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FENIX Trophy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fenix Trophy
Founded2021; 3 years ago (2021)
RegionEurope
Number of teamsVaried
Current championsEngland F.C. United of Manchester (2nd title)
Most successful club(s)England F.C. United of Manchester (2 titles)
Websitefenixtrophy.eu
2023–24 Fenix Trophy

The Fenix Trophy is an annual football competition for semi-professional and amateur European football clubs. The competition is officially recognized by UEFA.[1][2][3]

First contested in the 2021–22 season, the word FENIX is an acronym and stands for Friendly, European, Non-professional, Innovative, and Xenial (From the ancient Greek xenos, the word examined for an attitude of resistance to strangers, with maintaining mutual respect for cultural differences).

History

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Fenix Trophy Winners
Season Winner
2021–22 England F.C. United of Manchester
2022–23 Denmark Skjold
2023–24 England F.C. United of Manchester (2)

The Fenix Trophy was originally envisioned by Alessandro Aleotti, chairman of Italian club Brera Calcio.[4] The competition was first contested during the 2021–22 season, with the first match taking place on 21 September 2021, between German club HFC Falke and Czech club Prague Raptors.[5] The first final took place on 11 June 2022, between Prague Raptors and F.C. United of Manchester, with F.C. United of Manchester being crowned the inaugural champions.[6]

While the competition's eligibility criteria allows all clubs to compete on a similar level, the diversity of club history quickly became apparent, with many clubs founded in recent years, others have a long history that includes professional football. Examples from the competition's early history include Beveren,[7] a Belgian club notable for having played professional European football, most recently in the 2004–05 UEFA Cup, and Venus București, winners of the Romanian Liga I on seven occasions.

The number of teams was increased to nine for the 2022–23 season, with Danish club BK Skjold winning the competition. For the 2023–24 season the number of teams was again increased to twelve, with F.C. United of Manchester winning their second title.[8]

Format

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Qualification

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Semi-professional and amateur teams from across Europe are invited to play in the competition based on exceptional social, historical and cultural significance.[9]

Tournament

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The first tournament consisted of two groups of four teams, with the two group winners qualifying for the final.[10] With the addition of a ninth team for the 2022–23 season, the tournament consisted of three groups of three teams, with the winners of each group and the highest ranked second-placed team advancing to the knockout stage. The 2023–24 tournament consisted of twelve teams split into four groups of three, with the four group winners qualifying for the knockout stage.[11]

List of finals

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Key
Match was won during extra time
* Match was won on a penalty shoot-out
  • The "Season" column refers to the season the competition was held, and wikilinks to the article about that season.
  • The wikilinks in the "Score" column point to the article about that season's final game.
List of Fenix Trophy finals
Season Country Winners Score Runners-up Country Venue Attendance
2021–22  England FC United of Manchester 2–0 Prague Raptors  Czech Republic Stadio Romeo Neri, Rimini, Italy
2022–23  Denmark BK Skjold 3–0 Prague Raptors  Czech Republic San Siro, Milan, Italy
2023–24  England FC United of Manchester 4–0 Prague Raptors  Czech Republic Stadio Tre Stelle, Desenzano del Garda, Italy

Records and statistics

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Performances by club

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Performance in the Fenix Trophy by club
Club Winners Runners-up Years won Years runner-up
England F.C. United of Manchester 2 0 2022, 2024
Denmark BK Skjold 1 0 2023
Czech Republic Prague Raptors 0 3 2022, 2023, 2024

Participation by club

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Nation No. Clubs Seasons
England England (3) 3 F.C. United of Manchester 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24
1 Enfield Town 2023–24
1 Lewes 2023–24
Italy Italy (2) 2 Brera Calcio 2021–22, 2022–23
1 Lodigiani 2021–22
Poland Poland (2) 1 AKS Zły 2021–22
2 Kraków Dragoons 2022–23, 2023–24
Czech Republic Czech Republic (1) 3 Prague Raptors 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24
Netherlands Netherlands (1) 2 AFC DWS 2021–22, 2022–23
Spain Spain (1) 2 CD Cuenca-Mestallistes 2021–22, 2022–23
Belgium Belgium (1) 2 KSK Beveren 2022–23, 2023–24
Denmark Denmark (1) 2 BK Skjold 2022–23, 2023–24
Wales Wales (1) 2 Llantwit Major 2023–24, 2024-25
Germany Germany (1) 1 HFC Falke 2021–22
Serbia Serbia (1) 1 FK Miljakovac 2022–23
Finland Finland (1) 1 Gilla 2023–24
France France (1) 1 Vinsky 2023–24
Norway Norway (1) 1 Gamle Oslo FK 2023–24
Romania Romania (1) 1 Venus București 2023–24

References

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  1. ^ "Fenix Trophy: el placer de jugar y la amistad por encima de todo". El Salto. 19 November 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  2. ^ "La fiesta europea del fútbol de barrio". Levante EMV. 12 June 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  3. ^ "DWS doet mee aan de Fenix Trophy, het Europees toernooi dat ageert tegen commercie rond voetbal". parool.nl (Archived). Archived from the original on 2022-11-30. Retrieved 2023-09-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^ "Fenix Trophy: A new shot at European glory for semi-professional and amateur clubs". BBC Sport. 8 November 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  5. ^ "FENIX Trophy: The alternative European Super League". DW News. 23 September 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  6. ^ "FC United of Manchester's road to European glory". Mancunian Matters. 9 December 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  7. ^ "Eersteprovincialer KSK Beveren trekt Europa in: "Onze spelers hebben hiervoor wel vakantie moeten nemen"". Het Nieuwsblad. 15 November 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  8. ^ "FC United of Manchester claim European trophy with 4-0 win". ESPN. 12 May 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  9. ^ "Brera Holdings' FENIX Trophy Tournament Enters Final Stage". GlobalNewswire. 7 June 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  10. ^ "Tournament 21/22". Fenix. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  11. ^ "Tournament 23/24". Fenix. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
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