Mitropa Cup
| Sport | Football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1927 |
| Ceased | 1992 |
| No. of teams | Various |
| Countries | Central European Teams |
| Last champion(s) |
 Borac Banja Luka (1st title) |
| Most titles |
 Vasas (6 titles) |
The Mitropa Cup, officially called the La Coupe de l'Europe Centrale or Central European Cup, was one of the first international major European football cups for club sides. After World War II in 1951 a replacement tournament named Zentropa Cup was held, but just for one season, the Mitropa Cup name was revived, and again in 1958 the name of tournament changed in Danube Cup but only for one season. The tournament declined and was discontinued after 1992.
Mitropa Cup had 51 editions in history, including a different format edition held in 1960 and won by Hungary.
The most successful club is Vasas Budapest with 6 titles.
A first "International" competition for football clubs was founded in 1897 in Vienna. The Challenge Cup was invented by John Gramlick Sr., a co-founder of the Vienna Cricket and Football-Club. In this cup competition all clubs of the Austro-Hungarian Empire that normally would not meet could take part, though actually almost only clubs from the Empire's three major cities Vienna, Budapest and Prague participated. The Challenge Cup was carried out until the year 1911 and is today seen as the predecessor to the Mitropa Cup and consequently the European Cup and Champions League. The last winner of the cup was Wiener Sport-Club, one of the oldest and most traditional football clubs of Austria where the cup still remains.
The idea of a European cup competition was shaped after World War I which brought the defeat and collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The centre of this idea were the Central European countries that, at this time, were still leading in continental football. In the early 1920s they introduced professional leagues, the first continental countries to do so. Austria started in 1924, followed by Hungary in 1925 and Czechoslovakia in 1926. In order to strengthen the dominance of these countries in European football and to financially support the professional clubs, the introduction of the Mitropa Cup was decided at a meeting in Venice on 17 July, following the initiative of the head of the Austrian Football Association (ÖFB), Hugo Meisl. Moreover, the creation of a European Cup for national teams - that unlike the Challenge Cup and the Mitropa Cup would not be annual - was also part of the agreement. The first matches were played on 14 August 1927. The competition was between the top professional teams of Central Europe.
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