Romania’s Football Cup round of 32 takes place next week
The Romanian Football Federation has set the schedule for the round of 32 of the Romanian Football Cup. The matches will be played next week, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. This stage of the competition is the first for the 14 League One teams taking part in the Cup alongside the 13 second-league teams and 5 third-league teams that have qualified into this round. According to current regulations, any club or sports association registered with the Romanian Football Federation and county football associations, regardless of the tiers they play in, may take part in the Cup.
This is a knockout competition which begins in the lower leagues, with a regional phase usually scheduled in early summer. This phase is organized by the county football associations, and a total of 42 teams qualify into the national phase. The first round of this phase includes the teams coming from the regional phase and 74 third-league teams. Teams playing in the upper leagues only join in the competition later on.
The round of 32 is the one when League One teams enter the competition and also when TV stations begin to cover the Cup games. There are often cases when lower-tier teams reach as far as the Cup final. In recent years, however, there have been editions played in the first match and return match system, which has limited the number of surprises and, as a result, the excitement provided by the competition.
The inaugural tournament of Romania’s Football Cup was held in 1933, and the first club to win the Cup was Ripensia Timisoara, which defeated Universitatea Cluj in the 1933-1934 season final. The match was played on the ONEF stadium in Bucharest, renamed the Republica Stadium after 1948, and later demolished in order to make room for the current Parliament Palace in the capital city.
The team that has won the most editions of the competition, namely 22, is Steaua Bucharest. The club has also played 8 other finals, which it lost. Two other teams from Bucharest, Dinamo and Rapid, have won the Cup 13 times each.
(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)
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