The Balkans Cup was an international football competition for clubs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. It was introduced in 1961 and was very popular in the 1960s (the 1967 final attracted 42,000 spectators), being the second most important international club competition for clubs from the region (after the European Cup in which the champions could play; the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup originally attracted few teams from the region as many did not organise domestic cups regularly and only Yugoslavia had significant representation in the Fairs Cup).
It later declined after Balkan clubs obtained more representation in the two minor UEFA competitions, in contrast to the (much older but also defunct) Balkan Cup (not Balkans) for national teams.
Editions Finals on Home and Away basis, except noted otherwise. a → first leg of the final Years Nr of Clubs & Format Winner(or Champion in Group Format) Results of Finals(or Points in Group Format) Finalist(Runner-up) 1960–61 Details 5 Single group Steagul Roşu Braşov 13 – 8 Points RR Levski Sofia 1961–63 Details 8 Two groups Olympiacos a 1–0 / 0–1 / 1–0 Play-off match in Istanbul, Turkey. Levski Sofia 1963–64 Details Rapid Bucureşti 2–0 / 1–1 a Spartak Plovdiv 1964–66 Details Rapid Bucureşti a 3–3 / 2–0 Farul Constanţa 1966–67 Details Fenerbahçe 1–0 / 1–2 a / 3–1 Play-off match in Istanbul, Turkey.Draw for the venue was held by FIFA President Sir Stanley Rous. AEK Athens 1967–68 Details Beroe Stara Zagora a 3–0 / 3–4 Spartak Sofia 1969Details 6 Two groups Beroe Stara Zagora 3–0 / 0–1 a 2nd Leg: Dinamo walked off while losing 0–1. Dinamo Tirana 1970Details Partizani Tirana 3–0 / 1–1 a 2nd Leg: Beroe did not show up. Beroe Stara Zagora 1971Details Panionios a 2–1 / 1–1 Besa Kavajë 1972Details Trakia Plovdiv a 5–0 / 0–4 Vardar Skopje 1973Details Lokomotiv Sofia 2–0 / 1–1 a ASA Târgu Mureș 1974Details Akademik Sofia a 2–1 / 0–0 Vardar Skopje 1975Details Radnički Niš a 1–0 / 2–1 Eskişehirspor 1976Details Dinamo Zagreb a 3–1 / 2–3 Sportul Studențesc 1977 Details Panathinaikos 2–1 / 0–0 a Slavia Sofia 1977–78Details NK Rijeka 4–1 / 0–1 a Jiul Petroşani 1979–80 Details Sportul Studențesc a 2–0 / 1–1 NK Rijeka 1980–81 Details Velež Mostar 6–2 / 6–5 a Trakia Plovdiv 1981–83 Details Beroe Stara Zagora a 3–0 / 3–1 17 Nëntori Tirana 1983–84 Details 3 Round robin Beroe Stara Zagora 6 – 4 Points RR Argeş Piteşti 1984–85 Details 8 Knockout Iraklis 4–1 / 1–3 a Argeş Piteşti 1986Details Slavia Sofia a 3–0 / 2–3 Panionios 1987–88 Details 10 Three groups Slavia Sofia a 5–1 / 1–0 Argeş Piteşti 1988–89 Details 6 Two groups OFI 3–1 Radnički Niš 1989–90 Competition did not take place due to the Romanian Revolution of 1989. 1990–91 Details 6 Knock-out Inter Sibiu 1–0 (a.e.t) / 0–0 a Budućnost Titograd 1991–92 Details 5 Knock-out Sarıyer 1–0 / 0–0 a Oţelul Galaţi 1992–93 Details 6 Knock-out Edessaikos 3–1 / 0–1 a Etar Veliko Tarnovo 1993–94 Details 4 Knock-out Samsunspor 2–0 / 3–0 a PAS Giannina Competition formats: Round robin: One group. Two groups: Two groups, top team in each group qualifies for the final Knock-out: Straight knockout. Three groups: Two groups of 3 and one group of 4; top teams in the 3-team groups and the top two teams in the 4-team group qualify for the semi-finals
Performances
By club When sorted by year of winning or losing final(s), the table is sorted by the year of each club's first final. Club Winners Finalists Finals Years of Winning Years of Losing Entries Notes Beroe Stara Zagora41 41983–84 edition not included, since contested in Group Format.1968, 1969, 1983, 19841970 7 1984 Top Spot in Group Slavia Sofia2131986, 19881977 5 Rapid Bucureşti2-21964, 1966— 2 Winner in Both Entries Panionios11219711986 3 Trakia Plovdiv11219721981 2 Reached Final in Both Entries Radnički Niš11219751989 3 NK Rijeka11219781980 2 Reached Final in Both Entries Sportul Studențesc11219801976 3 Olympiacos1-11963— 3 Fenerbahçe1-11967— 4 Partizani Tirana1-11970— 5 Lokomotiv Sofia1-11973— 4 Akademik Sofia1-11974— 2 Dinamo Zagreb1-11976— 1 Panathinaikos1-11977— 1 Velež Mostar1-11981— 1 Iraklis1-11985— 3 OFI1-11989— 2 Inter Sibiu1-11991— 1 Sarıyer1-11992— 1 Edessaikos1-11993— 1 Samsunspor1-11994— 2 Steagul Roşu Braşov1- -1961 edition not included, since contested in Group Format.1961— 4 1961 Top Spot in Group Argeş Piteşti-2 2—1984, 1985, 1988 3 1984 Runner-up in Group Vardar Skopje-22—1972, 1974 4 Levski Sofia-1 1—1961, 1963 3 1961 Runner-up in Group Spartak Plovdiv-11—1964 2 Farul Constanţa-11—1966 4 AEK Athens-11—1967 4 Spartak Sofia-11—1968 1 Dinamo Tirana-11—1969 5 Besa Kavajë-11—1971 2 Târgu Mureș-11—1973 2 Eskişehirspor-11—1975 3 Jiul Petroşani-11—1978 1 17 Nëntori Tirana-11—1983 4 Budućnost Podgorica-11—1991 2 Oţelul Galaţi-11—1992 1 Etar Veliko Tarnovo-11—1993 3 PAS Giannina-11—1994 2 Total 28 26 52 52 Teams in Finals, since 1961 and 1983–84 editions were contested in Group Format.
