The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as theFA Cup,is aknockoutcompetition in Englishfootball,organised by and named afterThe Football Association(the FA). It is the oldest existing football competition in the world,[1]having commenced in the1871–72 season.[2]The tournament is open to all clubs in the top 10 levels of theEnglish football league system,although a club's home stadium must meet certain requirements prior to entering the tournament.[3]The competition culminates at the end of the league season (usually in May) with theFA Cup Final,officially named The Football Association Challenge Cup Final Tie, which has traditionally been regarded as the showpiece finale of the English football season.[4]
The vast majority of FA Cup final matches have been in London: most of these were played at the originalWembley Stadium,which was used from 1923 until the stadium closed in 2000. The other venues used for the final before 1923 wereKennington Oval,Crystal Palace,Stamford BridgeandLillie Bridge,all in London,Goodison Parkin Liverpool andFallowfield StadiumandOld Traffordin Manchester. TheMillennium StadiuminCardiffhosted the final for six years (2001–2006), while the new Wembley Stadium was under construction. Other grounds have been used for replays, which until 1999 took place if the initial match ended in a draw. Thenew Wembley Stadiumhas been the permanent venue of the final since 2007.
As of 2024, 44 clubs have won the FA Cup. The record for the most wins is held byArsenal,with 14 victories.[2]Only one surviving club,Blackburn Rovers,have won the cup in three consecutive years, a feat that was also achieved by the now dissolvedWanderers.The cup has been won by the same team in two or more consecutive years on ten occasions, and four teams have won consecutive finals more than once:Wanderers,Blackburn Rovers,Tottenham Hotspurand Arsenal.[2]The cup has been won by a non-English team once:Cardiff Cityin1927.The current holders areManchester United,who defeatedlocal rivalsManchester Cityin the2024 final.
History
editThe winners ofthe first tournamentwereWanderers,a team of formerpublic schoolboysbased inLondon,who went on to win the competition five times in its first seven seasons. The early winners of the competition were all teams of wealthy amateurs from the south of England,[5]but in1883,Blackburn Olympicbecame the first team from the north to win the cup, defeatingOld Etonians.Upon his team's return toBlackburn,Olympic captainAlbert Warburtonproclaimed: "The Cup is very welcome toLancashire.It'll have a good home and it'll never go back to London ".[6]
With the advent ofprofessionalismat around the same time, the amateur teams quickly faded from prominence in the competition.[5]The leading professional clubs formedThe Football Leaguein 1888.[7]Since then, onenon-leagueteam has won the cup.Tottenham Hotspur,then of theSouthern League,defeatedSheffield Unitedof The Football League to win the1901 final.[8]A year later Sheffield United returned to the final and won the cup, which then remained in the hands ofNorthernandMidlandclubs until Tottenham won it again in1921.[2]In1927,Cardiff City,a team which plays in theEnglish football league systemdespite being based inWales,won the cup, the only non-English club to do so.[9]ScottishclubQueens Parkreached the final twice in the early years of the competition.[2]
The competition was not held during theFirstandSecondWorld Wars, except in the1914–15 season,when it was completed, and the1939–40 season,when it was abandoned during the qualifying rounds.[2]
Newcastle Unitedenjoyed a brief spell of FA Cup dominance in the 1950s, winning the trophy three times in five years,[2]and in the 1960s,Tottenham Hotspurenjoyed a similar spell of success, with three wins in seven seasons. This marked the start of a successful period for London-based clubs, with 11 wins in 22 seasons.[10]Teams from the second tier of English football, at the time called theSecond Division,experienced an unprecedented run of cup success between 1973 and 1980.[10]Sunderlandwon the cup in1973,Southamptonrepeated the feat in1976,andWest Ham Unitedwon in1980,the most recent victory by a team from outside the top division.[2][8]
Until 1999, a draw in the final would result in the match being replayed at a later date;[11]since then the final has always been decided on the day, with apenalty shoot-outas required.[12]As of 2022 a penalty shoot-out has been required on only three occasions, in the 2005, 2006 and 2022 finals.Arsenalhold the record for the highest number of FA Cup wins, having claimed the trophy 14 times, most recently in 2020.[13]
Results
edit(R) | Replay |
* | Match went toextra time |
† | Match decided via apenalty shoot-outafter extra time |
‡ | Winning team wonthe Double(League title and FA Cup) |
§ | Winning team wonthe Domestic Treble(League title, FA Cup and League Cup) |
# | Winning team wonthe Continental Treble(League title, FA Cup and European Cup/Champions League) |
Italics | Team from outside the top-tier ofEnglish football (since the formation ofThe Football Leaguein 1888) |
(#) | Number of trophy won by club |
- The "Season" column refers to the season the competition was held, andwikilinksto the article about that season.
