TheMitropa Cup, officially calledCoupe de l'Europe Centrale,Mitteleuropäischer Pokal orCentral European Cup, was one of the first international major Europeanfootball cups for club sides. It was conducted among the successor states of the formerAustria-Hungary. AfterWorld War II in 1951 a replacement tournament namedZentropa Cup was held, but just for one season, the Mitropa Cup name was revived, and again in 1958 the name of the tournament changed toDanube Cup but only for one season. The tournament was discontinued after 1992.

Mitropa Cup

The trophy awarded to champions
Organising body	List AFL CFA HFF FAY
Founded	1927
Abolished	1992; 33 years ago (1992)
Region	Central Europe
Number of teams	4 (1992)
Related competitions	Latin Cup Balkans Cup
Last champions	Borac Banja Luka (1992)
Most successful club(s)	Vasas (6 titles)

The most successful club isVasas with six titles.

This"International" competition for football clubs was founded in 1897 inVienna. TheChallenge Cup was invented byJohn Gramlick Sr., a co-founder of theVienna Cricket and Football-Club. In this cup competition all clubs of theAustro-Hungarian Empire that normally would not meet could take part, though actually almost only clubs from the Empire's three major citiesVienna,Budapest andPrague participated. The Challenge Cup was carried out until the year 1911 and is today seen as the predecessor to the Mitropa Cup and consequently theEuropean Cup and Champions League. The last winner of the cup wasWiener Sport-Club, one of the oldest and most traditional football clubs of Austria where the cup still remains.^{[citation needed]}

The idea of a European cup competition was shaped afterWorld War I which brought the defeat and collapse of theAustro-Hungarian Empire. The centre of this idea were theCentral European countries that, at this time, were still leading in continental football. In the early 1920s they introduced professional leagues, the first continental countries to do so.Austria started in 1924, followed byCzechoslovakia in 1925 andHungary in 1926. In order to strengthen the dominance of these countries in European football and to financially support the professional clubs, the introduction of the Mitropa Cup was decided at a meeting in Venice on 17 July, following the initiative of the head of theAustrian Football Association (ÖFB),Hugo Meisl.^[1][2][3] Moreover, the creation of a European Cup for national teams – that unlike the Challenge Cup and the Mitropa Cup would not be annual – was also part of the agreement. The first matches were played on 14 August 1927. The competition was between the top professional teams ofCentral Europe.

Initially two teams each fromAustria,Hungary,Czechoslovakia andYugoslavia entered, competing in a knock-out competition. The countries involved could either send their respective league winners and runners-up, or league winners and cup winners to take part. The first winners were the Czech side,AC Sparta Prague. In 1929Italian teams replaced the Yugoslavian ones. The competition was expanded to four teams from each of the competing countries in 1934. Other countries were invited to participate –Switzerland in 1936, andRomania,Switzerland andYugoslavia in 1937. Austria was withdrawn from the competition following theAnschluss in 1938. In 1939, prior to the start ofWorld War II, the cup involved only eight teams (two each from Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Italy and one each from Romania and Yugoslavia). The level of the competing nations is clearly shown by Italy's twoWorld Cup titles (1934 &1938), Czechoslovakia's (1934) and Hungary's (1938) World Cup final, and Austria's (1934) and Yugoslavia's (1930) semi-finals. Out of the eleven different teams competing in the first three World Cups, five were part of the Mitropa Cup.^{[citation needed]}

A tournament was started in1940, but abandoned before the final match due toWorld War II. Again, only eight teams competed, three each from Hungary and Yugoslavia and two from Romania. HungarianFerencváros and RomanianRapid (which had won on lots after three draws) qualified for the final, but did not meet because the northern part ofTransylvania (lost shortly afterWorld War I) was ceded to Hungary from Romania.^{[citation needed]}

Notes

Note: The1960 edition is not included in the list because it was won by a nation rather than club.

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Additionally, a "Mitropa Super Cup" was contested in 1989 between the winners of 1988 and 1989.^[1] Ostrava won the first leg 3–0 on 12 April 1989.^[6]

• Latin Cup
• Balkans Cup