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| Organiser(s) | French Football Federation |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1917; 108 years ago (1917) |
| Region | France |
| Teams | 8,506 |
| Qualifier for | UEFA Europa League |
| Domestic cup | Trophée des Champions |
| Current champions | Paris Saint-Germain (16th title) |
| Most championships | Paris Saint-Germain (16 titles) |
| Broadcaster(s) | France Télévisions beIN Sports |
| Website | FFF – Coupe de France |
 2025–26 Coupe de France | |
TheCoupe de France (French pronunciation:[kupdəfʁɑ̃s]), also known inEnglish as theFrench Cup[1][2] or less commonly as theFrance Cup,[3] is the premierknockout cup competition inFrench football organised by theFrench Football Federation (FFF).[4] It was first held in1917 and is open to all amateur and professionalfootball clubs in France, including clubs based in theoverseas departments and territories. Between 1917 and 1919, the competition was called theCoupe Charles Simon, in tribute of Charles Simon, a Frenchsportsman and the founder of the French Interfederal Committee (the ancestor of the French Football Federation), who died in 1915 while serving inWorld War I. The final is played at theStade de France and the winner qualifies for the group stage of theUEFA Europa League and a place in theTrophée des Champions match. A concurrentwomen's tournament is also held, theCoupe de France Féminine.
Combined with random draws and one-off matches (no replays), the Coupe de France can be difficult for the bigger clubs to win. The competition is usually beneficial to the amateur clubs as it forces higher-ranked clubs, usually professional clubs, to play as the away team when drawn against lower-league opposition if they are competing more than one level below them. Despite this advantage, only three amateur clubs have reached the final sinceprofessionalism was introduced inFrench football in 1932:Calais RUFC in2000,US Quevilly in2012 andLes Herbiers VF in2018. Two clubs from outsideLigue 1 have won the competition,Le Havre in1959 andGuingamp in2009. The reigning champions areParis Saint-Germain, who defeatedReims in thefinal of the2024–25 competition.
The Coupe de France was created on 15 January 1917 by theFrench Interfederal Committee (CFI), an early predecessor of theFrench Football Federation.[5] The idea was pushed by the federation's general secretaryHenri Delaunay and underunion sacrée, the competition was declared open to all clubs, amateur and professional, thoughprofessionalism inFrench football at the time was non-existent. The major clubs in France objected to the notion that all clubs should be allowed to enter. However, the federation dispelled their complaints and declared the competition would remain as is. Due to the minimal requirements to enter, the first competition featured 48 clubs. By 1948, the number had increased to 1,000 and at present, the competition features more than 7,000 clubs. Due to the initial increase in clubs, the federation created preliminary rounds beginning with the 1919–20 season. The following season, they added a second preliminary round. As of today, the competition contains eight regional rounds with someregions containing as many as ten.
The first Coupe de France victors wereOlympique de Pantin who defeatedFC Lyon 3–0 at the Stade de la Légion Saint-Michel in Paris in front of 2,000 spectators. The following year, the competition was shifted to theParc des Princes and drew 10,000 supporters to the final that sawCASG Paris defeatOlympique de Paris 3–2. The competition alternated between many stadiums during its early years playing at theStade Pershing from 1920 to 1924 before switching to theStade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir inColombes. The competition lasted a decade there before returning to the Parc des Princes in 1938. In 1941, the final was held at theStade de Paris. The following year, the final returned to Colombes and remained there until moving to the Parc des Princes permanently following its renovation, which made it the largest in terms of attendance in France.
There are vastly more amateur than professional clubs in France, and the competition regularly produces surprises. The best performance by an amateur club in the competition is usually awarded thePetit Poucet Plaque. One of the competition's biggest upsets occurred in February 1957 when Algerian clubSCU El Biar defeatedStade de Reims who had players such asRobert Jonquet,Michel Hidalgo,Léon Glovacki, andJust Fontaine. One of the more recent successes of an amateur club occurred during the1999–2000 competition whenChampionnat de France amateur clubCalais RUFC reachedthe final. Calais, composed of doctors, dock workers, and office clerks, started the competition in the 5th round and, after defeating fellow amateurs, beat clubsLille, Langon-Castets,Cannes,Strasbourg, andBordeaux to advance to the final. Calais' road to the final was a prime example of the major advantages amateur clubs had with the club playing all of its matches at home beginning with the Round of 64 match. In the final the club lost toNantes 2–1 despite scoring first.
Professional clubs have continued to express their displeasure with the advantages amateur clubs receive in the competition with many of their complaints being directly associated with their hosting of matches. Coupe de France rules explicitly state that teams drawn first during the draw are granted hosting duties for the round, however, if the club drawn second is competing two levels below the club drawn first, then the hosting duties will be given to the second club drawn. Many clubs have subsequently complained that, due to the amateur clubs not having adequate funds, the stadiums they play in are extremely unkempt. The resulting differences led to the clubs represented by theLigue de Football Professionnel forming their own cup competition, theCoupe de la Ligue. More recently, amateur clubs have begun to move to more established stadiums for their Coupe de France matches with their primary reason being to earn more money at the gate due to more established stadiums having the ability to carry more spectators.
