Pyrenees Cup

Pyrenees Cup
Founded1910
Abolished1914; 110 years ago (1914)
RegionMarca Hispanica
Number of teams6 to 11
Last championsFC Espanya (1914)
Most successful club(s)FC Barcelona
(4 titles)

The Pyrenees Cup (Spanish: Copa Pirineos), officially Challenge International du Sud de la France, was an international football competition contested by Spanish and French clubs based in the territories of Pyrénées (Catalonia, the Basque Country, Languedoc, Midi-Pyrénées and Aquitaine). There have been five tournaments for the Pyrenees Cup which were held between 1910 and 1914 with the final of the championship being held in the region's capital, Toulouse. However, the last two finals were held in Barcelona. The competition was played for 5 years, from 1910 to 1914, before disappearing due to the first World War. The tournament stopped due to the beginning of World War I in 1914. It was organized by the Pyrenees Committee (Comitè des Pyrénées), which was one of the regional bodies of the USFSA (the predecessor of the French Football Federation), in charge of the competitions in the south of France.[1]

The Cup was one of the first international football competitions in Europe together with the Challenge Cup (1897–1911), Coupe Van der Straeten Ponthoz (1900–1907) and the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy (1909–1911).[2]

The great star of this competition was FC Barcelona, the winner of the first four editions, having at the time what was their first great team. The fifth and last was won by FC Espanya de Barcelona before it had to be suspended due to the outbreak of the war.[3]

  1. ^ "Challenge Internacional del Sur de Francia 1910-1914" [International Challenge of the South of France 1910-1914]. www.cihefe.es. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  2. ^ "European Cup Origins". europeancuphistory.com. Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  3. ^ "Challenge International du Sud de la France ("Coupe des Pyrenées - Copa Pirineos")". RSSSF. 4 May 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2022.