| Founded | 1992 |
|---|---|
| Region | Croatia |
| Number of teams | 48 |
| Qualifier for | UEFA Europa League |
| Current champions | Dinamo Zagreb (17th title) |
| Most successful club(s) | Dinamo Zagreb (17 titles) |
| Television broadcasters | MAX Sport |
| Website | Official website |
 2024–25 Croatian Football Cup | |
The Hrvatski nogometni kup (English: Croatian football cup), also colloquially known as Rabuzinovo sunce (lit. 'Rabuzin's Sun'), is an annually held football tournament for Croatian football clubs and is the second most important competition in Croatian football after the HNL championship. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation (HNS) and usually runs from late August to late May. Cup winners automatically qualify for next season's UEFA Europa League, except when cup winners are also Prva HNL champions, in which case their berth in the Europa Conference League goes to the best-placed team in the Prva HNL who have not qualified for the UEFA competitions through their league performance.[1]
The cup was established in 1992,[2] after Croatian clubs had abandoned the Yugoslav First League and Yugoslav Cup competitions following the breakup of Yugoslavia. As of the most recent 2021–22 season a total of 31 cup seasons were held. The competition has historically been dominated by the two Eternal Derby sides—the most successful club is Dinamo Zagreb (formerly known in the 1990s as HAŠK Građanski and Croatia Zagreb) who appeared in 23 finals and won 16 titles, followed by Hajduk Split who won 8 titles out of 13 finals they appeared in.[3]
Either Dinamo or Hajduk appeared in all but three cup finals (in 1999, 2006 and 2020) and only three other clubs have won the cup—Rijeka (six wins), Inter Zaprešić (one win) and Osijek (one win).[3] Although clubs can qualify for the cup via regional county cups, which are usually contested by second-, third- or fourth-level sides, Uljanik Pula in 2003 was the only team in the history of the competition to have reached the cup final from outside the top level.
- ^ "Propozicije završnog dijela natjecanja za hrvatski nogometni kup" (PDF). Glasnik HNS-a (in Croatian). Croatian Football Federation. 5 August 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 November 2010. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
- ^ "Varteks target cup triumph". UEFA. 1 May 2002. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
- ^ a b Stokkermans, Karel (7 May 2010). "Croatia - Cup Finals". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 10 January 2018.