Football League Third Division North Cup


The Football League Third Division North Cup was a football knockout competition open to teams competing in Football League Third Division North. The competition was first held in 1933–34 and ran until the 1938–39 season. The cup was revived for the 1945–46 season. This was a parallel competition to the Football League Third Division South Cup.

Format

The competition was run using a knockout format, with games replayed if level. In the first year the tournament format resulted in 11 first round ties, followed by 4 second round ties, and 3 third round matches. In most seasons there were minor changes to the format, resulting in differing numbers of ties in each round. The tournaments featured all 22 teams from Division Three North, with the exception of the final season, when only 14 teams played in the competition. The final was played on the home ground of one of the two finalists.
The 1945–46 competition started with two cup competitions, the Third Division North Cup and Third Division North Cup. Each cup consisted of 10 teams played on a league basis, although only 10 games were played by each team. The first 8 places in each cup then contested the first round of a two legged knockout competition.

Finals

The result of each year's final is given in the table below.
YearHome teamScoreAway team
1933–34Darlington4–3Stockport County
1934–35Stockport County2–0Walsall
1935–36Darlington1–2Chester
1936–37Southport1–3Chester
1937–38Southport4–1Bradford City
1938–39Bradford City3–0Accrington Stanley
1945–46Rotherham United2–2Chester
1945–46Chester2–3Rotherham United