 Four time winners Chelsea's home ground Stamford Bridge | |
| Founded | 2010 |
|---|---|
| Number of teams | 4 (league system) |
| Current champions |  Chelsea (4th title) |
| Most successful club(s) | Chelsea (4 titles) |
| Television broadcasters | Sky Sports, ITV Sport, EA Sports |
| Motto | 4 Teams, 4 Stadiums, 2 Managers, 1 Winner |
The FIFA Cup is an annual football competition played between four clubs based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2010, only Chelsea and Arsenal have played in all four tournaments. The system is loosely based on the pre-season Emirates Cup, with points being awarded for goals scored.
It is best known for the managerial battle between the two managers of Nick Cary and Lee Footitt, with both managing two clubs in every tournament. There is a total of eight games played in each competition, with each club playing four games (playing the opposing manager's two clubs both home and away).
Chelsea are the current holders of the cup, having won every instalment of the competition.
Rules edit
For the FIFA10 Cup, two points were awarded for a win, one point for a draw, no points for a defeat while each goal was worth one point. From the FIFA11 Cup onwards, three points were awarded for a win.
Both managers name two clubs (which they must manage on a Fifa Career Mode) and name a certain number of players. The clubs are named a month prior to the tournament starting, with the squads named the Monday before the opening game. The squad size has changed for almost every tournament with a 22 man squad used in 2010, 23 man in 2011, while a 25 man has been used in 2012 and 2013. A 25 man squad is now the preferred format. Since 2013, two members of the squad are "wildcards", which means they do not need to be declared until the tournament begins. Originally the squad was limited to a certain number of players from each position but since 2011 the choice can be made more freely.
Although disciplinary action is often different in each tournament, the rules roughly state that a yellow card is a one game ban while a red card is a full tournament ban. Since the FIFA12 Cup, this has gone to a panel, which judges the consequence of the foul. The most notable change to the disciplinary ruling was seen when Thierry Henry only received a 35 minute sin bin following his red card against Bolton in 2013.
History edit
| Year | 1st Place | 2nd Place | 3rd Place | 4th Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Chelsea
|
Newcastle United
|
Arsenal
|
QPR
|
| 2011 | Chelsea
|
QPR
|
Arsenal
|
Blackpool
|
| 2012 | Chelsea
|
Birmingham City
|
 Swansea City
|
Arsenal
|
| 2013 | Chelsea
|
Bolton Wanderers
|
Arsenal
|
Leicester City
|
Artwork edit
The artwork was introduced in a bid to promote the competition and is traditionally released around seven days before the first fixture. Each artwork is similar, containing the emblems of the four teams competing and the tournament motto "4 Teams, 4 Stadiums, 2 Managers, 1 Winner" although changes have been made. In 2012 "and 1 Crap Server" was added to the motto, poking fun at EA's long standing connection problems. The 2013 artwork contains the addition of a similar comment although it is unlikely this will be a permanent change.
Year-by-year edit
FIFA10 Cup edit
Originally known as the FIFA Cup, it later changed it's name to the FIFA10 Cup following the decision to continue the competition. The winners of the tournament were Chelsea.
The points system was two points for a win, one for a draw and no points for a loss. Every goal scored was also equal to a point. Unlike recent tournaments, in the event of a points tie the amount of Shots on Target was used.
Standings edit
| Rank | Team | Points | W | D | L | GS | SOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Chelsea
|
33 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 46 |
| 2 | Newcastle United
|
28 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 41 |
| 3 | Arsenal
|
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 23 |
| 4 | QPR
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 16 |
FIFA11 Cup edit
- Standings
| Rank | Team | Points | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Chelsea
|
20 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 7 |
| 2 | QPR
|
12 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| 3 | Arsenal
|
8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | -3 |
| 4 | Blackpool
|
6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 11 | -8 |
FIFA12 Cup edit
The FIFA12 Cup was the third instalment of the tournament and was won by Chelsea. The Top Goalscorer was Zlatan Ibrahimović with eight goals, seven coming in the final fixture. Goal of the Tournament was awarded to Alessandro Del Piero for his first goal in Birmingham City's 5-1 win over Swansea City. The tournament saw a total of fourty goals, coming from sixteen different players.
For the second time the points system used awarded three points for a win, one for a draw, no points for a defeat and one point for every goal scored. Goal Difference would be used in the event of a points tie.
The schedule was that the games would be split into three weeks between April and May. The first game, the traditional Chelsea against Arsenal clash, was played on a Wednesday night. Due to other commitments a "Super Sunday" event was played in the second week, where three games were played in a single evening. The final three games were played after a short-break, with the final two fixtures being played on a Sunday. The final fixture was a reverse of the opening game. Heading into the last game, Chelsea knew they needed to win and score eight or more goals away at Arsenal to take the title, trailing Birmingham City by eleven points. Zlatan Ibrahimović's 90th minute goal sealed the emphatic 8-0 demolition before adding another in the dying moments.
