Peace Cup

The Peace Cup was an invitational pre-season friendly football tournament for club teams which was held every two years by the Sunmoon Peace Football Foundation.

History and format

Since 2003, the Peace Cup is being held every two years, the Sunmoon Peace Football Foundation invites football clubs from various nations.

A corresponding event featuring women's national teams, the Peace Queen Cup, began in 2006.

In October 2012, it was announced that the Peace Cup will no longer be held, following the death of Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon.

Format

From 2003 to 2007, the Peace Cup was played between 8 clubs, divided into two groups of 4 teams.

The winner of each group qualified for the final, which was played in a single match.

he first three competitions were held in South Korea, and the 2009 version was held in Madrid and Andalusia, Spain with 12 teams participating.

The fifth competition took place again in South Korea in July 2012, and four teams which had South Korean players entered.

Participants

South Korea's Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma participates in every tournament as the club is sponsored by the Unification Church.

Previous winners are PSV, Tottenham Hotspur, Lyon, Aston Villa, and Hamburger SV, who were the final champions.

Prize

From 2003 to 2007, the prize money of the tournament was approximately €2 million for the winning team, and €500,000 for the runners-up.

Results

Finals

Titles by club

Awards

The "Golden Ball" is awarded to the player on the basis of a vote taken among the media accredited to each Peace Cup tournament. There are also "Silver Ball" and "Bronze Ball" for the second and third best players respectively.

Controversy

The original name of the competition was to be Sunmoon Peace Cup, named after Sun Myung Moon, the founder of the Sunmoon Peace Football Foundation.

However, after being criticized that it was too religious, the organization changed its name to World Peace King Cup and started preparation for its first tournament.

Before the inauguration of the cup, the Asian Football Confederation warned that the term "world" can only be used by competitions organized by FIFA, and "king" can be used by competitions held by a kingdom.