- The wikilinks in the "Score" column point to the article about that season's final game.
All teams are English, except where marked(Scottish) or(Welsh).
Results by team
editTeams shown initalicsare no longer in existence. Additionally,Queen's Parkceased to be eligible to enter the FA Cup after aScottish Football Associationruling in 1887.[37]
- ^Sheffield Wednesday's total includes two wins and one defeat under the earlier name of The Wednesday.
- ^Buryhave reformed as aphoenix clubsince their last appearance in the final.
- ^Wimbledonrelocated in 2003 from south London to Milton Keynes before rebranding the club asMilton Keynes Donsin 2004, but the current incarnation of the club considers that it was founded in 2004 and does not lay claim to the history or honours (including the FA Cup win) of Wimbledon.[38]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^The official attendance for the 1923 final was reported as 126,047, but the actual figure is believed to be anywhere between 150,000 and 300,000.[15][16]
- ^Score was 0–0 after extra time. Arsenal won the penalty shoot-out 5–4.[17]
- ^Score was 3–3 after 90 minutes and extra time. Liverpool won the penalty shoot-out 3–1.[18]
- ^The 2020 final was playedbehind closed doorsdue to theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.[30]
- ^The 2021 final attendance was capped at 20,000 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.[32]
- ^Score was 0–0 after extra time. Liverpool won the penalty shoot-out 6–5.[34]
References
edit- ^Jury, Louise (7 January 2005)."FA Cup trophy's sale to set football memorabilia record".The Independent.Archivedfrom the original on 17 January 2010.Retrieved24 October2008.
- ^abcdefghijkRoss, James M."England FA Challenge Cup Finals".Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.Archivedfrom the original on 13 January 2010.Retrieved1 April2021.
- ^"FA Competition Administration".The Football Association.Archivedfrom the original on 23 December 2011.Retrieved13 October2010.
- ^Townsend, Nick (21 May 2000). "Football: FA Cup Final: Calamity for James as Di Matteo makes history".The Independent.
- ^abSoar, Phil; Tyler, Martin (1983).Encyclopedia of British Football.Willow Books. p. 19.ISBN0-00-218049-9.
- ^Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin.Encyclopedia of British Football.p. 20.
- ^Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin.Encyclopedia of British Football.pp. 16–17.
- ^abLyles, Christopher (5 January 2008)."FA Cup by numbers".The Daily Telegraph.Archivedfrom the original on 12 January 2022.Retrieved24 October2008.
- ^Shuttleworth, Peter (9 May 2008)."Cardiff in footsteps of FA Cup giants".BBC Sport.Archivedfrom the original on 1 September 2017.Retrieved24 October2008.
- ^abSoar, Phil; Tyler, Martin.Encyclopedia of British Football.p. 27.
- ^McNulty, Phil (4 February 2005)."FA Cup in danger of losing lustre".BBC Sport.Archivedfrom the original on 8 June 2020.Retrieved24 October2008.
- ^"Rules of The FA Challenge Cup".The Football Association.Archivedfrom the original on 23 January 2023.Retrieved13 October2010.
- ^"FA Cup final 2020: Arsenal 2–1 Chelsea".BBC Sport. 1 August 2020.Archivedfrom the original on 1 August 2020.Retrieved6 August2020.
- ^abBarnes, Stuart (2008).Nationwide Football Annual 2008–2009.SportsBooks Ltd. pp. 132, 134–143.ISBN978-1-899807-72-7.
- ^Bateson, Bill; Sewell, Albert (1992).News of the World Football Annual 1992–93.HarperCollins.p. 219.ISBN0-85543-188-1.
