Army FA Woolwich Cup Final 2026

22/05/2026  -  3.48

Alex Alexandrou

The Woolwich Cup is the Inter-Corps knockout competition and was first competed for in the 2006/07 season. All Corps from the Massey Trophy League Divisions One and Two, enter the competition. The inaugural winners were the Royal Signals.

19th Army FA Woolwich Cup Final took place on the 20th May, at the West Ham United FC Training Ground, Rush Green, Romford.

Entrance to the West Ham Training Ground. Source: Author's Collection

The The Final was contested between three-times winners, the Royal Signals and eight-times winners and current holders, the Royal Engineers. The Sappers had recently been crowned Army FA Massey Trophy League Division One champions, having gone through the season undefeated, so were looking to complete a league and cup double.

Royal Logistics Starting Line-Up. Source: Royal Logistics FC

There was a fair smattering of spectators that included a number of ground hoppers, who, like yours truly, were ticking off not only another ground but a unique military cup final, as well as a number of former Army and Corps representative players, who had made a big impact on the Soldiers’ Game.

Woolwich Cup Final 2026 Programme. Source: Author's Collection

Both teams showed intent in the early exchanges and as the first-half progressed, the Royal Signals, began to gain the upper hand, by not allowing the Royal Engineers to settle on the ball and mounting a number of attacks through the enterprising Luke Greenway, that were thwarted by the Sapper defence well-marshalled by the Engineers’ captain, Craig Stevenson, in a manner that the West Ham legend Billy Bonds, would have been proud of.

Whilst both teams tried to put passages of play together, these were at times thwarted by the wind, which helped to ensure passes went astray, made it difficult for the outfield players to judge the direction of the ball being played to them and the goalkeepers trying to anticipate when to come for the ball in their penalty box.

Whilst it was an overcast day, the passion on and off the pitch and the robustness of the tackles, ensured that on the pitch, the match was colourful and demonstrated how much this match meant to both teams, whilst ensuring it was played in a good sporting spirit. This meant the Referee, James Garsrud, supported by Assistant Referees, Sam Holloway and James Dalby and Fourth Official, Mike Emmings, had little to trouble them, during the afternoon.

The Sappers were endeavouring to get back into the game and against the run of play were awarded a penalty for handball. Up stepped Kieran Di Carluccio and his penalty nestled into the bottom left hand corner, to make it 1-0 to the Royal Engineers. This setback did not deflate the Royal Signals and they swarmed forward from the restart and only desperate defending by the Sappers denied them an immediate equalizer. However, the Signals’ momentum was brought to an abrupt end, as in time added on, a defensive lapse in their penalty box led to a scrambled goal, with the Royal Engineers going in at half-time 2-0 up, with Kieran Di Carluccio bagging himself a brace of goals.

The second-half started with the momentum clearly with the Sappers, who were the more potent attacking force and whose play disrupted the flow of the Royal Signals, who never really settled for the remainder of the match. On the 60-minute mark, the Royal Engineers thought they had scored the deciding goal but it was chalked off for offside. 

Whilst the game ebbed and flowed, the Sappers dominated, winning the midfield battle and ensuring they turned defence into attack on a number of occasions, which led to a number of opportunities to further extend their lead. The Royal Signals substitutions did not have the desired impact, leading to the game slipping away from them. 

Despite the Signals’ numerous attempts to get back into the game and the exhortations of their captain, Davy Watts, they had few clear cut chances and the half chances created, failed to trouble the Sappers’ goalkeeper. The Engineers’ saw out the game intelligently by slowing the tempo of the game through good periods of possession and tactical substitutions.

The match ended with no further addition to the score, ensuring the Royal Engineers had won the Woolwich Cup for a ninth time and completing an Invincibles league and cup double.

The Final Score. Source: Author's Collection

The Player of the Match award went to the Sappers’ defender Matthew Coar, who worked tirelessly in defence, making a number of well-timed tackles and proving to be a constant thorn in the side of the opposition with his marauding runs down the left-hand side of the pitch.

Player of the Match, Matthew Coar with Army CEO, Graham Brookland. Source: Author's Collection

Royal Engineers captain Craig Stevenson gratefully accepted the Woolwich Cup trophy from Graham Brookland, the Army FA CEO.

Craig Stevenson receiving Woolwich Cup trophy from Graham Brookland, Army FA CEO. Source: Author's Collection

Whereupon the Sappers’ celebrations commenced!

Royal Engineers Celebrating. Source: Author's Collection

Biography

Alex Alexandrou is Co-Founder and Chair of the Football and War Network