Channel One Cup (football)

The Channel One Cup (Russian: Кубок Первого канала, Kubok Pervogo Kanala) was an annual pre-season commercial football tournament, organized by Russian TV Channel One and Roman Abramovich's foundation, the National Football Academy. The participants were champions and runners-up of the Russian Premier League, Ukrainian Premier League and Israeli Premier League. The total prize fund was about two million dollars, with the winner getting one million. The cup rules specified that at least half of the prize money must be channeled into developing young players.

For other uses, see Channel One Cup (disambiguation).
Channel One Cup
Кубок Первого канала
טורניר הערוץ הראשון הרוסי
Founded2006
Abolished2009
RegionEastern Europe and Israel
Most successful club(s)Shakhtar Donetsk (1 time)
CSKA Moscow (1 time)
Dynamo Kyiv (1 time)
Television broadcastersChannel One

The tournament was cancelled in 2009 due to a financial crisis.[1] However, its legacy remained in the context of trying to create a united championship involving former CIS countries.[2] The format set by the tournament was used in 2013 when creating the United Tournament,[3][4] which was named by some as a "reincarnation of the Channel One Cup".[5]

On average 5.5 million Russians watched the games of the tournament.[6]

History

The tournament took place in Israel at January due to the fine weather conditions and wide fan base for the Russian and Ukrainian clubs formed by Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union. The cup is used as preparation for the more major spring tournaments, however the historical antagonism between Russian and Ukrainian clubs make the matches hard fought and fans interest very high.

In 2006, the first tournament took place in Tel Aviv. The Russian and Ukrainian champions and runners-up were: CSKA Moscow, Spartak Moscow, Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk. Finally, Shakhtar Donetsk won the trophy.[7]

In 2007, the format was changed, when Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Tel Aviv were added to the tournament. The teams were divided into two groups and the winners met in the final. CSKA Moscow won 2007 tournament.[8]

In 2008, the two Russian sides were CSKA Moscow and Spartak Moscow (2nd and 3rd, because Zenit St Petersburg declined to take part), the two Ukrainian: Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk, Israeli champion Beitar Jerusalem and Serbian champion Red Star Belgrade. Dynamo Kyiv won the 2008 tournament.[9]

In 2009 the cup was cancelled due to the financial crisis. However, its legacy remained in the context of trying to create a united championship involving formed CIS countries.[10][11]

Winners
SeasonWinnerRunner-UpFinal scoreTop goalscorer
2006 Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv Round-robin Brazil Brandão (Ukraine Shakhtar, 3 goals)
2007 Russia CSKA Moscow Russia Spartak Moscow 3–2 (a.e.t.) Russia Roman Pavlyuchenko (Russia Spartak Moscow, 4 goals)
2008 Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk 2–2 (pen.: 3–2) Brazil Fernandinho (Ukraine Shakhtar, 4 goals)
2009 Cancelled

See also

References
  1. "Объединенный турнир: спорт или политика".
  2. Сергей Палкин: На разрыв с УЕФА никто в Украине не пойдет – это нонсенс
  3. "Зимой пройдёт второй объединённый турнир - Чемпионат.com". www.championat.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03.
  4. "В Объединенном турнире-2014 сыграют "Зенит", ЦСКА, "Шахтер" и "Металлист"".
  5. "Объединенный турнир: ясно при полном тумане. Спорт-Экспресс". Archived from the original on 2013-12-13. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
  6. "Первые две игры объединенного Суперкубка посмотрели 3 миллиона россиян".
  7. Обозреватель: Шахтер выиграл Кубок Первого канала
  8. Lenta.Ru: ЦСКА выиграл Кубок Первого канала
  9. Veth, Manuel (January 22, 2019). "Channel One Cup and the United Tournament Remembered". Futbolgrad.com. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  10. Сергей Палкин: На разрыв с УЕФА никто в Украине не пойдет – это нонсенс
  11. "Объединенный турнир: ясно при полном тумане. Спорт-Экспресс". Archived from the original on 2013-12-13. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
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