FFC Champions Cup

The **FFC Champions Cup** is an annual club football competition organised by the Fadian Football Confederation (FFC) and contested by top-division Fadian clubs, deciding the competition winners through a round robin group stage to qualify for a double-legged knockout format, and a single leg final. It is the most prestigious club competition in Fadian football.

In its present format, the FFC Champions Cup begins with two preliminary rounds played over two legs. The 8 surviving teams enter the group stage, joining 8 teams qualified in advance. The 16 teams are drawn into four groups of four teams and play each other in a double round-robin system. The four group winners and four runners-up proceed to the knockout phase that culminates with the final match.

Kokolor clubs have the highest number of victories (3 wins). Kokolorszag has the largest number of winning teams, with two clubs having won the title. The competition has been won by 3 clubs, one of which has won it more than once and one of which successfully defended their title. Királyi Tasiharpalok are the most successful club in the tournament's history, having won it 2 times.

## History

### Early years

The first edition of the FFC Champions Cup took place in the 1956 season. 27 teams were invited. The first FFC Champions Cup match took place in Kandaga, Lera, and saw AE Kandaga hosting a goaless draw against Royal Gerregartevil. The inaugural final took place in Mondagana, Valia, between Királyi Tasiharpalok and Prostelle Pignaco. The Kokolor side won 5–2 to claim the inaugural title. They successfully defended their title in the 1957 season, defeating Piermonruy Athlétique 3–2 in the final match.

In the 1958 FFC Champions Cup, Real Malheibagos managed to break the early Kokolor dominance after defeating Dinamó Kispers 3–1 in the final. Another Kokolor team would win the cup against next year, as ST Nateszapany won the 1959 FFC Champions Cup after defeating Real Malheibagos in a penalty shoot-out. IS Rifjornes became the third novel champion in a row after defeating ST Nateszapany 2–0 in the 1960 FFC Champions Cup final.

## Format

### Qualification

The FFC Champions Cup begins with a double round-robin group stage of 16 teams, of which 8 automatically qualify, which is preceded by two qualifying rounds for teams that do not receive direct entry to the tournament proper.

The number of teams that each association enters into the FFC Champions Cup is based upon the FFC League Rankings. These rankings are generated by the results of clubs representing each association during the previous five FFC Champions Cup and Fadian Cup seasons. The higher an association's coefficient, the more teams represent the association in the FFC Champions Cup, and the fewer qualification rounds the association's teams must compete in.

The remaining 8 qualifying places are granted to the winners of two qualifying rounds between the remaining 19 qualified teams.

### Group stage and knockout stages

The tournament proper begins with a group stage of 16 teams, divided into four groups of four. Seeding is used whilst making the draw for this stage, whilst teams from the same nation may not be drawn into groups together. Each team plays six group stage games, meeting the other three teams in its group home and away in a round-robin format. The winning team and the runners-up from each group then progress to the next round.

For the next stage – the quarter-finals – the 8 qualified teams are seeded according to their results in the group stage, with the group winners seeded 1–4, and the group runners-up seeded 5–8. If a team defeats a higher-seeded team, they inherit the losing team's seed. The knock-out ties are played in a two-legged format, with the exception of the final.

### Distribution

The following is the default access list:

(6 teams)
* 3 runners-up from associations 7–9
* 1 third placed team from association 4
* 1 fourth placed team from association 2
(16 teams)
* 5 runners-up from associations 2–6
* 3 third placed teams from associations 1–3
* 1 fourth placed team from association 1
 Group stage
(16 teams)
* 1 runners-up from association 1
 Knockout stages
(8 teams)
* 4 group runners-up from the Group stage

Changes will be made to the access list above if the FFC Champions Cup title holders fail to qualify for the tournament via their domestic league.

## Records

### Performances by nation

  Bartadilia
  Ekionia
  Graierbia
  Coulesigia