The Black Cup is the oldest soccer trophy in Calgary. The first competition was held in 1914. The Calgary Caledonian Soccer Club has been the most successful club in the tournament, winning the torphy 26 times throughout the tournament's history.
The tournament format is a single-elimination format and is held in September following the completion of Provincials. This tournament is the only opportunity for AMSL, Premier and Division 1 teams to compete for a City Cup which makes this competition one of the toughest to win. Any registered Outdoor team in CUSA is eligible to participate.
In recent years, CUSA has offered a 50% discount for teams that have registered in another City Cup to play in the Black Cup. CUSA has also started to use the FA Cup in England as an influence for the tournament draw and allowing the higher division teams to enter the competition in the later rounds. These enhancements have helped the tournament double in size from the 2012 to 2015 Outdoor seasons.
Black Cup - Registered Teams | |||||||
Division | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | Titles | Finalists |
AMSL/Major | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
Premier | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Division 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | |
Division 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||
Division 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
Division 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
Division 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
Division 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
Master's Elite | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
Total | 8 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 |