All 24 Clubs (out of 89 in total) that appeared in the Balkans Cup for 3 times or more, eventually Reached the Final with the exception of: Galatasaray (5 entries) and Beşiktaş (3) of Turkey, Vllaznia Shkodër (3) of Albania and Universitatea Craiova (3) of Romania. Beroe Stara Zagora of Bulgaria is competition's Record Holder concerning participation (7 entries), finals reached (4, plus one top spot in group) and wins (4), while in their single lost final against Partizani for 1970 edition, they opted not showing up in Tirana for the return leg of a 1–1 draw at home. Next to Beroe's 4, their compatriots Slavia Sofia reached 3 Finals (2 wins), while Romanian Argeş Piteşti had 2 (no win), plus one runner-up spot in group (each time they entered the competition, ended up in the losing side). 6 clubs won Balkans Cup in their Single Entry: Dinamo Zagreb (Yugoslavia, now Croatia) in 1976, Panathinaikos Athens (Greece) in 1977, Velež Mostar (Yugoslavia, now Bosnia and Herzegovina) in 1980–81, Inter Sibiu (Romania) in 1990–91, Sarıyer İstanbul (Turkey) in 1991–92 and Edessaikos Edessa (Greece) in 1992–93 edition.
By country Clubs from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia competed as part of SFR Yugoslavia. Country Winners Finalists Finals Clubs won in final(s) Clubs did not win in final(s) Bulgaria 9 7 151961 and 1983–84 editions not included, since contested in Group Format. Beroe Stara Zagora (4) Slavia Sofia (2) Trakia Plovdiv (1)Lokomotiv Sofia (1)Akademik Sofia (1) Levski Sofia (1 + Runner-up spot in 1961.) Spartak Plovdiv (1) Spartak Sofia (1)Beroe Stara Zagora (1)Slavia Sofia (1) Trakia Plovdiv (1)Etar Veliko Tarnovo (1) Greece 6 3 9 Olympiacos (1)Panionios (1)Panathinaikos (1)Iraklis (1)OFI (1)Edessaikos (1) AEK Athens (1)Panionios (1)PAS Giannina (1) Romania 5 7 11 Rapid Bucureşti (2) Steagul Roşu Braşov (1)Sportul Studențesc Bucureşti (1)Inter Sibiu (1) Argeş Piteşti (2 + Runner-up spot in 1983–84.) Farul Constanţa (1) ASA 1962 Târgu Mureș (1)Sportul Studențesc Bucureşti (1)Jiul Petroşani (1) Oţelul Galaţi (1) Yugoslavia 4 5 9 Dinamo Zagreb (1) NK Rijeka (1) Radnički Niš (1) Velež Mostar (1) ___ ___ NK Rijeka (1) Radnički Niš (1) —— Vardar Skopje (2) Budućnost Podgorica (1) 2 1 3 1 1 2 1 - 1 - 2 2 - 1 1 Turkey 3 1 4 Fenerbahçe İstanbul (1)Sarıyer İstanbul (1)Samsunspor (Samsun) (1) Eskişehirspor (Eskişehir) (1) Albania 1 3 4 Partizani Tirana (1) Dinamo Tirana (1) Besa Kavajë (1)17 Nëntori Tirana (1) Total 28 26 52 52 Teams in Finals, since 1961 and 1983–84 editions were contested in Group Format.
