The Cupa României () is a football cup competition for Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34, except during World War II. It is the country's main cup competition and is open to all clubs affiliated with the Romanian Football Federation (FRF) and the county football associations, regardless of the league in which they compete. The winner of the competition qualifies for the UEFA Europa League qualifying rounds and faces the league champion in the Supercupa României.
The Romanian Cup is widely known for its knockout format and the possibility of surprising results, with lower-division teams occasionally eliminating top-flight clubs. Over the decades, the competition has produced many memorable finals and dramatic matches decided in extra time or on penalties, contributing to its reputation as one of the most unpredictable competitions in Romanian football.
Most finals have historically been held in Bucharest, particularly at the Stadionul Național (formerly known as "23 August"). In recent decades the final has occasionally been hosted in other major cities across the country. During the construction of the new Stadionul Național, the final was staged each year in a different city. In 2007, the final was held in Timișoara at the Dan Păltinișanu stadium, only the second time the event had taken place outside Bucharest after Brașov hosted the 1989 final. In the following years, finals were also staged in cities such as Piatra Neamț, Târgu Jiu, Iași and again in Brașov, before several editions returned to Bucharest following the opening of the Arena Națională.
Historically, the competition has been dominated by clubs from Bucharest. According to the official records of the Romanian Football Federation, the most successful club in the history of the competition is Steaua București with 23 trophies, followed by Rapid București and Dinamo București with 13 trophies each. Court decisions in Romania regarding the legal dispute between CSA Steaua București and FCSB established that the historical honours of Steaua București up to 1998 belong to the CSA Steaua sports club. As a result, the Romanian Cup trophies won by the club before that date are officially attributed to Steaua București in FRF records.
One of the most remarkable achievements in the competition’s history belongs to Rapid București, which won the Romanian Cup six consecutive times between 1937 and 1942, a record that still stands today.
Sponsorship
On 22 July 2005, FRF and Samsung Electronics signed a one-year sponsorship deal. The name of the competition was changed to Cupa României Samsung.
On 9 October 2006, FRF and Ursus Breweries (part of the SABMiller group) signed a sponsorship agreement for the next three seasons. Ursus Breweries changed the name of the competition to Cupa României Timișoreana, after the Timișoreana beer brand.
On 16 May 2016, FRF announced the rebranding of competition and the signing of contracts with new sponsors such as Kaufland, UPC Broadband and Stanleybet.
On 20 October 2017, FRF announced that the new main sponsor of the competition is the betting company Casa Pariurilor.
Competition format The competition has undergone minor changes in format over the years. The following format came in use in the 2009–10 season. The main differences between the current system and the last one are the dates at which rounds take place, and the two-legged format of the semifinals.
County phase The competition at this phase is organized by the county football associations. Forty-two teams (one from each county) advance to the next phase.
National phase The competition at this phase is organized by the Romanian Football Federation (FRF). For the first five rounds, teams are paired using geographical criteria in order to avoid long travel distances. The teams from a lower division or with a lower ranking in the last league season host the games. First round – 140 teams (42 teams qualified from the county phase and 98 Liga III teams) Second round – 80 teams (70 winners from the first round and the remaining 10 Liga III teams) Third round – 40 teams (winners from the second round) Fourth round – 56 teams (20 winners from the third round and all 36 Liga II teams) Fifth round – 28 teams (winners from the fourth round) Round of 32 – (14 winners from the fifth round and all 18 Liga I teams)
Starting with this round a seeding system is used for the draw, as follows: Pot A: Teams 1–6 from last season's Liga I final table (6 teams) Pot B: The remaining Liga I teams (12 teams) Pot C: Teams from the lower divisions (14 teams)
Teams from pot A are paired with teams from pot C, then the eight remaining pot C teams are paired with pot B teams, with the lower league clubs hosting the games. The four remaining pot B teams will play each other, with the host club determined by means of a draw. Round of 16 (winners from the Round of 32) Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
Every year, based on the national and international football calendar, FRF's executive committee may choose a two-leg or one-leg system for the round of 16, quarterfinals and semifinals. Games at these stages are, when played using a one-leg system, hosted by a neutral venue. The final is held at a pre-established venue, normally in Bucharest.
Results of the Finals
Performances Performance by club
Since its establishment, the Cupa României has been won by 23 clubs. Teams shown in italics are no longer in existence. Additionally, if two or more teams are tied with the same number of trophies, the one that achieved the performance first is ranked above the others.
