The 2023 edition of the Copa Catalunya Femenina was played between June and September 2023, as part of the 2023–24 season of Spanish women's football. It was organised by the Catalan Football Federation, and was the second (and currently last) time it was run as an exclusively amateur competition. SE AEM won the title for the first time, with their B team, having made it to the semi-finals in both 2018 and 2019.
Format
The format was that of an unequal two-sided knockout bracket as a single-elimination tournament. Eighteen teams entered, with five matches on one side of the first round draw and four on the other. The winners of one of the matches on the larger side had a bye past the second round; still with an odd number of teams, an intermittent third round was held for the team with a bye to play one of the second round winners from the larger side of the draw. The winners of this match, and the three other second round winners, directly entered the semi-finals.[1] Prize money for the winning team was €4,400 and the three other semi-finalists received €1,100. In the elimination rounds, €165 was awarded to match-winning teams, and the same amount was given to the away team of each fixture for expenses.[2]
Winning in the second round should have seen teams compete in the semi-finals,[1] however, due to a number of circumstances, none of the second round winners played in a semi-final match.
Second round matches were played on 21 and 22 June 2023.[4] Due to the odd number of teams that progressed from the first round, Igualada had a bye for the second round.[4]
The round was alternatively described as the quarter-finals plus a round of 16 game (the Can Parellada–Santa Susanna match) that would lead to a quarter-final against Igualada.[3]
One match was played in the third round, for Igualada (who had come through the second round on a bye) to earn their progression against a team that had won in the second round.[5][4]
The semi-finals were set to be played on 27 August 2023.
Defending champions Sant Gabriel had defeated Palautordera in the second round to advance to the semi-final, but in August 2023 the entire team left the club and denounced its treatment of the women's team.[6] Palautordera took Sant Gabriel's place in the semi-finals. Igualada, having come through their third round tie, played the lower-division Palautordera.[7]
