Inter-college football, since 1882.
A short history of Oxford's Cuppers competition, the inter-college knockout that's almost as old as the club itself.
Inter-college football at Oxford is almost as old as the club itself. The first cup competition, Cuppers, was contested in the 1882/3 season and was won by Magdalen College. A college league was first instituted in 1906/7.
There are now 6 Cuppers leagues: Men's JCR (for undergraduate students); Men's MCR (for postgraduate students only); Women's Cuppers; Men's JCR 5-A-Side; Men's MCR 5-A-Side; and Women's 5-A-Side Cuppers.
Format and venues
Traditionally Cuppers has been a knockout competition with the final played towards the end of Hilary term, usually at the Iffley Road athletics stadium where the current Blues side play their home fixtures. For a short period in the 1980s and early 1990s, the final was played under floodlights at Oxford City's ground.
Starting in 1972/73, a group stage was added to Cuppers with top-placed teams qualifying for the later knockout rounds. This format was abandoned for the 1986/87 season, with Cuppers reverting to a straight knockout. By the start of the 1999-2000 season the first team league had grown to 27 teams; the league was radically overhauled, three smaller divisions were created with the top division renamed the Premier League. This is the format that exists today.
College dominance
Throughout OUAFC's history there have been periods of dominance by various colleges. In the recent past, Worcester dominated the college league in three seasons between 2006 and 2008, losing only 3 of 45 league games played in that time.
Going further back, Oriel won the league 6 times in 9 years between 1977 and 1986. During the same period, St John's dominated Cuppers, winning the trophy 4 times in succession between 1981 and 1984. All these achievements pale into insignificance, however, in comparison to the utter dominance of St Edmund Hall in Cuppers in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In this time they won Cuppers nine times in succession between 1964 and 1972, totalling some 40 games unbeaten.
2024 · Keble making history
For what may be the first time in history, a single college won the three major inter-collegiate football cup competitions. The Keble Men's 2s won against Queen's, while the Women's and Men's teams won 4-1 against Summertown and 2-1 against St Edmund Hall respectively.
Women's Cuppers
There were 22 teams entered into the Cuppers tournament last year. Teams are split into six groups (A-F) determined by a random draw in 2nd week of Michaelmas. The top team from each group and the two best-placed runners-up progress to the quarter-finals; the final is played at the end of Hilary or, failing that, at the start of Trinity Term.
The combined Hertford / Keble women's football team made history in 2024, winning their first Cuppers final against Summertown (LMH, Trinity and St Hugh's) on Sunday 25 February 2024, with a comprehensive 4-1 victory.
All competition results can be found on PlayWaze.