Emirates Cup
The Emirates Cup is a pre-season association football invitational competition hosted by English club Arsenal at their home ground, Emirates Stadium, in Holloway, London. The two-day competition was inaugurated in 2007 and is named after Arsenal's main sponsor, Emirates. It has been held every summer except 2012 due to the London Olympics, 2016 because of pitch renovation work, 2018 because of stadium building work, and 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Arsenal celebrate with the trophy after winning the 2015 Emirates Cup. | |
| Founded | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Number of teams | 2 (men's) 2 (women's) |
| Current champions | Arsenal (7th men's title) Bayern Munich (1st women's title) |
| Most successful club(s) | Arsenal (7 men's titles) Bayern Munich (1 women's title) |
| Website | Official homepage |
The competition in its first decade followed a point scoring system much like the Amsterdam Tournament, whereby each team played two matches, with three points awarded for a win, one point for a draw and none for a loss. An additional point is awarded for every goal scored; this was scrapped in 2011, but made a return from the 2013 edition. From 2009, total shots on target throughout the tournament has been used as a tiebreaker if teams are tied on points, goal difference and goals scored. Since 2019, the Emirates Cup has been shortened to a one-day tournament with the inclusion of Arsenal Women.
Arsenal won the inaugural tournament in 2007, and further wins followed in 2009, 2010, 2015, 2017, 2022, and most recently 2023. Five other sides have won the Emirates Cup: Hamburg in 2008, New York Red Bulls in 2011, Galatasaray in 2013, Valencia in 2014 and Lyon in 2019. Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain are the most regular guests, both having been invited to compete in the tournament on three occasions; Lyon won the tournament and finished as runners-up once, while PSG finished as runners-up twice.
Arsenal are the current champions, having defeated Monaco in the 2023 tournament.