Top performer by country: Country Club Winners Finalists Finals Entries Notes BUL Beroe Stara Zagora 4 1 4 7 Balkans Cup record holder in wins, finals reached and entries. ROU Rapid Bucureşti 2 - 2 2 YUG NK Rijeka 1 1 2 2 Radnički Niš same performance in 3 entries. GRE Panionios 1 1 2 3 TUR Sarıyer İstanbul 1 - 1 1 Samsunspor and Fenerbahçe 1 win in 2 and 4 entries respectively. ALB Partizani Tirana 1 - 1 5
Participation
By club In the 33 years of its existence, a total of 89 clubs from 6 countries appeared in the 28 Balkans Cup editions. Two of them, both Turkish, withdrawn their participation before playing a single match: Zonguldakspor in 1980–81 and Trabzonspor in 1986. Sides with 4 entries or more: Club Country Entries Winners Finalists Finals First Edition Last Edition Notes Beroe Stara Zagora BUL 7 4 1 4 1967–68 1992–93 Slavia Sofia BUL 5 2 1 3 1977 1987–88 Partizani ALB 5 1 - 1 1961 1979–80 Dinamo Tirana ALB 5 - 1 1 1961–63 1987–88 Galatasaray TUR 5 - - - 1961–63 1990–91 Also Withdrew in 1977–78 and 1979–80. Steagul Roşu Braşov ROU 4 1 - - 1961 1972 Fenerbahçe TUR 4 1 - 1 1961 1967–68 Also Withdrew in 1963–64. Lokomotiv Sofia BUL 4 1 - 1 1966–67 1988–89 Vardar Skopje YUG 4 - 2 2 1964–66 1974 Farul Constanţa ROU 4 - 1 1 1964–66 1975 AEK Athens GRE 4 - 1 1 1961 1980–81 17 Nëntori Tirana ALB 4 - 1 1 1964–66 1990–91
By country Bulgarian and Turkish sides were present at each one of the 28 Balkans Cup editions, while Yugoslavian were absent 9 times in total, entering just twice during its last decade of existence (ironically, reaching both finals). Generally, South Slavs (both Football Association and clubs) were never keen supporters of the competition, as they had neither been enthusiastic about the national teams' Balkan Cup, too. {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |- ! colspan="2" | ! Bulgaria ! Turkey ! Romania ! Greece ! Albania ! Yugoslavia |-style="border-bottom: 3px solid grey;" | colspan="2" align=left | Number of different sides that entered || 15 || 17 || 18 || 15 || 12 || 12 |- | colspan="8" align=left | Editions of Balkans Cup that |- | || align=left | Country was represented by at least one club || 28 || 28 || 27 || 27 || 26 || 20 |- | || align=left | Country's club withdrew before playing a match|| — || 5 || — || 1 || — || 1 |- | || align=left | Country was still represented by another club || — || 1 || — || 1 || — || — |-bgcolor="ccffcc" | || align=left | Country's clubs competed (=-+) || 28 || 24 || 27 || 27 || 26 || 19 |-style="border-bottom: 3px solid grey;" | colspan="2" align=left | Country's clubs were absent (=28 total editions-)|| — || 4 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 9 |- | colspan="2" align=left | Years/editions that country's clubs were absent || — || 1977 to 19811986 || 1993–94 (Last Cup) || 1983–84 || 1983 to 1985 || 1961 (First Cup) 1983 to 1988 1991–end |- | || align=left style="font-size:100%" | Editions a club quit after playing at least one match || 1 || 5 || 1 || 4 || — || 1 |- | colspan="2" align=left | Editions a club withdrew or quit (=+) || 1 || 10 || 1 || 5 || — || 2 |-style="border-bottom: 3px solid grey;" | || align=left | Editions with double entry || 8 || 5 || 6 || 3 || 1 || — |- | || align=left | Total entries (=-+) || 36 || 28 || 33 || 29 || 27 || 19 |- | || align=left | Cups won || 9 || 3 || 5 || 6 || 1 || 4 |-bgcolor="ccffcc" | colspan="2" align=left | % success in winning the Cup (=÷×100) || 25% || 11% || 15% || 21% || 4% || 21% |- | || align=left | Finals reached || 15 || 4 || 11 || 9 || 4 || 9 |- | colspan="2" align=left | % success in reaching the final <small>(=÷×100)</small> || 42% || 14% || 33% || 31% || 15% || 47%''' |} Despite the fact that in each edition there was at least one Turkish side initially entering, in no less than 5 occasions it withdrew before playing a single match and in 5 more quit during group stage, after unsuccessful results. Greeks followed with 1 withdrawal and 4 quits, while clubs from all countries had sporadically terminated their participation in some early stage of the competition, except for Albanian. Multiple winner and several other records holder Beroe Stara Zagora, became the only Bulgarian side ever to withdraw or quit a Balkans Cup match and the single one to do so in a final, by not showing up for 1970 edition's return leg against Partizani Tirana of Albania, following a 1-1 draw at home.
See also Balkan Cup Challenge Cup European Railways Cup Latin Cup Mitropa Cup