitions. The national cup competition is currently the only route for Liechtenstein to be represented at the European football club competitions, since Liechtensteiner clubs are prevented from qualifying for European competition via the Swiss league system. [1]
The competition has an unusual format in that not only can the first teams of the main seven football clubs enter, but also the reserve sides, which all play in lower divisions in the Swiss league system. This can lead to some unusual scenarios, such as in the second round of the 2006–07 cup, where FC Triesenberg's second team went through, but the first team was knocked out.
Teams from the same football club can be drawn together from the semi-finals onwards. In the 2009–10 competition semi-final stage, USV Eschen/Mauren were drawn with USV Eschen/Mauren II, and again in 2022-23 semi-finals, where FC Balzers were drawn with FC Balzers II.
The top 3 clubs based on league position can only meet from the quarter-finals onwards. A qualifying round also takes place if more than 16 teams enter, and a draw is made to determine which of the third-teams are required to participate in this round. [2]
FC Vaduz have won the competition on 50 occasions, which is a domestic football cup world record.
A list of all Liechtenstein clubs reflecting their success in the Liechtenstein Cup after 76 competitions (from 1946 to 2023, exclude 2019-2021).
"League Tier" indicates in which tier of the Swiss Football League the clubs are active (status: season 2023–24).
Club | League Tier | Finals | Won | Lost |
---|---|---|---|---|
FC Vaduz | 2 | 63 | 50 | 13 |
FC Balzers | 4 | 27 | 11 | 16 |
FC Triesen | 7 | 18 | 8 | 10 |
USV Eschen/Mauren | 4 | 23 | 5 | 18 |
FC Schaan | 8 | 14 | 3 | 11 |
FC Ruggell | 6 | 7 | – | 7 |
FC Triesenberg | 7 | 2 | – | 2 |
Franz Burgmeier is a Liechtenstein former professional footballer, who played as a midfielder. Born in Triesen, Burgmeier was a burgeoning footballer and keen skier, until he gave up the latter sport at 16 following a serious injury. Having been a youth player for Triesen, he started his professional career with Vaduz. Burgmeier won several Liechtensteiner Cups with Vaduz, who were promoted to the Swiss Challenge League in 2001, and played in the UEFA Cup. After two unsuccessful attempts to win promotion to the Swiss Super League, Burgmeier left for Aarau in 2005. He spent only one season with Aarau before a move to the previous season's runners-up Basel in 2006. His two seasons with Basel were broken up by a loan spell with Thun, before he moved to England with Darlington in August 2008, where he played for one year.
One of the most popular sports in Liechtenstein is football. In Liechtenstein there is no national association football league however there are seven clubs in Liechtenstein which play in the Swiss football league system.
The 2008–09 Liechtenstein Cup was the sixty-fourth season of Liechtenstein's annual cup competition. Seven clubs competed with a total of eighteen teams for one spot in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League. Defending champions were FC Vaduz, who have won the cup continuously since 1998.
The 2009–10 Liechtenstein Cup was the sixty-fifth season of Liechtenstein's annual football cup competition. Seven clubs competed with a total of eighteen teams for one spot in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League. Defending champions were FC Vaduz, who won the cup continuously since 1998 and defended their title.
The 2010–11 Liechtenstein Cup was the sixty-sixth season of Liechtenstein's annual cup competition. Seven clubs competed with a total of seventeen teams for one spot in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League. Defending champions were Vaduz, who had won the cup continuously since 1998 and won their 39th Liechtenstein Cup the previous season.
Daniel Kaufmann is a Liechtensteiner former footballer.
The 2011–12 Liechtenstein Cup was the sixty-seventh season of Liechtenstein's annual cup competition. Seven clubs competed with a total of sixteen teams for one spot in the first qualifying round of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League. Defending champions were Vaduz, who have won the cup continuously since 1998 and won their 40th Liechtenstein Cup last season. USV Eschen/Mauren won the cup, beating FC Vaduz on penalties in the final, becoming the first team other than FC Vaduz to win the cup since 1997.
The 2012–13 Liechtenstein Cup was the sixty-eight season of Liechtenstein's annual cup competition. Seven clubs competed with a total of sixteen teams for one spot in the first qualifying round of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League. USV Eschen/Mauren were the defending champions.
The 2013–14 Liechtenstein Cup is the 69th season of Liechtenstein's annual cup competition. Seven clubs compete with a total of 18 teams for one spot in the first qualifying round of the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League. FC Vaduz are the defending champions.
The 2014–15 Liechtenstein Cup was the 70th season of Liechtenstein's annual cup competition. Seven clubs competed with a total of 18 teams for one spot in the first qualifying round of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League. FC Vaduz were the defending champions.
The 2016–17 Liechtenstein Cup is the 72nd season of Liechtenstein's annual cup competition. Seven clubs competed with a total of 17 teams for one spot in the first qualifying round of the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League. FC Vaduz are the defending champions.
The 2017–18 Liechtenstein Cup was the 73rd season of Liechtenstein's annual cup competition. Seven clubs competed with a total of 16 teams for one spot in the first qualifying round of the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League. FC Vaduz are the defending champions.
The 1993–94 Liechtenstein Cup was the forty-ninth season of Liechtenstein's annual cup competition. Seven clubs competed with a total of sixteen teams for one spot in the qualifying round of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. FC Balzers were the defending champions. As of 2024, this is the last tournament in which the final didn't involve FC Vaduz
The 2018–19 Liechtenstein Cup was the 74th season of Liechtenstein's annual cup competition. Seven clubs competed with a total of 15 teams for one spot in the first qualifying round of the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League. FC Vaduz were the defending champions.
Thomas Hobi is a Liechtensteiner footballer who currently plays as a goalkeeper for FC Balzers.
The 2019–20 Liechtenstein Cup was the 75th season of Liechtenstein's annual cup competition. Seven clubs compete with a total of 15 teams for one spot in the first qualifying round of the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League. FC Vaduz are the defending champions.
The 2020–21 Liechtenstein Cup was the 76th season of Liechtenstein's annual cup competition. Seven clubs compete with a total of 15 teams for one spot in the second qualifying round of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League. FC Vaduz are the defending champions.The cup was abandoned due to COVID-19 pandemic in Liechtenstein.
The 2021–22 Liechtenstein Cup was the 77th season of Liechtenstein's annual cup competition. Seven clubs competed with a total of 16 teams for one spot in the second qualifying round of the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League. FC Vaduz were the defending champions.
The 2023–23 Liechtenstein Cup was the 78th season of Liechtenstein's annual cup competition. Seven clubs competed with a total of 17 teams for one spot in the second qualifying round of the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League. FC Vaduz were the defending champions.
The 2024–25 Liechtenstein Cup was the 80th season of Liechtenstein's annual cup competition. The winners qualified for the second qualifying round of the 2025–26 UEFA Conference League.