 Balkans Cup trophy in 1968 | |
| Founded | 1961; 64 years ago (1961) |
|---|---|
| Abolished | 1994; 31 years ago (1994) |
| Region | Southeast Europe |
| Teams | Various |
| Related competitions | Balkan Cup |
| Last champions |  Samsunspor(1st title) |
| Most championships |  Beroe Stara Zagora (4 titles) |
TheBalkans Cup was an internationalfootball competition for clubs fromAlbania,Bulgaria,Greece,Romania,Turkey, andYugoslavia. It was introduced in 1961 and was very popular in the 1960s (the 1967 final attracted 42,000 spectators),[1] being the second most important international club competition for clubs from the region (after theEuropean Cup in which the champions could play; theUEFA Cup Winners' Cup originally attracted few teams from the region as many did not organise domestic cups regularly and only Yugoslavia had significant representation in the Fairs Cup).[1]
It later declined after Balkan clubs obtained more representation in the two minor UEFA competitions, in contrast to the (much older but also defunct)Balkan Cup (not Balkans) for national teams.
When sorted by year of winning or losing final(s), the table is sorted by the year of each club's first final.
| Club | Winners | Finalists | Finals | Years of Winning | Years of Losing | Entries | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beroe Stara Zagora | 4 | 1 | 4[3] | 1968, 1969, 1983, 1984 | 1970 | 7 | 1984 Top Spot in Group |
| Slavia Sofia | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1986, 1988 | 1977 | 5 | |
 Rapid Bucureşti | 2 | - | 2 | 1964, 1966 | — | 2 | Winner in Both Entries |
 Panionios | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1971 | 1986 | 3 | |
| Trakia Plovdiv | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1972 | 1981 | 2 | Reached Final in Both Entries |
 Radnički Niš | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1975 | 1989 | 3 | |
| NK Rijeka | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1978 | 1980 | 2 | Reached Final in Both Entries |
| Sportul Studențesc | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1980 | 1976 | 3 | |
| Olympiacos | 1 | - | 1 | 1963 | — | 3 | |
| Fenerbahçe | 1 | - | 1 | 1967 | — | 4 | |
 Partizani Tirana | 1 | - | 1 | 1970 | — | 5 | |
| Lokomotiv Sofia | 1 | - | 1 | 1973 | — | 4 | |
| Akademik Sofia | 1 | - | 1 | 1974 | — | 2 | |
| Dinamo Zagreb | 1 | - | 1 | 1976 | — | 1 | |
| Panathinaikos | 1 | - | 1 | 1977 | — | 1 | |
| Velež Mostar | 1 | - | 1 | 1981 | — | 1 | |
| Iraklis | 1 | - | 1 | 1985 | — | 3 | |
| OFI | 1 | - | 1 | 1989 | — | 2 | |
| Inter Sibiu | 1 | - | 1 | 1991 | — | 1 | |
| Sarıyer | 1 | - | 1 | 1992 | — | 1 | |
| Edessaikos | 1 | - | 1 | 1993 | — | 1 | |
| Samsunspor | 1 | - | 1 | 1994 | — | 2 | |
| Steagul Roşu Braşov | 1 | - | -[4] | 1961 | — | 4 | 1961 Top Spot in Group |
| Argeş Piteşti | - | 2 | 2[3] | — | 1984, 1985, 1988 | 3 | 1984 Runner-up in Group |
| Vardar Skopje | - | 2 | 2 | — | 1972, 1974 | 4 | |
| Levski Sofia | - | 1 | 1[4] | — | 1961,1963 | 3 | 1961 Runner-up in Group |
| Spartak Plovdiv | - | 1 | 1 | — | 1964 | 2 | |
| Farul Constanţa | - | 1 | 1 | — | 1966 | 4 | |
| AEK Athens | - | 1 | 1 | — | 1967 | 4 | |
| Spartak Sofia | - | 1 | 1 | — | 1968 | 1 | |
| Dinamo Tirana | - | 1 | 1 | — | 1969 | 5 | |
| Besa Kavajë | - | 1 | 1 | — | 1971 | 2 | |
| Târgu Mureș | - | 1 | 1 | — | 1973 | 2 | |
| Eskişehirspor | - | 1 | 1 | — | 1975 | 3 | |
| Jiul Petroşani | - | 1 | 1 | — | 1978 | 1 | |
| 17 Nëntori Tirana | - | 1 | 1 | — | 1983 | 4 | |
| Budućnost Podgorica | - | 1 | 1 | — | 1991 | 2 | |
| Oţelul Galaţi | - | 1 | 1 | — | 1992 | 1 | |
| Etar Veliko Tarnovo | - | 1 | 1 | — | 1993 | 3 | |
| PAS Giannina | - | 1 | 1 | — | 1994 | 2 | |
| Total | 28 | 26 | 52 | 52 Teams in Finals, since 1961 and 1983–84 editions were contested in Group Format. | |||
Clubs from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia competed as part ofSFR Yugoslavia.
