| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Venue(s) | Park Island Ground, Napier |
| Dates | 27 September 1997 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Central United (1st title) |
| Runner-up | Napier City Rovers |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Jack Batty Memorial Cup | Ivan Vicelich (Central United) |
The 1997 Chatham Cup was the 70th annual nationwide knockout football competition in New Zealand.
Up to the last 16 of the competition, the cup was run in three regions (northern, central, and southern), with an open draw from the quarter-finals on. National League teams received a bye until the third round (last 64). In all, 135 teams took part in the competition, which consisted of five rounds followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals, and a final.