Capital Women's Senior Cup Explained

Most Successful Club:Charlton Athletic (5 titles)
Founded:2013
Organisers:Middlesex FA, Surrey FA, London FA, Amateur Football Alliance
Region:Greater London
Current Champions:Ashford Town (Middlesex) (2nd Title)
Number Of Teams:18 clubs (2023-24)

The Capital Women's Senior Cup is an annual women's association football cup competition run jointly by the Middlesex FA, the London FA, the Surrey FA and the Amateur Football Alliance. The competition is open to clubs in tiers 3-5 of the Women's Football Pyramid and under-21 and under-23 teams of clubs in tiers 1-2 of the Women's Football Pyramid.[1]

History

The Capital Women's Cups were established in 2013, on the initiative of Jackie Newing of the Amateur Football Alliance.[2] The intention was to consolidate London's fragmented system of county cups, which saw considerable mismatches across the five geographical cup competitions, into three competitions based on league position.

Initially the Senior Cup was open to all clubs in tiers 1-5 of the Women's Football Pyramid, but since 2018 this has been restricted to tiers 3-5, plus under 23 teams from the top two tiers.

The Intermediate Cup is open to clubs in tiers 6 and 7 and the Junior Cup is open to Greater London Women's Football League Division 1 and 2 clubs, plus any club in tier 7 or below (including clubs not in a league).

It replaced the London Women's Cup, the Middlesex FA Women's Cup and the Surrey Women's FA Cup. Administration of the competitions rotate between the four organising associations.

The first five editions of the tournament were dominated by Charlton Athletic W.F.C.. Their run of dominance was only ended by reformating the competition to exclude tier 1 and 2 senior teams.

Women's Super League and Women's Championship academy clubs have enjoyed mixed fortunes in the competition. Arsenal W.F.C. Academy won the 2022-23 edition of the tournament whereas in 2023-24 only Tottenham Hotspur W.F.C. Academy progressed beyond the second round, losing to Haringey Borough in the quarter finals.[3]

Format

The tournament is a single-legged, unseeded, knock-out competition with team. If a tie is level after 90 minutes, the match is decided by a penalty shoot-out.

Winners and Finalists

!Season!Winners!Runners up!Score!Venue!Attendance
2013–14Queens Park Rangers2-1[4] Imber Court, Molesey[5]
2014–15West Ham United5-0[6] Earlsmead Stadium, Harrow222
2015–16Tottenham Hotspur3-0[7] Harry Abrahams Stadium, Finchley
2016–17Tottenham Hotspur2-1[8] Harry Abrahams Stadium, Finchley136[9]
2017–18Crystal Palace2-1[10] Bedfont Recreation Ground, Bedfont
2018–19Actonians.Leyton Orient1-0[11] Reynolds Fields, Perivale181
2019–20Not held due to COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21Queens Park RangersActonians.2-2 (4-3 p)[12] Bedfont Recreation Ground, Bedfont317
2021–22Ashford TownDulwich Hamlet.2-0[13] Meadowbank, Dorking204
2022–23Arsenal AcademyAFC Wimbledon2-1[14] Green Lane, Hounslow400[15]
2023–24Ashford TownHaringey Borough4-2Silver Jubilee Park, Hendon170[16]

Statistics

Performance by club

!Club!Winners!Runners Up!Winning Years
502014,2015,2016,2017,2018
Ashford Town202022,2024
Actonians.112019
Queens Park Rangers112021
Arsenal Academy102023
Tottenham Hotspur02
West Ham United01
London Seaward01
Dulwich Hamlet.01
AFC Wimbledon01
Haringey Borough01

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://www.thefa.com/-/media/cfa/amateurfa/files/capital-womens-cup-rules-season-2023-24.ashx
  2. Web site: London . My . 2014-04-20 . Four west London sides gear up for Capital Women's Cup . 2024-03-20 . My London . en.
  3. Web site: Association . The Football . Results . 2024-03-20 . www.londonfa.com . en.
  4. Web site: Association . The Football . Capital Womens Cup Match Reports . 2024-03-20 . www.londonfa.com . en.
  5. Web site: Ladies Final Date . QPR FC.
  6. Web site: West Ham United 0-5 Charlton Athletic - It's a fantastic effort from all the players, hails treble winning boss Jeremy Parsons . 2024-03-20 . Kentish Football.
  7. Web site: O'Neill . Jen . 2016-05-06 . Cardiff And Spurs Contest FAWPL Cup Final - SheKicks . 2024-03-25 . shekicks.net . en-GB.
  8. Web site: WOMEN'S TEAM Charlton lift the Capital Cup for a fourth successive year Charlton Athletic Football Club . 2024-03-20 . www.charltonafc.com . en.
  9. Web site: Association . The Football . Capital Women's Cup Senior Final . 2024-03-25 . www.middlesexfa.com . en.
  10. Web site: Frith . Wilf . 2018-05-07 . Charlton Athletic Women grab late Capital Cup winner - SheKicks . 2024-03-20 . shekicks.net . en-GB.
  11. Web site: Association . The Football . Actonians Ladies Win Capital Women's Senior Cup . 2024-03-20 . www.middlesexfa.com . en.
  12. Web site: Association . The Football . QPR WOMEN WIN CAPITAL WOMEN'S SENIOR CUP . 2024-03-20 . www.middlesexfa.com . en.
  13. Web site: Association . The Football . ASHFORD TOWN (MIDDLESEX) WIN THE CAPITAL WOMEN'S SENIOR CUP . 2024-03-20 . www.middlesexfa.com . en.
  14. Web site: A gallant cup final defeat for the Dons . 2024-03-20 . www.afcwimbledon.co.uk . en-gb.
  15. Web site: 2022-06-09 . First team fixtures and results 2022/23 . 2024-03-21 . afcwimbledonwomen.co.uk . en-GB.
  16. https://www.middlesexfa.com/news/2024/may/10/capital-womens-senior-cup-final