Mitropa Cup

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The Mitropa Cup was one of the first really international major European football cups for club sides.

A first “international” competition for football clubs was founded in 1897 in Vienna. The “Challenge Cup” was invented by John Gramlick senior, a co-founder of the Vienna Cricket and Football-Club. In this cup-competition all clubs of the Austro-Hungarian Empire that normally would not meet could take part, though actually almost only clubs from the Empire's three major cities Vienna, Budapest and Prague participated. The Challenge-Cup was carried out until the year 1911 and is today seen as the predecessor to the Mitropacup and consequently the European Cup and Champions League. Last winner of the cup was Vienna Sports Club, one of the oldest and most traditional football clubs of Austria where the cup still remains.

The idea of a European cup competition was shaped after World War I which brought the defeat and collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Center of this idea were the Central European countries that, at this time, were still leading in continental Football. In the early 1920s they introduced - as first continental nations - professional leagues. Austria started in 1924, followed by Hungary in 1925 and Czechoslovakia 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 Mitropacup was decided on a meeting in Venice in July 17th, following the initiative of the head of the Austrian Football Association (ÖFB) Hugo Meisl. 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 August 14 of that year. The competition was between the top professional teams of Central Europe.

Initially two teams each from Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia entered, competing in a knock-out competition. The first winners were the Czech side, AC Sparta Prague. In 1929 Italian 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, and Romania, Switzerland and Yugoslavia in 1937. Austria was withdrawn from the competition following the Anschluss in 1938. Prior to WW II the cup was competed for in 1939 with only eight teams (two each from Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Italy and one each from Romania and Yugoslavia). An edition in 1940 was started but abandoned due to World War II. Again, only eight teams competed - three each from Hungary and Yugoslavia and two from Romania. This edition was abandoned before the final match. Hungarian Ferencvaros and Romanian Rapid (which had won on lots after three draws) qualified for the final, but did not meet because Hungary had invaded North-East Romania.

After WW II, the cup was resumed in 1952 but it had lost much of its status because of the introduction of other European club competitions. By the 1980s it was competed for between the second division champions of the participating countries. It was last played for in 1992 and won by the Yugoslav side, Borac Banja Luka in front of under a thousand spectators.