Results edit
Week One
| Chelsea | 4 – 1 | Arsenal |
|---|---|---|
Lampard  12'Robinho 17', 38'Ibrahimović 33' |
Van Persie 74' |
| Swansea City | 1 – 3 | Birmingham City |
|---|---|---|
| Graham 38' |
Martins 6' Del Piero 26'Hoolahan 90+4' |
Week Two
| Arsenal | 1 – 7 | Birmingham City |
|---|---|---|
| Van Persie 22' |
Del Piero 25', 28', 45+3' Beckham 45+1'Martins 45+6', 90+2'Van Nistelrooy 90+4' |
| Chelsea | 2 – 0 | Swansea City |
|---|---|---|
| Tello 51' Shaqiri 73' |
| Birmingham City | 2 – 1 | Arsenal |
|---|---|---|
| Beckham 83' Van Nistelrooy 88' |
Gignac 79' |
Week Three
| Swansea City | 1 – 2 | Chelsea |
|---|---|---|
| Flamini 12' |
Alexandre Pato 63', 90+4' Carlos  Carlos |
| Birmingham City | 5 – 1 | Swansea City |
|---|---|---|
| Beckham 5', 40' (pen.) Del Piero 9', 73', 75' |
Coutinho 77' |
| Arsenal | 0 – 9 | Chelsea |
|---|---|---|
| Lampard 21' Ibrahimović 24', 35', 45', 54', 63', 90', 90+4'Robinho 71' |
Standings edit
| Rank | Team | Points | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Chelsea
|
29 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 15 |
| 2 | Birmingham City
|
28 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 4 | 12 |
| 3 | Swansea City
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 12 | -9 |
| 4 | Arsenal
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 22 | -19 |
Squads edit
Each manager must name a 25 man squad for both their teams. Unlike past tournaments, no limits were put on this choice.
Arsenal (Manager: Nick Cary)
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Birmingham City (Manager: Lee Footitt)
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Chelsea (Manager: Lee Footitt)
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Swansea City (Manager: Nick Cary)
Goal Scorers edit
FIFA13 Cup edit
The FIFA13 Cup was the fourth instalment of the competition and was won by Chelsea. As usual Chelsea were joined by Arsenal, with Bolton Wanderers and Leicester City making tournament debuts. Winning all four of their games, they picked up a total of 24 points finishing above Bolton, Arsenal and Leicester. The Top Goalscorer award was a tie between two players, Bolton's Jonathan De Guzman and Arsenal's Miroslav Klose. Both players scored three goals, the lowest amount to win the award. Goal of the Tournament was won by Jonathan De Guzman for his second goal in Bolton's 4-3 away win at Arsenal. There were twenty-two different goalscorers in the tournament with just six scoring more than once, amassing to a total of 30 goals.
Continuing from the last two tournaments, three points were awarded for a win, one for a draw and one for every goal scored. Goal Difference would be used in the event of a tie on points.
As usual, Chelsea hosted Arsenal in the opening game of the tournament. Bolton's home tie against Arsenal concluded the competition. The schedule for the tournament was that two games would be played every Friday across four weeks, spanning from the 29th March to the 19th April. It was the first time the final fixture was not played on a Sunday.
Results edit
Week One
| Bolton Wanderers | 1 – 1 | Leicester City |
|---|---|---|
| Michu 72' |
Beckford 51' |
Week Two
| Arsenal | 3 – 4 | Bolton Wanderers |
|---|---|---|
| Klose 51', 57', 82' Henry  23' |
De Guzman 7', 16' Lallana 43'Pablo Hernández 64' |
| Leicester City | 0 – 3 | Chelsea |
|---|---|---|
| Rodallega 45' Hummels 82'Robinho 90' |
Week Three
| Arsenal | 0 – 2 | Chelsea |
|---|---|---|
| Ibrahimović 72' Lampard 78' |
| Leicester City | 2 – 3 | Bolton Wanderers |
|---|---|---|
| Morgan 28' Sterling 35'Morgan 45' |
Ramírez 16' Heskey 25'Pablo Hernández 59' |
Week Four
| Chelsea | 4 – 1 | Leicester City |
|---|---|---|
| Rodallega 16' El Shaarawy 34', 58'Oscar 83' |
Nugent 51' |
| Bolton Wanderers | 1 – 1 | Arsenal |
|---|---|---|
| De Guzman 45' |
Henry 78' |
Standings edit
| Rank | Team | Points | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Chelsea
|
24 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 10 |
| 2 | Bolton Wanderers
|
17 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 2 |
| 3 | Arsenal
|
6 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | -5 |
| 4 | Leicester City
|
5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 11 | -7 |
Squads edit
Goal Scorers edit
2013 FIFA International Tournament edit
A late summer International version of the tournament is a current possibility. If it was to go ahead, it could see the increase of teams to six, with a limit to one team from Europe, and two teams from two other continents. If it was to increase to six teams there would be no home and away ties and games would most likely be played at neutral stadiums. There could also be limits on squad ratings and age. It would be based on the FIFA13 Cup.
