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Tolstoy Cup

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First cup match
  
1995

Tolstoy Cup

Current champion
  
Peace FC (University Of Bradford)

Trophy
  
The Tolstoy Cup (a framed copy of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace)

The Tolstoy Cup is an annual football match played between the students of the Department of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford and the Department of War Studies at King's College London since 2007, though the match was first played in 1994. The competition is named after War and Peace, the 1869 novel written by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy.

Contents

Rivalry

The rivalry between 'Peace Studies' and 'War Studies' is one of the great sporting rivalries, being featured at number four on the Financial Times list of "Great college sports rivalries". Although it does not match the history or tradition of university rivalries such as the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, the competition is still often covered by the national media including the BBC, The Independent and Bradford's Telegraph and Argus. The second leg of the 2007 match played at Bradford City's Valley Parade attracted over 200 spectators. King's College London itself has a longer standing rivalry with UCL, particularly involving rugby union.

Symbolism

Symbolically, War Studies adopt a red and black stripe, while Peace Studies typically play in light blue colours. Rather than their own, Peace Studies play with the names of notable figures related to peace, such as "D. Lama", "M. L. King" and "Gandhi" on their shirts.

Trophy

The "trophy" for the Tolstoy Cup is a framed copy of Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace. The trophy first came into use in 2007. It is kept by the department of the current winners. The Department of Peace Studies of the University of Bradford currently hold the trophy.

The book used since 2007 was last used following the 2011 match due to its fragile state after 5 years of use and was replaced with a newer copy.

References

Tolstoy Cup Wikipedia