Four clubs will set out to shape their own Chatham Cup histories when this year’s semi-finals get underway on Saturday.
Christchurch United host Eastern Suburbs at 2pm, and the winners will then await the 5.30pm match between Melville United and Waterside Karori to find out who’ll join them in September’s final.
The cup, celebrating its 100th year, provides the chance for another chapter to be added to the competition’s illustrious history.
Christchurch United
United play their first semi-final in 32 years and want to break attendance records for the United Sports Centre, calling on supporters to turn the ground into a sea of blue and white.
“We’re not just aiming for success on the field — we’re aiming for a roaring crowd of 1,500 passionate fans in the stands! Together, we can create an unforgettable experience. This is your chance to make a difference, to be a part of history,” the club urges fans on its website.
United go into the semi-final against Eastern Suburbs with superb cup credentials — holding the record (with University-Mount Wellington) of seven cup wins (1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1989, 1991).
Eastern Suburbs
If Suburbs win this year’s cup, they’ll join Christchurch United and University-Mount Wellington as equal holders of the most cup wins accolade.
The Lilywhites are chasing their seventh cup, after wins in 1951, 1953, 1965, 1968, 1969, 2015.
Suburbs are inviting their supporters to watch the live stream of the match in their clubrooms.
Melville United
United have never won the Chatham Cup but have been beaten finalists twice, losing to University-Mount Wellington in 2003, and to Napier City Rovers in 2019.
They aim to make it third time lucky, and become only the third Waikato club to lift the trophy after Hamilton Technical (1962) and Waikato United (1988).
Melville will host their semi-final against Waterside Karori under new floodlights, part of the upgrades made possible by the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Waterside Karori
The Wellington club have won the Chatham Cup four times before, as Waterside, but their last win was 76 years ago.
They were the dominant cup winning team in New Zealand before and immediately after World War II with wins in 1938, 1939, 1940, 1947.
Saturday is the first semi-final the club has reached in 51 years, and it’s the first time Waterside Karori have played Melville in the modern era (Melville’s parent club Waikato United beat them 3-0 in the 1993 Superclub Championship).
The club is hosting a ‘Chatham Cup Watch Party’ at its clubrooms, urging supporters to watch the live stream together.
Fixtures
Games to be played on Saturday August 19, 2023
Semi-finals
Christchurch United v Eastern Suburbs
United Sports Complex, Christchurch, 2pm
Melville United v Waterside Karori
Gower Park, Hamilton, 5.30pm
Chatham Cup’s 100th year
To celebrate the birthday of football’s oldest cup competition, Friends of Football have been publishing special features about the cup and its past. Here’s a selection …
The greatest final ever?
Two replays needed in 1972
The unlikely underdogs
An improbable campaign in 2003
A happy birthday
The Royal Navy’s role in the cup
A gruelling schedule
The team that refused to quit in 2023
Final in Gisborne
Controversy and a classic final in 1983
Away from Wellington
How the final moved from the capital
All the past winners — Chatham Cup
1923 – Seacliff (Otago)
1924 – Harbour Board (Auckland)
1925 – YMCA (Wellington)
1926 – Sunnyside (Christchurch)
1927 – Ponsonby
1928 – Petone
1929 – Tramways (Auckland)
1930 – Petone
1931 – Tramurewa (Auckland)
1932 – Wellington Marist
1933 – Ponsonby
1934 – Thistle (Auckland)
1935 – Hospital (Wellington)
1936 – Western (Christchurch)
1937 – competition cancelled due to lack of entries
1938 – Waterside (Wellington)
1939 – Waterside (Wellington)
1940 – Waterside (Wellington)
1941-44 – no competition due to World War II
1945 – Western (Christchurch)
1946 – Wellington Marist
1947 – Waterside (Wellington)
1948 – Christchurch Technical Old Boys
1949 – Petone
1950 – Eden (Auckland)
1951 – Eastern Suburbs (Auckland)
1952 – North Shore United and Western (Christchurch) (shared)
1953 – Eastern Suburbs (Auckland)
1954 – Onehunga
1955 – Western (Christchurch)
1956 – Stop Out (Wellington)
1957 – Seatoun
1958 – Seatoun
1959 – Northern (Dunedin)
1960 – North Shore United
1961 – Northern (Dunedin)
1962 – Hamilton Technical Old Boys
1963 – North Shore United
1964 – Mount Roskill
1965 – Eastern Suburbs (Auckland)
1966 – Miramar Rangers
1967 – North Shore United
1968 – Eastern Suburbs (Auckland)
1969 – Eastern Suburbs (Auckland)
1970 – Blockhouse Bay
1971 – Western Suburbs (Wellington)
1972 – Christchurch United
1973 – Mount Wellington (Auckland)
1974 – Christchurch United
1975 – Christchurch United
1976 – Christchurch United
1977 – Nelson United
1978 – Manurewa
1979 – North Shore United
1980 – Mount Wellington (Auckland)
1981 – Dunedin City
1982 – Mount Wellington (Auckland)
1983 – Mount Wellington (Auckland)
1984 – Manurewa
1985 – Napier City Rovers
1986 – North Shore United
1987 – Gisborne City
1988 – Waikato United
1989 – Christchurch United
1990 – Mount Wellington (Auckland)
1991 – Christchurch United
1992 – Miramar Rangers
1993 – Napier City Rovers
1994 – Waitakere City
1995 – Waitakere City
1996 – Waitakere City
1997 – Central United (Auckland)
1998 – Central United (Auckland)
1999 – Dunedin Technical
2000 – Napier City Rovers
2001 – University-Mount Wellington (Auckland)
2002 – Napier City Rovers
2003 – University-Mount Wellington (Auckland)
2004 – Miramar Rangers
2005 – Central United (Auckland)
2006 – Western Suburbs (Wellington)
2007 – Central United (Auckland)
2008 – East Coast Bays
2009 – Wellington Olympic
2010 – Miramar Rangers
2011 – Wairarapa United (Masterton)
2012 – Central United
2013 – Cashmere Technical (Christchurch)
2014 – Cashmere Technical (Christchurch)
2015 – Eastern Suburbs (Auckland)
2016 – Birkenhead United (Auckland)
2017 – Onehunga Sports (Auckland)
2018 – Birkenhead United (Auckland)
2019 – Napier City Rovers
2020 – competition cancelled due COVID-19
2021 – Cashmere Technical (Christchurch)
2022 – Auckland City
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