Position Club Winners Winning years Runners-up Runners-up years Totalappearancesfinals Semi-finallosses 1 Steaua București 1948–49, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1955, 1961–62, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1975–76, 1978–79, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1991–92, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99 1953, 1963–64, 1976–77, 1979–80, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1989–90 2 Dinamo București 1958–59, 1963–64, 1967–68, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1989–90, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2011–12 1954, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1986–87, 1988–89, 2001–02, 2010–11, 2015–16 3 Rapid București 1934–35, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1941–42, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2005–06, 2006–07 1960–61, 1961–62, 1967–68, 1994–95, 1998–99, 2011–12 4 Universitatea Craiova 1976–77, 1977–78, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1990–91, 2017–18, 2020–21, 2025–26 1974–75, 1984–85 5 CFR Cluj 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2015–16, 2024–25 2012–13 6 FCSB 2010–11, 2014–15, 2019–20 2013–14 6 Petrolul Ploiești 1962–63, 1994–95, 2012–13 1952 8 Politehnica Timișoara 1957–58, 1979–80 1973–74, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1991–92, 2006–07, 2008–09 9 Ripensia Timișoara 1933–34, 1935–36 1934–35, 1936–37 9 UTA Arad 1947–48, 1953 1950, 1965–66 11 Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe 2021–22, 2022–23 2019–20 12 Universitatea Cluj 1964–65 1933–34, 1941–42, 1948–49, 2014–15, 2022–23, 2025–26 13 Progresul București 1959–60 1957–58, 1996–97, 2002–03, 2005–06 14 FC U Craiova 1948 1992–93 1993–94, 1997–98, 1999–00 14 Astra Giurgiu 2013–14 2016–17, 2018–19, 2020–21 16 Progresul Oradea 1956 1955 16 Jiul Petroșani 1973–74 1971–72 16 Gloria Bistrița 1993–94 1995–96 16 Voluntari 2016–17 2021–22 20 CFR Turnu Severin 1942–43 – 20 Metalul Reșița 1954 – 20 Arieșul Turda 1960–61 – 20 Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea 1972–73 – 20 Viitorul Constanța 2018–19 – 20 Corvinul Hunedoara 2023–24 – 26 Sportul Studențesc București – 1938–39, 1942–43, 1978–79 27 Unirea Tricolor București – 1935–36, 1940–41 27 Baia Mare – 1958–59, 1981–82 27 Oțelul Galați – 2003–04, 2023–24 27 Hermannstadt – 2017–18, 2024–25 31 CAM Timișoara – 1937–38 31 Venus București – 1939–40 31 CFR Timișoara – 1947–48 31 Flacăra Mediaș – 1951 31 Energia Câmpia Turzii – 1956 31 Dinamo Obor București – 1959–60 31 Siderurgistul Galați – 1962–63 31 Dinamo Pitești – 1964–65 31 Foresta Fălticeni – 1966–67 31 Constructorul Galați – 1972–73 31 CSU Galați – 1975–76 31 Olimpia Satu Mare – 1977–78 31 Bacău – 1990–91 31 Dacia Unirea Brăila – 1992–93 31 Rocar București – 2000–01 31 Farul Constanța – 2004–05 31 Unirea Urziceni – 2007–08 31 Vaslui – 2009–10
Performance by city
The following table sorts cities by the number of Cups won by local teams. Bucharest, hosting the three most decorated sides in the competition and having staged the majority of the Cup finals, is by far the most prolific city.
City Cups Winning clubs Bucharest Steaua/FCSB (24), Dinamo (13), Rapid (13), Progresul (1) Craiova Universitatea Craiova (8), FC U Craiova 1948 (1) Cluj-Napoca CFR (5), U Cluj (1) Timișoara Poli Timișoara (2), Ripensia (2) Ploiești Petrolul (3) Arad UTA (2) Sfântu Gheorghe Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe (2) Oradea Club Atletic Oradea (1) Petroșani Jiul (1) Bistrița Gloria (1) Drobeta-Turnu Severin CFR Turnu Severin (1) Reșița Metalul (1) Turda Arieșul (1) Râmnicu Vâlcea Chimia (1) Giurgiu Astra (1) Voluntari FC Voluntari (1) Constanța Viitorul (1)
List of stadiums in Cupa României
The following table lists the stadiums which have hosted at least one Cupa României final. When an edition required one or more replays at the same stadium, that stadium is counted only once for that edition.
No. City County Appearances Stadium 1 Bucharest Bucharest 40 Stadionul 23 August / Stadionul Național — 1953, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1992–93, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2005–06 2 Bucharest Bucharest 11 Stadionul Republicii — 1950, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1964–65, 1976–77, 1977–78 3 Bucharest Bucharest 6 Stadionul ONEF — 1933–34, 1934–35, 1936–37, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1942–43 Bucharest Bucharest 6 Arena Națională — 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18 5 Bucharest Bucharest 4 Stadionul Venus — 1935–36, 1938–39, 1941–42, 1947–48 Ploiești Prahova 4 Stadionul Ilie Oană — 2016–17, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21 7 Sibiu Sibiu 3 Stadionul Municipal — 2022–23, 2023–24, 2025–26 8 Bucharest Bucharest 2 Stadionul Giulești — 1937–38, 1939–40 Bucharest Bucharest 2 Stadionul Regie — 1991–92, 1993–94 Bucharest Bucharest 2 Stadionul Cotroceni — 2003–04, 2004–05 11 Timișoara Timiș 1 Stadionul Electrica — 1933–34 Bucharest Bucharest 1 Stadionul ICAS — 1948–49 Brașov Brașov 1 Stadionul Municipal — 1988–89 Timișoara Timiș 1 Stadionul Dan Păltinișanu — 2006–07 Piatra Neamț Neamț 1 Stadionul Ceahlăul — 2007–08 Târgu Jiu Gorj 1 Stadionul Tudor Vladimirescu — 2008–09 Iași Iași 1 Stadionul Emil Alexandrescu — 2009–10 Brașov Brașov 1 Stadionul Silviu Ploeșteanu — 2010–11 Bucharest Bucharest 1 Stadionul Rapid-Giulești — 2021–22 Arad Arad 1 Stadionul Francisc von Neuman — 2024–25
Records
+ Top five goalscorers Player Club Goals 1 Florea Voinea Steaua București, Prahova Ploiești 40 2 Gyula Barátky Rapid București, Crișana Oradea 37 3 Ionel Dănciulescu Electroputere Craiova, Dinamo București, Steaua București 35 4 Ion Alecsandrescu Steaua București, CA Câmpulung Moldovenesc 34 5 Ștefan Dobay Ripensia Timișoara 33
Notes
References
External links
The Romanian Cup on the FRF's official site