Top performer by country:
| Country | Club | Winners | Finalists | Finals | Entries | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BUL | Beroe Stara Zagora | 4 | 1 | 4[3] | 7 | Balkans Cup record holder in wins, finals reached and entries. |
| ROU | Rapid Bucureşti | 2 | - | 2 | 2 | |
| YUG | NK Rijeka | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | Radnički Niš same performance in 3 entries. |
| GRE | Panionios | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| TUR | Sarıyer İstanbul | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | Samsunspor andFenerbahçe 1 win in 2 and 4 entries respectively. |
| ALB | Partizani Tirana | 1 | - | 1 | 5 |
In the 33 years of its existence, a total of89 clubs from 6 countries appeared in the28 Balkans Cup editions. Two of them, bothTurkish, withdrawn their participation before playing a single match:Zonguldakspor in1980–81 andTrabzonspor in1986.Sides with 4 entries or more:
| Club | Country | Entries | Winners | Finalists | Finals | First Edition | Last Edition | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beroe Stara Zagora | BUL | 7 | 4 | 1 | 4[3] | 1967–68 | 1992–93 | |
| Slavia Sofia | BUL | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1977 | 1987–88 | |
| Partizani | ALB | 5 | 1 | - | 1 | 1961 | 1979–80 | |
| Dinamo Tirana | ALB | 5 | - | 1 | 1 | 1961–63 | 1987–88 | |
| Galatasaray | TUR | 5 | - | - | - | 1961–63 | 1990–91 | Also Withdrew in 1977–78 and 1979–80. |
| Steagul Roşu Braşov | ROU | 4 | 1 | - | -[4] | 1961 | 1972 | |
| Fenerbahçe | TUR | 4 | 1 | - | 1 | 1961 | 1967–68 | Also Withdrew in 1963–64. |
| Lokomotiv Sofia | BUL | 4 | 1 | - | 1 | 1966–67 | 1988–89 | |
| Vardar Skopje | YUG | 4 | - | 2 | 2 | 1964–66 | 1974 | |
| Farul Constanţa | ROU | 4 | - | 1 | 1 | 1964–66 | 1975 | |
| AEK Athens | GRE | 4 | - | 1 | 1 | 1961 | 1980–81 | |
| 17 Nëntori Tirana | ALB | 4 | - | 1 | 1 | 1964–66 | 1990–91 |
Bulgarian andTurkish sides were present at each one of the 28 Balkans Cup editions, whileYugoslavian were absent 9 times in total, entering just twice during its last decade of existence (ironically, reaching both finals). Generally,South Slavs (bothFootball Association and clubs) were never keen supporters of the competition, as they had neither been enthusiastic about the national teams'Balkan Cup, too.
| Bulgaria | Turkey | Romania | Greece | Albania | Yugoslavia | ||
| Number of different sides that entered | 15 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 12 | |
| Editions of Balkans Cup that | |||||||
| [1] | Country wasrepresented by at least one club | 28 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 20 |
| [2] | Country's clubwithdrew before playing a match | — | 5 | — | 1 | — | 1 |
| [3] | Country wasstill represented by another club | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | — |
| [4] | Country's clubscompeted(=[1]-[2]+[3]) | 28 | 24 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 19 |
| Country's clubs wereabsent(=28 total editions-[4]) | — | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | |
| Years/editions that country's clubs were absent | — | 1977 to 1981 1986 | 1993–94 (Last Cup) | 1983–84 | 1983 to 1985 | 1961 (First Cup) 1983 to 1988 1991–end | |
| [5] | Editions a club quit after playing at least one match | 1 | 5 | 1 | 4 | — | 1 |
| Editions a club withdrew or quit(=[2]+[5]) | 1 | 10 | 1 | 5 | — | 2 | |
| [6] | Editions with double entry | 8 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 1 | — |
| [7] | Total entries(=[4]-[3]+[6]) | 36 | 28 | 33 | 29 | 27 | 19 |
| [8] | Cups won | 9 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 4 |
| % success in winning the Cup(=[8]÷[7]×100) | 25% | 11% | 15% | 21% | 4% | 21% | |
| [9] | Finals reached | 15 | 4 | 11[5] | 9 | 4 | 9 |
| % success in reaching the final(=[9]÷[7]×100)' | 42% | 14% | 33% | 31% | 15% | 47% | |
Despite the fact that in each edition there was at least oneTurkish side initially entering, in no less than 5 occasions it withdrew before playing a single match and in 5 more quit during group stage, after unsuccessful results.Greeks followed with 1 withdrawal and 4 quits, while clubs from all countries had sporadically terminated their participation in some early stage of the competition, except forAlbanian. Multiple winner and several other records holderBeroe Stara Zagora, became the only Bulgarian side ever to withdraw or quit a Balkans Cup match and the single one to do so in a final, by not showing up for1970 edition's return leg againstPartizani Tirana of Albania, following a 1-1 draw at home.
