1944–45 Swiss Cup

The 1944–45 Swiss Cup was the 20th season of Switzerland's football cup competition, organised annually since the 1925–26 season by the Swiss Football Association.

Overview Preamble In Switzerland during the second world war, sport became an integral part of the "spiritual national defense". This was a political and cultural movement that had already become increasingly important during the late 1930s. Politicians, intellectuals and media professionals had increasingly called for measures to strengthen Switzerland's basic cultural values. Since the Nationalliga games were also considered to be one of the activities that seemed important for maintaining the morale of the population, the military authorities put considerably fewer obstacles in the way of the top players as they had during the previous World War.

ASF/SFV Therefore, it came about that the Swiss Football Association (ASF/SFV) expanded themselves. The decision of the extraordinary assembly, held on 9 October 1943 in Lugano, was to double the number of members to 28 clubs for the 1944–45 season. The Nationalliga was divided into two strength classes each with 14 teams. The previous Nationalliga became the Nationalliga A (NLA), while the Nationalliga B (NLB) was newly formed with the 14 best teams of the previous 1. Liga season.

Format This season's cup competition was again expanded. It began with the first round, which was played on the week-end of the 15 October 1944. The competition was to be completed on Easter Monday, 2 April 1945, with the final, which, since 1937, was traditionally held in the country's capital, at the former Wankdorf Stadium in Bern. The lower league teams that had qualified themselves for the competition and the clubs from this season's 1. Liga joined the competition in the first round. The clubs from this season's Nationalliga A (NLA) and from this season's Nationalliga B (NLB) were given byes for the first two rounds. These teams joined the competition in the third round, which was played on the week-end of 3 December.

The matches were played in a knockout format. In the event of a draw after 90 minutes, the match went into extra time. In the event of a draw at the end of extra time, if agreed between the clubs, a replay was foreseen and this was played on the visiting team's pitch. Rules and regulations to this situation were altered and amended continuously by each regional football association, due to the current situation (second world war). If the replay ended in a draw after extra time, or if a replay had not been agreed, a toss of a coin would establish the team that qualified for the next round.

Round 1 In the first round, the lower league teams that had qualified themselves for the competition through their regional football association's own regional cup competitions or had achieved their association's requirements, competed here together with all of the teams from this years 1. Liga. Reserve teams were not qualified for the competition. Whenever possible, the draw respected local regionalities. Most of the games of the first round were played on Saturday 15 October, however, some games were played a few weeks later.

Summary

|colspan="3" style="background-color:#99CCCC"|15 October 1944

|colspan="3" style="background-color:#99CCCC"|22 October 1944

|colspan="3" style="background-color:#99CCCC"|29 October 1944

|colspan="3" style="background-color:#99CCCC"|5 November 1944

Note match Binningen–Pratteln: protest and awarded 3–0. A player of Pratteln was not qualified Note match Old Boys–Breitenbach: protest and awarded 0–3 A player of Old Boys was not qualified. Note match Seebach–Polizei Zürich: no replay was agreed. Polizei Zürich qualified on toss of a coin. Replays

|colspan="3" style="background-color:#99CCCC"|22 October 1944

|colspan="3" style="background-color:#99CCCC"|29 October 1944

Matches

Round 2 Summary Region Ostschweiz