Finnish Cup 2008

Finnish Cup 2008 (Finnish:Suomen Cup) is the fifty–fourth season of the main annual cup competition in Finland. It is organized as a single–elimination knock–out tournament.

Participation in the competition is voluntary. Veikkausliiga side Fb team IFK Mariehamn, for example, decided not to register for the tournament, as well as some Ykkönen teams.

Depending on their position within the league system, teams will enter in different rounds. Clubs with teams in Kolmonen or an inferior league, as well as Veterans and Junior teams, start the competition in the first round. Teams from the first three levels of the Finnish league pyramid will enter in the fourth round, with the exception of Veikkausliiga clubs Fb team Tampere United, Fb team Haka, Fb team Honka and Fb team TPS Turku . These four teams will enter in the sixth round because they have qualified for European competitions after the 2007 season.

The tournament started on April 1, 2008 with the first match of Round 1 and will conclude with the Final on November 1, 2008 at Finnair Stadium, Helsinki.

Participating teams

Round 2

The draw for this round was conducted on March 11, 2008. The winners of Round 1, along with the teams who received a bye, were drawn into 130 matches for this round. Matches were played between April 2 – 25, 2008.

Round 3

The draw for this round was conducted on April 11, 2008. The winners of Round 2 participated in this round. Matches were played between April 19 – May 6, 2008.

Round 4

The draw for this round was conducted on April 23, 2008. The 65 winners of Round 3, along with the 47 teams from the top three tiers which entered in this round, were drawn into 56 matches for this round. Matches were played between May 6 – 30, 2008.

Round 5

The draw for this round was conducted on May 20, 2008. The winners of Round 4 participated in this round. Matches were played between June 1 – 11, 2008.

Quarterfinals

The draw for this round was conducted on July 14, 2008. The winners of Round 7 participate in this round. The first three matches were played on August 7, 2008. The match between Fb team Honka and Fb team Tampere United has been postponed to a later date because of the Tampere's participation in the UEFA Champions League 2008–09 qualification rounds.footballbox
date=August 7, 2008
time=18:30 EEST
team1=Fb team Haka
score=3 – 0
report=
team2=TP-47
goals1=
goals2=
stadium=Tehtaan kenttä, Valkeakoski
attendance=
referee= ----footballbox
date=August 7, 2008
time=18:30 EEST
team1=Fb team VPS Vaasa
score=1 – 0
report=
team2=Fb team MyPa
goals1=
goals2=
stadium=Hietalahti, Vaasa
attendance=
referee= ----footballbox
date=August 7, 2008
time=18:30 EEST
team1=Fb team HJK Helsinki
score=2 – 0
report=
team2=Warkaus JK
goals1=
goals2=
stadium=Finnair Stadium, Helsinki
attendance=
referee= ----footballbox
date=October 22, 2008
time=TBA
team1=Fb team Honka
score=v
report=
team2=Fb team Tampere United
goals1=
goals2=
stadium=Tapiolan Urheilupuisto, Espoo
attendance=
referee=

emifinals

footballbox
date=October 29, 2008
time=TBA
team1=Fb team Haka
score=v
report=
team2=Winners of Honka/Tampere United
goals1=
goals2=
stadium=Tehtaan kenttä, Valkeakoski
attendance=
referee= ----footballbox
date=October 29, 2008
time=TBA
team1=Fb team HJK Helsinki
score=v
report=
team2=Fb team VPS Vaasa
goals1=
goals2=
stadium=Finnair Stadium, Helsinki
attendance=
referee=

Final

The Final will be played on November 1, 2008 at Finnair Stadium, Helsinki.

References

* [http://www.palloliitto.fi/kilpailu/miehet/suomen_cup_2008/ official page (Finnish)]
* [http://suomencup.net/index.php?title=Finnish_Cup suomencup.net]