- ^"The F.A. Cup – Bolton's Victory – Record Crowds".The Times.News International.30 May 1923. Archived fromthe originalon 11 January 2010.Retrieved13 October2008.
- ^"Arsenal win Cup shoot-out".ABC News.21 May 2005.Archivedfrom the original on 18 May 2024.Retrieved18 May2024.
- ^"Liverpool 3-3 West Ham (aet)".BBC Sport.13 May 2006.Archivedfrom the original on 9 September 2007.Retrieved18 May2024.
- ^Bevan, Chris (30 May 2009)."Chelsea 2–1 Everton".BBC Sport.Archivedfrom the original on 12 January 2016.Retrieved31 March2021.
- ^"Chelsea 1–0 Portsmouth".BBC Sport.15 May 2010.Archivedfrom the original on 13 November 2020.Retrieved31 March2021.
- ^McNulty, Phil (14 May 2011)."Man City 1–0 Stoke".BBC Sport.Archivedfrom the original on 21 December 2019.Retrieved31 March2021.
- ^"A Look Back at Three Classic FA Cup Encounters Between Chelsea and Liverpool".The Football Association.2 March 2010.Archivedfrom the original on 1 March 2020.Retrieved31 March2021.
- ^"Manchester City v Wigan Athletic, 11 May 2013".11v11.Association of Football Statisticians.Archivedfrom the original on 20 April 2017.Retrieved31 March2021.
- ^"Arsenal v Hull City, 17 May 2014".11v11.Association of Football Statisticians.Archivedfrom the original on 24 June 2021.Retrieved31 March2021.
- ^"Arsenal v Aston Villa, 30 May 2015".11v11.Association of Football Statisticians.Archivedfrom the original on 27 September 2021.Retrieved31 March2021.
- ^"Crystal Palace v Manchester United, 21 May 2016".11v11.Association of Football Statisticians.Retrieved31 March2021.
- ^"Arsenal v Chelsea, 27 May 2017".11v11.Association of Football Statisticians.Archivedfrom the original on 4 October 2023.Retrieved31 March2021.
- ^"Chelsea v Manchester United, 19 May 2018".11v11.Association of Football Statisticians.Archivedfrom the original on 11 April 2019.Retrieved31 March2021.
- ^"Manchester City v Watford, 18 May 2019".11v11.Association of Football Statisticians.Archivedfrom the original on 1 September 2019.Retrieved31 March2021.
- ^McNulty, Phil (1 August 2020)."FA Cup final: The Wembley showpiece that deserved so much more".BBC Sport.Archivedfrom the original on 19 May 2024.Retrieved18 May2024.
- ^"Arsenal v Chelsea, 01 August 2020".11v11.Association of Football Statisticians.Archivedfrom the original on 15 October 2022.Retrieved31 March2021.
- ^Hope, Christopher (14 March 2021)."Wembley Stadium to admit 20,000 fans to FA Cup final in cautious restart for spectator sport".The Daily Telegraph.Archivedfrom the original on 17 April 2021.Retrieved18 May2024.
- ^"Youri Tielemans stunner fires Leicester City to maiden Emirates FA Cup crown".The Football Association. 15 May 2021.Archivedfrom the original on 15 May 2021.Retrieved15 May2021.
- ^ab"Liverpool beat Chelsea on penalties to win FA Cup final – recap".BBC Sport.14 May 2022.Archivedfrom the original on 10 January 2023.Retrieved3 June2023.
- ^"Manchester City 2–1 Manchester United".BBC Sport.3 June 2023.Archivedfrom the original on 2 June 2023.Retrieved3 June2023.
- ^"Man United win FA Cup with superb display against Man City".ESPN.26 May 2024.Archivedfrom the original on 26 May 2024.Retrieved26 May2024.
- ^"Ask Albert – Number 5".BBC Sport. 19 February 2001.Archivedfrom the original on 5 August 2020.Retrieved26 April2010.
- ^"Merton to be given Dons trophies".BBC Sport. 2 August 2007.Archivedfrom the original on 16 January 2008.Retrieved17 January2014.
External links
edit- The FA Cup ArchiveArchived4 January 2012 at theWayback Machineat TheFA.com
- England FA Challenge Cup FinalsArchived13 January 2010 at theWayback Machineat RSSSF.com