French Cup | Handball
Founded in 1956 and organised by the French Handball Federation, the French Cup is a competition open to all affiliated clubs, from amateur level up to the Liqui Moly Starligue, and is also contested by teams from France’s overseas departments.
FRENCH CUP
With 13 French Cup trophies to date, Montpellier Handball is the most successful club in the competition’s history. Over the years three second division teams have made the final, the last of them to date being Pays d’Aix Université Club Handball in 2007. Having knocked out US Ivry and Tremblay-en-France en route to the final, they went down to a Paris Handball side featuring the likes of Olivier Girault and Cédric Sorhaindo.
PSG RECORD IN FRENCH CUP
6 Trophies
2007 - 2014 - 2015 - 2018 - 2021 - 2022
FORMAT
A knockout competition held over several rounds, the French Cup is open to clubs from divisions 1 to 5 of the French handball league system, with clubs competing in the Liqui Moly Starligue only joining in the Round of 32. The final is usually played in May, towards the end of the season, and has been held since 2012 at the AccorHotels Arena in Bercy, Paris. The winners of the French Cup qualify for the following season’s EHF Cup, Europe’s second-most important club competition after the EHF Champions League.
FRENCH CUP STAKES FOR PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN HANDBALL
Paris Saint-Germain Handball aim to win every competition they enter and the French Cup is one of their main objectives. Between 2012 and 2022, the Red and Blue have reached the final seven times and won five titles, an indication of how much France’s oldest national cup competition means to the club. Nikola Karabatic and his team-mates won the trophy in 2018, beating USAM Nîmes 32-26 in the final, but lost the 2019 showpiece to Montpellier Handball. They took revenge on 2020/21, defeating Montpellier 30-26 in the final.
As the defending champion, Paris Saint-Germain had the ambition to win the French Cup again the following season. To achieve this new feat, the Red and Blue had to defeat Fenix Toulouse in the semi-finals...before winning the final on June 11, 2022 in Paris-Bercy against HBC Nantes. This season was historic for Paris Saint-Germain, achieving the grand slam in Liqui Moly Starligue with 30 victories in as many games and thus winning a new edition of the French Cup. A nice way to end the Parsian adventure for our 5 stars who will discover new challenges under new colors during the 2022/23 season.