| Tunisian Cup | |
| Region: | Tunisia |
| Qualifier For: | CAF Confederation Cup |
| Domestic Cup: | Tunisian Super Cup |
| Current: | 2024–25 Tunisian Cup |
The Tunisian Cup, and formerly known as Tunisian President Cup (1956–2011), is the premier knockout football competition in Tunisian football, organized annually by the Tunisian Football Federation (FTF), which is considered the second most important national title after the Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1. The reigning champions are Stade Tunisien,[1] who won their seventh title at the 2023–24 season.[2]
The first edition took place during the 1922–23 season under the French protectorate organized by the Tunisian Football League (an offshoot of the French Football Federation). The first final after independence, which took place at the end of the 1955–56 season, was won by Stade Tunisien. The cup is therefore organized every year, with the exception of the 1977–78 season due to the participation of the Tunisia national team’s in the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina, and the 2001–02 edition which is not not completed due to the national team's participation in the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea. The final match has been held generally since 2001 at the Hammadi Agrebi Stadium in Radès. A new Tunisian Cup Trophy is adopted whenever a team triumphs the same Trophy three times, the current cup has been taken since 2020.[3]
Espérance Sportive de Tunis is the most successful team with a record 15 titles. As for Étoile Sportive du Sahel, it has occupied second place fifteen times, the last of which was during the 2018–19 season. Club Africain is the team that has played in the most finals (27 times), as well as the team that retained the title for four consecutive seasons (1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69 and 1969–70) . Coach Mokhtar Tlili has won the tournament a record three times with Espérance de Tunis (2) and CA Bizertin (1), while player Sadok Sassi has won the title a record 8 times with Club Africain.
From the start of the 2020s, the management of the Tunisian Football Federation decided to play the final match outside the capital Tunis and move it to regions, such as Monastir in the final of the 2019–20 season and Djerba in the final of the 2020–21 season.
Eight teams from the Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 (the teams that finished last season between seventh and twelfth place, in addition to the two teams promoted from the Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 2) enter the competition in the 32 round, followed by the other six teams in the next round. The Tunisian Cup champion qualifies directly for the CAF Confederation Cup. However, if the cup champion is the champion of the Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 that season or a participant in the CAF Champions League, the club that played the final is the one who replaces it in the external competition. A new Tunisian Cup Trophy is adopted whenever a team triumphs the same Trophy three times.
From independence until 1987, Habib Bourguiba presented the cup to the winning team after each final. Since coming to power after the 1987 coup d'état, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali played the same role until his overthrow during the Tunisian revolution in 2011.[4]
From 2011 to 2014, the President of the Republic did not did not hand over the cup. After coming to power, Beji Caid Essebsi (winner of the 2014 Tunisian presidential election) presented the cup to the 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17 and 2017–18 editions.[5]
After the death of Caïd Essebsi, interim president Mohamed Ennaceur presented the trophy at the end of the 2018–19 final.[6] Since Kais Saied assumed the presidency in October 2019, he has not attended the final or presented the cup. From 2020 to 2023, all those who held the position of Minister of Youth and Sports presented the cup with the president of the Tunisian Football Federation, Wadie Jary.[7]
During the 2023–24 final, at the request of the President of the Republic, Kais Saied,[8] the Prime Minister, Ahmed Hachani presented the cup to the winning team.[9]
From independence in 1956 until the Tunisian revolution in 2011, the tournament was called the "Tunisian President Cup". Since 2011, the competition has been called the "Tunisian Cup". In August 2019, the 2018–19 edition bears the name of former president Beji Caid Essebsi, and the following four editions bear the name of national figures on the occasion of their death anniversary (Habib Bourguiba in 2019–20, Salah Ben Youssef in 2020–21, Farhat Hached in 2021–22 and Hedi Chaker in 2022–23).[10]
On 7 February 2024, the Tunisian Football Federation named the Tunisian Cup The His Excellency the President of the Republic Cup,[11] before the start of the 2023–24 edition, returning the name of the competition to what it was before the Tunisian revolution. This decision sparked public controversy.[12] On 9 February, President Kais Saied, during his meeting with Minister of Youth and Sports Kamel Deguiche, decided to change the name of the tournament to the Tunisian Cup and rejected the new name, indicating that the era of personalization of power had passed forever. The report was published on the official page of the Presidency of the Republic on Facebook.[13] After that, the TFF retracted the new name and kept the name of the Tunisian Cup.
See also: List of Tunisian Cup finals.
The lists of finals are shown in the following tables:[14] [15]
See main article: List of Tunisian Cup winning managers. Mokhtar Tlili has won the tournament ten times, a record number, with Espérance de Tunis (2) and CA Bizertin (1).
| Name | Titles | Club(s) | Winning Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sadok Sassi | 8 | Club africain | 1964–65، 1966–67، 1967–68، 1968–69، 1969–70، 1971–72، 1972–73، 1975–76 |
| Tahar Chaïbi | 7 | Club africain | 1964–65، 1966–67، 1967–68، 1968–69، 1969–70، 1971–72، 1972–73 |
| Ali Retima | Club africain | 1966–67، 1967–68، 1968–69، 1969–70، 1971–72، 1972–73، 1975–76 | |
| Taoufik Klibi | Club africain | 1964–65، 1966–67، 1967–68، 1968–69، 1969–70، 1971–72، 1972–73 | |
| Moncef Khouini | 5 | Club africain | 1968–69، 1969–70، 1971–72، 1972–73، 1975–76 |
| Hamza Mrad | Club africain | 1967–68، 1968–69، 1969–70، 1971–72، 1972–73 | |
| Abderrahmane Nasri | Club africain | 1968–69، 1969–70، 1971–72، 1972–73، 1975–76 | |
| Salah Chaoua | Club africain | 1964–65، 1966–67، 1967–68، 1968–69، 1969–70 | |
| Jalloul Chaoua | Club africain | 1966–67، 1967–68، 1968–69، 1969–70، 1971–72 | |
| Ahmed Zitouni | 4 | Club africain | 1968–69، 1969–70، 1971–72، 1972–73 |
| Mohamed Salah Jedidi | Club africain | 1964–65، 1966–67، 1967–68، 1968–69 | |
| Chokri El Ouaer | Espérance de Tunis | 1988–89، 1990–91، 1996–97، 1998–99 | |
| Khalil Chemmam | Espérance de Tunis | 2006–07, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2015–16 | |
| Sameh Derbali | Espérance de Tunis Olympique Béja | 2006–07, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2015–16 |