Tolstoy Cup

Last updated

The Tolstoy Cup
Tolstoy Cup 2024.jpg
Tolstoy Cup Trophy
SportFootball
LocationEngland
Teams
First meeting1992
Latest meeting2024
TrophyFramed copy of Tolstoy’s novel, War and Peace
Statistics
Most winsPeace Studies
Largest victoryPeace Studies 15-0, 1994
Longest unbeaten streakPeace Studies, 1992 - 2008

The Tolstoy Cup is a football match played between the students of the Department of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford and the Department of War Studies at King's College London. The first match was played in 1992 and succeeding games came at intermittent intervals until 2007, when the event became an annual one. [1] Following a six year hiatus, largely due to the covid-19 virus, the fixture was replayed on 9 June 2024 as part of the Peace Studies Golden Jubilee Conference at the University of Bradford.

Contents

The competition is named after War and Peace , the 1869 novel written by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy.

Rivalry

The rivalry between "Peace Studies" and "War Studies" is one of the great sporting rivalries, being featured at number four on the Financial Times list of "Great college sports rivalries". [1] Although it does not match the history or tradition of university rivalries such as the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, the competition is still often covered by the national media including the BBC, [2] [3] The Independent and Bradford's Telegraph and Argus . [4] The second leg of the 2007 match played at Bradford City's Valley Parade attracted over 200 spectators. [3]

Symbolism

Symbolically, War Studies adopt a red and black stripe, while Peace Studies typically play in light blue colours. Rather than their own, both sides have at times played with the names of notable figures related to their studied disciplines on their shirts: 'D. Lama', 'M. L. King' and 'Gandhi' for Peace and 'Nelson', 'Caesar' and 'Clausewitz' for War. [1] [5]

Results

No.DateWinnerScoreVenueTotal wins
WarPeace
11992Peace Studies2–1Bradford01
21994Peace Studies15–0Bradford02
32007Peace Studies0–1, 0–1, 1–1 agg (4–3 on penalties)London (1st leg) Bradford (2nd leg)03
42008Peace Studies1–1 (2–4 on penalties)London04
52009Peace Studies3–1Bradford05
62010War Studies2–1London15
72011Peace Studies5–0Bradford16
82012Peace Studies1–2London17
92014Peace Studies3–0Bradford18
102015War Studies4–1London28
112016Peace Studies5–1Bradford29
122018War Studies5–2London39
132024Peace Studies3–2Bradford310

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Scott, Izabella (25 March 2011). "The List: Five great college sports rivalries". Financial Times. London. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
  2. ↑ Coughan, Sean (1 May 2007). "War versus peace in football game". BBC News. Retrieved 3 March 2008.
  3. 1 2 "Peace Defeats War in Soccer Clash". BBC News. 7 May 2007. Retrieved 3 March 2008.
  4. ↑ Rush, James (26 April 2007). "It's War and Peace on the Pitch". Telegraph and Argus. Bradford. Retrieved 3 March 2008.
  5. ↑ "Series of photos showing War Studies support". 2 March 2007. Retrieved 3 March 2008– via YouTube.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.