| Founded | 1889 |
|---|---|
| Region |  Kent |
| Teams | 24 (2024–25) |
| Current champions | Welling United |
| Most championships | Maidstone United (19 times) |
| Website | 2024–25 Fixtures / Results |
TheKent Senior Cup is anEnglishfootball knock-out competition played between senior clubs in the county ofKent. It is administered by theKent County Football Association (KCFA).
Now known as the Kent Senior Cup it was originally named, until the 1897–98 season, as the Kent Cup with the first competition played during the 1888–89 season. The cup itself, engraved as the "Kent County Football Association Challenge Cup",[1] cost £33 and is made of 62 ounces of silver and surmounted by the rampant horse of Kent.[2] (2018 Photograph[3]). The Kent Cup competition was preceded as the KCFA's County knock-out tournament by the Kent County Badge: this was first competed for in 1886 and won for each of its three seasons byChatham – who were also the first winners of the Kent Cup.
Following the founding of theKent League in 1894 for the three seasons from 1894–95 until 1896–97 the Kent Cup was awarded to the champions of the League. The knock-out competition for the cup resumed from the 1897–98 season when it was renamed the Kent Senior Cup,[4] withGravesend United the winners. For the 1919–1920 season only a trophy presented as a gift to the KCFA named as the Victory Cup[5] replaced the Kent Senior Cup trophy. The competition was suspended for four seasons between 1914 and 1918 owing to theWorld War I and there have been two other seasons in which the Kent Senior Cup has not been competed for: in 1940–1941 owing toWorld War II; and 2020–2021 owing to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[6]
Initially the final of the competition was played at a venue pre-selected by the KCFA: for the first six seasons this was at Chatham, then after taking place at New Brompton, Ashford, Tunbridge Wells and returning to Chatham for one season the final was held at Faversham for the next six years. For a long spell between 1908 until 1950 the venue for the final was theAthletic Ground, Maidstone (except 1942 at Belvedere). Thereafter the final was held mostly at thePriestfield Stadium, Gillingham until 1965 after which for the next eight seasons it was contested (as it had been in the 1961–62 season) overtwo legs held at each of the finalists ground with the aggregate score determining the winner. The venue for the final then reverted to Maidstone then to Gillingham for fourteen seasons. Then following playing the final atSittingbourne and for the first time outside Kent atMillwall, since 1998 (with several exceptions) the winner of acoin toss between the final protagonists decided which would have the choice to host the final match. The semi–finals were played on neutral grounds until the mid-1950s.
From 1902 until 1961 the final took place onEaster Monday and into the 1950s would attract in excess of ten thousand spectators – 13,119 were at the 1951–1952 final betweenKent League clubDover andSouthern League clubDartford.[7] Between 1983 until 2002 the final was held on the early Maybank holiday however since then the final has struggled for a set date owing to end of seasonpromotion and relegationplay-off matches and in the 2007–2008 season was even deferred until the 2008–2009 pre–season.[8]
For five seasons from 1980–1981 until 1985–1986 the Kent Senior Cup competition was sponsored by the Chatham Reliance Building Society. The Swedish office business machine companyFacit was then the sponsor for the next eleven seasons until 1996–1997. Bose were the sponsor in the early 2000s after which between 2003–04 and 2006–07 the cup was sponsored and named after Kent football patron John Ullmann. Between 2010–11 and 2013–14 portablefoodlights.com sponsored the cup, then for the 2014–15 seasonKent Reliance Building society revived their sponsorship from thirty years previously[9] and this continued through to the 2017–18 season. In 2022 the KCFA announced that all Kent County Cups, including the Senior Cup, would be sponsored by the ferry operatorDFDS.[10]
The 2013–14 Kent Senior Cup competition marked the 125th anniversary since its inception in the 1888–89 season;[11] to celebrate the landmark the final took place atPriestfield Stadium, home of Gillingham FC. The match was won byEbbsfleet United who beatDover Athletic 4–0[12] – the winning club being a descendant ofNorthfleet United who in the 1920s achieved an enduring record of five consecutive season Kent Senior Cup wins.
Past winners of the Kent Senior Cup includeRoyal Arsenal (now Arsenal) in1889–90, andGillingham in1945–46 and1947–48; the two sides went on to become members of thePremier League andFootball League respectively. BothCharlton Athletic andMaidstone United won the cup whilst members of the Football league and Gillingham have continued to compete. The Football League clubs field a development team rather than their full league side in the competition.
(As of matches played 2 April 2025}
There have been 32 clubs (including follow-on clubs) who have won the Kent Senior Cup; a further seven clubs have competed in the final without winning; and an additional 14 clubs reached the semi-final stage but didn't progress to the final match.
| KENT SENIOR CUP FINALS: RECORD BY CLUB (excludes the County Badge and occasions the cup was awarded to the Kent League champions)
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notes | †: "Rank" calculated by wins, then runner-up, then semi-finals, then latest year (of the deciding factor). ‡: "Club" allows for follow-on of disbanded clubs (as indicated) and excludes significant club amalgamations. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(As of matches played 2 April 2025}
Consecutive Final wins:
Consecutive Final losses:
Run of winning the Final match (not consecutive):
Run of losing the Final match (not consecutive):
Run of winning a Semi-final match (not consecutive):
Run of losing a Semi-final match (not consecutive):
