| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Venue(s) | Basin Reserve, Wellington |
| Dates | 24 August 1940 |
| Teams | 27 |
| Defending champions | Waterside |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Waterside (3rd title) |
| Runner-up | Mosgiel |
The 1940 Chatham Cup was the 17th annual nationwide knockout football competition in New Zealand, and the last such competition before the suspension of the Chatham Cup due to World War II. The competition resumed in 1945 as hostilities were drawing to a close.
The competition was run on a regional basis, with regional associations each holding separate qualifying rounds. Teams taking part in the final rounds included Ponsonby, Comrades (Auckland), Glen Massey, Waterside, Hamilton Wanderers, Nomads, Millerton Thistle and Mosgiel.
The Canterbury Football Association sought an explanation in August 1940 from the Buller Football Association after the Buller/Canterbury final played at Millerton recorded an expenditure of 5 shillings for ball boys at the Millerton Domain. In reply the Buller FA stated, "The field at Millerton was on a mountainside. If the ball went off the field at one end it would bounce down a three-mile truck line from the mine through tunnels down to Granity. If it went off on another side it would bounce over hill and dale down to Granity. On the other side it would bounce down either to Millerton or Granity. There remained only one end which could safely bound the field. It was therefore necessary to employ the services of an unusually large number of ball boys who were paid on the basis of 3d for every ball they prevented going down to Granity".[1]