 | |
| Organiser(s) | Sunmoon Peace Football Foundation (Unification Church) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2003 |
| Abolished | 2012 |
| Region | International |
| Teams | 8 (or 12) |
| Most championships |  PSV Eindhoven Tottenham Hotspur LyonAston Villa Hamburger SV(1 title each) |
| Website | peacecup.com |
ThePeace Cup was an invitational pre-season friendlyfootball tournament for club teams which was held every two years by theSunmoon Peace Football Foundation.[1]
The Peace Cup was held every two years, with the Sunmoon Peace Football Foundation invited football clubs from various nations.
A corresponding event featuring women's national teams, thePeace Queen Cup, began in 2006.[2]
In October 2012, it was announced that the Peace Cup will no longer be held, following the death of Unification Church founderSun Myung Moon.[3]
From 2003 to 2007, the Peace Cup was played between 8 clubs, divided into two groups of 4 teams.
The winner of each group qualified for the final, which was played in a single match.
The first three competitions were held inSouth Korea, and the2009 version was held inMadrid andAndalusia,Spain with 12 teams participating.[4][5]
The fifth competition took place again in South Korea in July 2012, and four teams which had South Korean players entered.[6]
South Korea'sSeongnam Ilhwa Chunma participated in every tournament as the club is sponsored by theUnification Church.
Previous winners werePSV,Tottenham Hotspur,Lyon,Aston Villa, andHamburger SV, who were the final champions.
From 2003 to 2007, the prize money of the tournament was approximately€2 million for the winning team,[7][8] and €500,000 for the runners-up.[7]
| Year | Host | Champions | Score[9] | Runners-up | Teams |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 |  South Korea | PSV Eindhoven | 1–0 | Lyon | 8 |
| 2005 | Tottenham Hotspur | 3–1 | 8 | ||
| 2007 | Lyon | 1–0 | Bolton Wanderers | 8 | |
| 2009 |  Spain | Aston Villa | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–3p) |  Juventus | 12 |
| 2012 | South Korea | Hamburger SV | 1–0 | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 4 |
| Team | Champions | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| Lyon | 1 (2007) | 2 (2003, 2005) |
| PSV Eindhoven | 1 (2003) | — |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 1 (2005) | — |
| Aston Villa | 1 (2009) | — |
| Hamburger SV | 1 (2012) | — |
| Bolton Wanderers | — | 1 (2007) |
| Juventus | — | 1 (2009) |
| Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | — | 1 (2012) |
The "Golden Ball" is awarded to the player on the basis of a vote taken among the media accredited to each Peace Cup tournament. There are also "Silver Ball" and "Bronze Ball" for the second and third best players respectively.[10][11]
| Year | Golden Ball | Golden Shoe |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Park Ji-sung | Mark van Bommel (2) |
| 2005 |  Robbie Keane | Robbie Keane (4) |
| 2007 | Karim Benzema |  Kim Källström (2) |
| 2009 | Ashley Young |  Hulk (3) |
| 2012 | Marcus Berg | Mitchell Schet (2) |
The original name of the competition was to beSunmoon Peace Cup, named afterSun Myung Moon, the founder of the Sunmoon Peace Football Foundation.
However, after being criticized that it was too religious, the organization changed its name toWorld Peace King Cup and started preparation for its first tournament.
Before the inauguration of the cup, theAsian Football Confederation warned that the term "world" can only be used by competitions organized byFIFA, and "king" can be used by competitions held by akingdom.[12]
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