KPL Top 8 Cup
{{Short description|Kenyan football competition}}
{{Redirect|Top 8 Cup|the South African tournament|MTN 8}}
{{Infobox football tournament
| current = {{Currentisoyear}} KPL Top 8 Cup
| logo = 235px
| caption = The official logo of the tournament.
| founded = 2011
| number of teams = 8
| region = {{KEN}}
| current champions = Muhoroni Youth
(1st title)
| most successful club = Gor Mahia
Tusker
(2 titles each)
| broadcasters = SuperSport 9
| website =
}}
The KPL Top 8 Cup (also known as the KPL Top 8 Knockout, the KPL Top 8 Knockout Cup or simply the Top 8 Knockout, the Top 8 Cup or the Kenyan Top 8 Cup) is a Kenyan football championship contested by the top eight teams of the preceding Kenyan Premier League (KPL) season. The inaugural edition of the tournament took place in 2011, with Ulinzi Stars as the winners.{{cite news |title=Ulinzi clinch ‘Top 8’ prize on eve of trip to Cecafa |url=http://www.kpl.co.ke/news/article/110626/Ulinzi_clinch_Top_8_prize_on_eve_of_trip_to_Cecafa |publisher=KPL.co.ke |location=Nairobi, Kenya |date=26 June 2011 |accessdate=15 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928030851/http://www.kpl.co.ke/news/article/110626/Ulinzi_clinch_Top_8_prize_on_eve_of_trip_to_Cecafa |archive-date=28 September 2015 |url-status=dead }}
Format
The tournament is played in both a single-elimination and double-elimination format. It begins with the quarter-finals, where teams play against each other once. In the semi-finals, teams play each other in two matches and the team with more goals on aggregate advances to the final, which is played once. No third place playoff is played.
The winners of the tournament receive a total sum of KSh.1,000,000/= as prize money, although appeals to the Football Kenya Federation have been made to increase the sum as gate collections in the tournament surpass the prize money amount.{{cite news |title=Bwana laments cash prize for Top 8 winner |url=http://www.futaa.com/football/article/bwana-laments-cash-prize-for-top-8-winner |publisher=Futaa.com |location=Nairobi, Kenya |date=21 April 2012 |accessdate=22 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426111517/http://www.futaa.com/football/article/bwana-laments-cash-prize-for-top-8-winner |archive-date=26 April 2012 |url-status=dead }}
Finals by year
| class="wikitable"
! Year ! Team 1 ! {{abbr|Pos.|Position in previous KPL season}} ! Score ! Team 2 ! {{abbr|Pos.|Position in previous KPL season}} ! {{abbr|Ref|Reference}} |
| 2011
| 1st | style="text-align: center;" | 2−1 | 8th |
| 2012
| 2nd | style="text-align: center;" | 0−2 | 4th |
| 2013
| 5th | style="text-align: center;" | 2−2 (3–5 p) | Tusker | 1st |
| 2014
| Tusker | 5th | style="text-align: center;" | 2−1 | 2nd |
| 2015
| 6th | style="text-align: center;" |1–2 {{aet}} | 1st |
| 2016
| 6th | style="text-align: center;" |1–0 | 1st |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120506071908/http://www.futaa.com/football/Kenya/Top-8-Cup Futaa.com] - Top 8 Cup
- Kenyan Premier League - [http://www.kpl.co.ke Official website]
{{KPL Top 8 Cup}}
{{Football in Kenya}}