What is the Coupe de France?

What is the Coupe de France, and how does it work?

The Coupe de France, or French Cup, is the domestic cup football competition in France — their version of England’s FA Cup, if you will, but with significant differences.

Here’s a bit more about this annual competition.

History of the Coupe de France, or French Cup

The history of cup competition in France goes back to 1917, and originally only featured 48 clubs. That number grew to over 1,000 by 1948, and currently there are more than 8,500 teams who participate!

Not surprisingly, PSG hold the record with 16 cup wins, including wins in the past two seasons. You might expect them to have more, but one reason is that they have only existed since 1970. Another is in the format the Coupe de France, which we will discuss in a moment.

Paris Saint-Germain currently hold the record for the most Coupe de France wins, at 16.

Format of the Coupe de France

Watchers of English soccer will know that the FA Cup includes well over 700 clubs across England — virtually all of them, in fact. It starts with preliminary rounds and includes ever-bigger clubs with each round.

The Coupe de France has a very similar format, with the smaller clubs starting in the early preliminary rounds, and the larger clubs being added in at later dates.

There are 14 total rounds in the competition, but early rounds are determined by region in France to reduce travel for the clubs. This means that depending on the region, there could be as many as 8 rounds or as little as 4, with each region sending a set number of clubs to the 7th round.

French territories like Mayotte, French Polynesia, and new Caledonia are also permitted to hold their own qualifying rounds, although they can only send one, or sometimes two, clubs to represent their region. The 7th round is when professional clubs enter the tournament.

At this point, there is a draw to determine matchups for the 7th round, and the remainder of the tournament is held in a knockout format. If a match ends in a tie it will go to penalties to determine a winner.

The Stade de France always hosts the final of the Coupe de France. Zakarie Faibis, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Difference Between the FA Cup and the Coupe de France

One big difference between the Coupe de France and the FA Cup is that in France, if teams from different levels are drawn together, the higher-placed team must travel to play at the lower-placed team. So, for example, in the 2024-25 Coupe de France, PSG has to play away to Espaly of tier 5, Le Mans of tier 3, Stade Briochin of tier 4, and Dunkerque of tier 3.

This makes it harder for top-flight clubs to win the Coupe de France, although only two clubs from outside Ligue 1 have won it — most recently Guingamp in 2009.

With audio from Radio Guingamp:

2025-26 Coupe de France Schedule

Here is the schedule for the 2025-26 Coupe de France. All games are played midweek.

• Third round: September 13, 2025
• Fourth round: September 27, 2025
• Fifth round: October 11, 2025
• Sixth round: October 25, 2025
• Seventh round: November 15, 2025
• Eighth round: November 29, 2025
• Round of 64: December 20, 2025
• Round of 32: January 10, 2026
• Round of 16: February 4, 2026
• Quarterfinals: March 4, 2026
• Semifinals: April 22, 2026

When and Where is the Coupe de France Final?

The Final of the Coupe de France is always played at Stade de France in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis.

The 2026 Coupe de France Final will be played on May 23, 2026.