FIFA14 Cup edit
The FIFA14 Cup will be the fifth instalment of the competition. Winning the 2013 edition, four time winners Chelsea are the only team that are certain to appear under usual manager Lee Footitt. Although nothing has been confirmed, it is looking likely that Arsenal will not play in the tournament, despite having played in all four so far. No date has been set for the competition.
Early reports suggest that Footitt may name Championship side Doncaster Rovers as his second side.
Competitors edit
| Team | Appearances | Winners | Runners-Up | Third | Fourth | First Appearance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea
|
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2010 |
| Arsenal
|
4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2010 |
| QPR
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2010 |
| Birmingham City
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2012 |
| Bolton Wanderers
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2013 |
| Newcastle United
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2010 |
| Swansea City
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2012 |
| Blackpool
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2011 |
| Leicester City
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2013 |
QPR remain the only side to be managed by both managers. In the FIFA10 Cup under Nick Cary they finished 4th and a year later in the FIFA11 Cup, Lee Footitt guided them to 2nd.
Awards edit
Golden Boot edit
The Golden Boot award is an award given to the player who scores the most amount of goals in the competition. The most goals to be scored in a single tournament by one player is 12, by Chelsea's Didier Drogba in 2010. The least amount of goals scored that has won the award was seen in 2013 when Jonathan De Guzman (Bolton) and Miroslav Klose (Arsenal) shared the trophy with 3 goals each.
| Year | Name | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 |  Didier Drogba
|
Chelsea
|
12 |
| 2011 | Michael Owen
|
QPR
|
4 |
| 2012 |  Zlatan Ibrahimović
|
Chelsea
|
8 |
| 2013 |  Jonathan De Guzman
|
Bolton Wanderers
|
3 |
 Miroslav Klose
|
Arsenal
|
Goal of the Tournament edit
The Goal of the Tournament award is an award given to the player who scores the goal voted as best of the competition by both managers. Since its inception all competitions have seen a different winner, all coming from different teams.
| Year | Name | Team | Opposition | Scoreline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 |  Kris Boyd
|
Newcastle United
|
QPR
|
5-1 |
| 2011 |  Fernando Torres
|
Chelsea
|
Blackpool
|
4-0 |
| 2012 |  Alessandro Del Piero
|
Birmingham City
|
Swansea City
|
5-1 |
| 2013 | Jonathan De Guzman
|
Bolton Wanderers
|
Arsenal
|
4-3 |
Player of the Tournament edit
The Player of the Tournament award was an award given to the player voted as the best of the competition by both managers. It was given to Newcastle's Kris Boyd in 2010 but the award was abolished prior to the FIFA11 Cup.
| Year | Name | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Kris Boyd
|
Newcastle United
|
Manager of the Tournament edit
The Manager of the Tournament award was an award given to the manager whose side won the tournament. It was given to Lee Footitt in 2010 for guiding Chelsea to the title but the award was abolished prior to the FIFA11 Cup.
| Year | Name | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Lee Footitt
|
Chelsea
|
Mangerial Record edit
| Name | Titles | Pld | Pts | W | D | L | GF | GC | GD | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Footitt
|
4 | 32 | 191 | 27 | 3 | 2 | 115 | 28 | 87 | 84.4% |
| Nick Cary
|
0 | 32 | 37 | 2 | 3 | 27 | 28 | 115 | (87) | 6.25% |
All Time Appearances edit
All Time Goals edit
Records edit
Most titles - Chelsea (4 titles)
Biggest win - Chelsea 11-0 QPR (2010)
Most points - Chelsea - 33 points (2010)
Least points - QPR - 2 points (2010)
Most goals - Chelsea - 25 goals (2010)
Least goals - QPR - 2 goals (2010)
Most goals scored in one match - Didier Drogba - 9 goals v QPR 11-0 (2010)
Most goals scored in one tournament - Didier Drogba - 12 goals (2010)
Most goals conceded in a tournament - QPR? 2010?