Copa del Ganso

FSS Copa del Ganso

Organising body	Federation of the Single Sun
Region	Rushmore
Number of teams	32 (most recent edition)
Related competitions	Copa de Campeones
Current champions	Scott City FC (1st title)
Most successful club(s)	Four clubs (1 title)
Current: Copa del Ganso 4

The FSS Copa del Ganso (CdG), usually known simply as the Copa del Ganso, is an annual club football competition organized by the Federation of the Single Sun for eligible Rushmori football clubs. It is the second-tier competition of Rushmori club football, ranking below the CRF Copa de Campeones. It replaced the Copa del Este. Darmeni clubs have the most victories, with two, followed by Tikariot and Pasarga, with one each. No club has won the Copa del Ganso on multiple occasions. Scott City FC is the current champion.

History

The Copa del Ganso is the successor tournament of the Copa del Este, which itself traces its roots back to the Copa Pavola.

Format

Each association which submits entries for the Copa de Campeones in a given may cycle may also enter up to two clubs into the Copa del Ganso, so long as those clubs qualify on sporting merit and are not entered in that cycle's edition of the Copa de Campeones. The tournament consists of three to four rounds, spread over nine to eleven matchdays: the preliminary round, the hexagonal round, the panzonal round, and the final round.

Zones

Each association, and its participating clubs, are divided into two zones. So long as entry numbers allow, each zone contains the same number of competing clubs. These zones are determined on the basis of geography, as determined by the map of Rushmore, and all effort is made to keep all clubs within the same subregion in the same zone. Efforts are made to avoid one zone being considerably stronger than the other, but if interests conflict, geographic contiguity is prioritized.

No two clubs from different zones may play each other at any point in the competition, except for the final round. This is done both to limit travel costs and promote rivalries in nearby nations.

Preliminary round

Some clubs may begin their competition in the preliminary round. The size of the preliminary round varies based on entry numbers from edition to edition. The fewest possible teams enter the preliminary round such that, when the round concludes, exactly six, twelve, eighteen, or twenty-four clubs remain in the competition within each zone. If exactly twelve, twenty-four, thirty-six, or forty-eight clubs enter the tournament, and the two zones are already of equal size, no preliminary round is needed.

The preliminary round consists of two-leg knockout ties. Each participating club will play their opponent twice: once at home, and once away. Each winner, on aggregate score, will advance to the hexagonal round.

As long as the number of clubs receiving byes through the preliminary round to the hexagonal round exceed the number of associations in competition, only second-seeded clubs from each association will compete in the preliminary round. When this is possible, this ensures every participating association has at least one club in the hexagonal round. If any first-seeded clubs participate, they are guaranteed a fixture against a second-seeded club and are automatically assigned home advantage in the second leg. Every club must be drawn against another club within its own zone, but no club may be drawn against another club from its own association.

Hexagonal round

Clubs which win their preliminary round fixtures, and clubs which receive byes through the preliminary round, compete in the hexagonal round. Clubs are drawn into single round robin groups of six, comprised exclusively of clubs within its own zone. As long as there are at least two groups in each zone, no club may be drawn within the same group as another club from its own association. Rather than pots, clubs are simply seeded or unseeded: first, based on whether they are their association's first or second seed, and then, based on their association's IFCF ranking. The top half of clubs within each zone are seeded, and the bottom half are unseeded. Each of the three seeded clubs within a group play three home matches, while each of the three unseeded clubs within a group play two home matches in this round. The top four clubs from each zone — not group — advance to the panzonal round.

Hexagonal round formats by tournament size

Hexagonal round clubs	Clubs per zone	Hexagonal round groups	Group size	Advancing to panzonal round per group
12	6	1	6	Top four clubs
24	12	2	6	Top two clubs
36	18	3	6	Top club, plus best runner-up
48	24	4	6	Top club

Panzonal round

The top four clubs in each zone from the hexagonal round final table compete in the panzonal round. Two groups of four are formed, one for each zone. All four remaining clubs within a zone play each other in a single round robin, with three matches each. The top two clubs in each zone's hexagonal round final table play two home matches, while the other two clubs in each zone play one home match. The team which wins its group advances to the final round as its zone's representative. The group table is determined solely on the basis of matches played during the panzonal round. No matches from the hexagonal round or preliminary round, nor the hexagonal round table, are used in any way to determine the panzonal round table.

