Belfast Charity Cup

Belfast Charity Cup

Organiser(s)	Irish Football Association
Founded	1883
Abolished	1940
Region	Northern Ireland
Most championships	Linfield (24 titles)

The Belfast Charity Cup was a football competition which ran from 1883 to 1941, and was based on a similar tournament in Scotland, the Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup. The competition was open to senior sides from Belfast and invited intermediate teams.

The last tournament was played in 1940. The following year, instead of the tournament being played, the holders Belfast Celtic played a representative match against players with cross-channel experience. The representative team won 3-1.

List of finals

1889–90 Belfast Charity Cup Final, Black Watch 5–2 Gordon Highlanders, Ulster Football and Cycling News, 2 May 1890

Key:

	Scores level after 90 minutes. A replay was required.
(a.e.t.)	Scores level after extra time. A replay was required.
(a.e.t.)	Scores level after 90 minutes. Winner was decided in extra time with no penalty shootout required.
†	Scores level after 90 minutes. Trophy was shared.

Performance by club

Club	Winners	Runners-up	Winning years	Runners-up years
Linfield	24 (1 shared)	8	1890–91, 1891–92, 1892–93, 1893–94, 1894–95, 1898–99, 1900–01, 1902–03, 1904–05, 1912–13, 1913–14, 1914–15, 1916–17, 1917–18, 1918–19, 1921–22, 1926–27, 1927–28, 1929–30, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1935–36 (shared), 1937–38	1887–88, 1899–1900, 1901–02, 1906–07, 1907–08, 1915–16, 1931–32, 1938–39
Belfast Celtic	10 (2 shared)	8	1903–04, 1909–10, 1911–12, 1919–20, 1925–26 (shared), 1931–32, 1935–36 (shared), 1936–37, 1938–39, 1939–40	1910–11, 1912–13, 1914–15, 1924–25, 1927–28, 1929–30, 1930–31, 1934–35
Cliftonville	10	3	1883–84, 1885–86, 1886–87, 1887–88, 1888–89, 1896–97, 1905–06, 1907–08, 1908–09, 1923–24	1884–85, 1894–95, 1895–96
Glentoran	8 (2 shared)	14	1895–96, 1901–02, 1906–07, 1910–11, 1922–23, 1924–25, 1925–26 (shared), 1928–29 (shared)	1885–86, 1893–94, 1897–98, 1902–03, 1903–04, 1904–05, 1913–14, 1916–17, 1917–18, 1918–19, 1920–21, 1926–27, 1937–38, 1939–40
Distillery	5 (1 shared)	15	1899–1900, 1915–16, 1920–21, 1928–29 (shared), 1930–31	1883–84, 1888–89, 1891–92, 1892–93, 1896–97, 1898–99, 1900–01, 1905–06, 1908–09, 1909–10, 1911–12, 1919–20, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1936–37
Oldpark	1	0	1884–85	—
Black Watch	1	0	1889–90	—
North Staffordshire Regiment	1	0	1897–98	—
YMCA	0	1	—	1886–87
Gordon Highlanders	0	1	—	1889–90
Ulster	0	1	—	1890–91
Cliftonville Olympic	0	1	—	1921–22
Crusaders	0	1	—	1922–23
Barn	0	1	—	1923–24

Sources

• Malcolm Brodie, "100 Years of Irish Football", Blackstaff Press, Belfast (1980)

External links

• Irish League Archive - Belfast Charity Cup