Watney Cup

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title: "Watney Cup" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["defunct-football-cup-competitions-in-england", "recurring-sporting-events-established-in-1970", "1970-establishments-in-england"] topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watney_Cup" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox football tournament"]

FieldValue
nameWatney Cup
founded1970
abolished1973
regionEngland
number of teams8
::

| name = Watney Cup | logo = | caption = | founded = 1970 | abolished = 1973 | region = England | number of teams = 8 | current champions = | most titles = | most successful club = | most successful team = | broadcasters = | motto = | website = | current = The Watney Mann Invitation Cup (normally referred to as simply the Watney Cup) was a short-lived English football tournament held in the early 1970s.

It was held before the start of the season, and was contested by the teams that had scored the most goals in each of the four divisions of the Football League the previous season who had not been promoted or admitted to one of the European competitions.

The competition was a straight knockout format, each match was a one-off with no replays. The final took place at the home ground of one of the finalists, rather than a neutral venue.

The competition was so named thanks to a sponsorship deal with the Watney Mann brewery; the first tournament for Football League clubs to sell its naming rights. The tournament ran four times, from 1970 to 1973, before being discontinued.

From the second season of the competition, the off-side law was applied from the edge of the penalty areas only (instead of the half-way line).

The first ever penalty shoot-out in England took place in a semi-final of the 1970 tournament between Hull City and Manchester United, and was won by Manchester United.

Following the dissolution of the competition in 1975 the trophy itself was put up for sale and purchased by Derby Museum, who presented it back to the first ever winner, Derby County. It was put on display in the club trophy cabinet where, in 2018, it was spotted by the chairperson of Stoke City fan's council who helped arrange a share deal between Derby and Stoke City, who had been the last ever winner.

List of finals

::data[format=table]

YearWinnerScoreRunner-upVenue
1970Derby County4–1Manchester UnitedBaseball Ground
1971Colchester United4–4
(4–3 p.)West Bromwich AlbionThe Hawthorns
1972Bristol Rovers0–0
(7–6 p.)Sheffield UnitedEastville Stadium
1973Stoke City2–0Hull CityVictoria Ground
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Participants

A total of 26 teams competed in the competition during its existence. Peterborough United took part in three of the four tournaments and four teams took part twice. ;1970

;1971

;1972

;1973

References

References

  1. (1999). "[[World Soccer (magazine)". [[Boxtree Ltd]].
  2. (3 November 2019). "Watney Cup 1970 to 1973". [[My Football Facts]] (which owns "myfootballfacts.com").
  3. (17 November 2020). "Derby County agree loan deal with Stoke City - for Watney Cup". Derbyshire Live.
  4. [http://www.statto.com/football/stats/england/watney-cup/1970-1971 Watney Cup 1970 1st rnd results at Statto]
  5. "Watney Cup 1971 1st rnd results at Statto".
  6. [http://www.statto.com/football/stats/england/watney-cup/1972-1973/results Watney Cup 1972 1st rnd results at Statto]
  7. [http://www.statto.com/football/stats/england/watney-cup/1973-1974/results Watney Cup 1973 1st rnd results at Statto]

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defunct-football-cup-competitions-in-englandrecurring-sporting-events-established-in-19701970-establishments-in-england