Final round

The final is contested by the two teams which win their respective panzonal round groups. It is a single match, played at a neutral site selected before the tournament begins. The winner of this fixture wins the Copa del Ganso. The home team for administrative purposes is the club representing the zone of the final site, but as the final is played at a neutral site, this does not confer any home advantage. The final is the only round not played at respective clubs' own home venues.

Any association within Rushmore may submit a single bid for a stadium to host the Copa del Ganso — even if the association submits other host bids for other finals, or if the association also hosted the prior edition's final, or if the association does not submit any competing clubs for the tournament. At a minimum, bid books must include the name of the prospective host stadium, city, and nation, as well as the stadium's maximum capacity. In the event no final site host bids are received, the final will typically be hosted at Mastad Qusma in Qanz, Qusmo.

Schedule

The Copa del Ganso occupies the same dates on the international club fixture calendar as the Copa de Campeones, so clubs cannot compete in both competitions. Clubs which play in the final will play either nine or eleven fixtures over the course of the competition, equivalent to the number of fixtures a club entering the Copa de Campeones in the round of thirty-two or round of sixty-four, respectively, would have to play to reach that competition's final.

Rushmori club competitions schedule

Fixture date	Copa de Campeones	Clubs (max.)	Copa del Ganso	Clubs (max.)
1	Preliminary round (if necessary)	64	Preliminary round (if necessary)	72
2
3	Round of thirty-two (or preliminary round)	32	Hexagonal round	48
4
5	Round of sixteen	16
6
7	Quarterfinals	8
8			Panzonal round	8
9	Semifinals	4
10
11	Final	2	Final round	2

Tiebreakers

If two or more teams within the same hexagonal or panzonal round group are tied, their tie is as follows:

1. Points
2. Goal difference
3. Goals scored
4. Wins
5. Rock-paper-scissors

If two or more teams from the same zone but different groups in the hexagonal round are tied, their tie is as follows:

1. Position within group
2. Points
3. Goal difference
4. Goals scored
5. Wins
6. Rock-paper-scissors

If a preliminary round fixture remains tied on aggregate at the conclusion of the second leg, or if the final remains tied at full time, extra time commences to decide the winner. If the match is still tied, a penalty kick shootout decides which team advances. The away goals rule is not used at any stage of the competition.

Exceptional circumstances

This format is in place for all tournaments with at least twelve entrants, but no more than seventy-two. Some associations may only be permitted to submit a single club if more than seventy-two clubs are entered, while some associations may be permitted to enter more than two clubs if fewer than twelve clubs are entered.

Records and statistics

Finals

List of Copa del Ganso finals

Edition	Country	Winners	Score	Runners-up	Country	Venue	Capacity
1	Tikariot	Port Rhovanyon AFC	1–1 (1–1 a.e.t.) (5–3 p.)	Stein-los Turkish	Pasarga	New City Stadium, Scott City, Darmen	95000
2	Darmen	MTK Kingsville	1–0	Olympique de Fontvielle	Valladares	Mastad Qusma, Qanz, Qusmo	80000
3	Pasarga	Stein-los Turkish	5–4	Scott City FC	Darmen	Philosophia Colosseum, Manacus, Zenic	106255
4	Darmen	Scott City FC	2–0	Roddens City	The Kytler Peninsulae	Capitol Stadium, Olastaryn, Olastor	50000

Performances by club

Performance in the FSS Copa del Ganso by club

Club	Winners	Runners-up	Total finals	Editions won	Editions runners-up
Stein-los Turkish	1	1	2	3	1
Scott City FC	1	1	2	4	3
Port Rhovanyon AFC	1	0	1	1
MTK Kingsville	1	0	1	2
Olympique de Fontvielle	0	1	1		2
Roddens City	0	1	1		4

Performances by nation

Nation	Winners	Runners-up	Total finals
Darmen	2	1	3
Pasarga	1	1	2
Tikariot	1	0	1
Valladares	0	1	1
The Kytler Peninsulae	0	1	1

See also

• Copa de Campeones
• Copa de Este
• Copa Pavola
• Federation of the Single Sun