The winner of the Coupe de France trophy normally holds on to the trophy for one year to put in on display at their headquarters before returning it to the French Football Federation. In the early 1980s, the cup was stolen, but was retrieved by the authorities quickly.[6] Since 1927, thePresident of France has always attended the cup final and presented the trophy to the winning team'scaptain.Gaston Doumergue was the first French president to attend the final.
Similar to other countries' cup competitions, the Coupe de France is aknockout tournament with pairings for each round drawn at random. Each tie is played through a single leg. If a match ends in a draw, penalties are held.[7] Prior to 1967, the competition had noextra time norpenalty shootouts and instead allowed replays, similar to theFA Cup. This style was abandoned following three straight draws betweenOlympique Lyonnais and amateur clubAngoulême CFC, which resulted in the federationflipping a coin to decide which club advanced. For the1968–69 season, extra time was introduced and, two years later, the penalty shootout was instituted. Following the1974–75 season, replays were scrapped.
There are a total of 14 rounds in the competition.[8] However, rounds in the competition are determined through eachregion in France with one of the main reasons being to reduce travel costs. Depending on the region, the number of rounds may vary from four to as many as eight with each region sending a set number of clubs to the 7th round. The regions conduct rounds of matches up until the 7th round when professional clubs enter the competition. All of the clubs are then split and drawn against each other randomly, regardless of regional affiliation though geographical pots are made prior to the draw. In theoverseas departments and territories, territories such asGuadeloupe, Martinique,French Guiana, andRéunion establish their own knockout competition, similar to the regions in France, though only one club from each region is allowed to enter. This number later rose to two for some overseas regions. Territories likeMayotte,French Polynesia, andNew Caledonia allow the winner of their cup competitions to enter the 7th round, such as whenAS Mont-Dore won the 2009 edition of theNew Caledonia Cup to earn qualification for the2009–10 Coupe de France.
As well as being presented with the trophy, the winning team also qualifies for theUEFA Europa League. If the winner has already qualified for theUEFA Champions League via the league, the UEFA Europa League place goes to the next highest placed finisher in the league table. Overseas teams are also eligible for UEFA qualification.[9]
In Coupe de France matches, players are restricted to wearing the shirt numbers 1–20 regardless of the player's squad number.[citation needed] The starters are given the numbers 1–11. Currently, matches from quarter-finals onward allow players to wear their own numbers in their clubs.
The cup was open to overseas teams starting in the1961–62 season. In the1974–75 season, theGolden Star was the first overseas team to beat a mainland team. The Martinique club beat US Melun 2–1 in the replay after 1–1 in the first game. The Golden Star was then the first overseas team to reach the round of 64. In the1988–89 season,Le Geldar de Kourou was the first overseas team to reach the round of 32. In the2019–20 season,JS Saint-Pierroise was the second overseas team to reach the round of 32. In thefollowing season,Club Franciscain was the third overseas team to reach the round of 32.[citation needed]
The Coupe de France does not have a primary sponsor of the competition, but allows sponsors of theFrench Football Federation to showcase themselves on club's kits at the expense of the club's sponsors. Among them includeSFR,Caisse d'Épargne,Crédit Agricole,Sita-Suez,Carrefour,[10]LG,Hyundai, andCoca-Cola.
As of 2025,Paris Saint-Germain is the most successful team in the history of the competition, with sixteen Coupe de France titles.[11] PSG also has appeared in the most finals, having played in 21 finals, losing 5. The Parisian club won a cup'double' (i.e. the Coupe de France and theCoupe de la Ligue in the same season) in 1995, 1998, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020. The team also won a league-cup double in 2024. PSG also won domestic trebles in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2020. The team won a continental treble in 2025.
Olympique Marseille are one of four clubs who have suffered two consecutive finals defeats, as theBouches-du-Rhône-based club lost to Paris Saint-Germain in2006 and then toSochaux thefollowing season.[citation needed]
Due to the early dominance of Parisian clubs during the early run of the competition and along with PSG's consistency, theÎle-de-France region has the most Coupe de France champions, having produced 25. The region is followed byProvence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, with Marseille being the region's most successful club.[citation needed]
ManagersGuy Roux andAndré Cheuva share the honour of having managed four Coupe de France winning clubs. The most successful players areMarquinhos andMarco Verratti, who both won six titles.Éric Pécout of Nantes andJean-Pierre Papin are joint top scorers of the competition final, having each converted ahat-trick in their only appearances in the ultimate match. In 1947, Roger Vandooren scored the fastest goal in the final's history converting after 29 seconds for his clubLille in their 2–0 win overStrasbourg.[12]
The Coupe de France currently has a broadcasting agreement withFrance Télévisions, the French public national television broadcaster, andEurosport since the 1996–97 until 2021–22 season. The Coupe de France final is co-aired onFrance 2 since 1975 until 2026 (excluding 1984 until 2006).[13]
| Television channel | Period |
|---|---|
| RTF | 1955–1964 |
| ORTF | 1964–1975 |
| France Télévisions | 1975–1984 |
| 2006–2026 | |
| TF1 | 1984–2006 |
| Television channel | Period |
|---|---|
| Canal+ | 1984–2000 |
| Eurosport | 1996–2022 |
| beIN Sports | 2022–2026 |
French Football Federation (President:Philippe Diallo (interim))Ligue féminine de football professionnel (President:Jean-Michel Aulas) | |||||||
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