This article is about the English annual men's professional association football competition. For English annual women's association football competition, seeWomen's FA Cup. For Non League Version, seeFA Trophy. For other uses, seeFA Cup (disambiguation).
"Emirates FA Cup" redirects here. For the pre-season invitational tournament, seeEmirates Cup.
The competition is open to all eligibleclubs down to level 9 of theEnglish football league system, with level 10 clubs acting as stand-ins in the event of non-entries from above.[3] A record 763 clubs competed in2011–12. The tournament consists of 12 randomly drawn rounds followed bythe semi-finals and thefinal. Entrants are notseeded, although a system ofbyes based on league level ensures higher ranked teams enter in later rounds – the minimum number of games needed to win, depending on which round a team enters the competition, ranges from six to fourteen.
The first six rounds are the Qualifying Competition, and are contested by clubs in theNational League System, levels 5 to 10 of the English football system, more commonly callednon-League. 32 of these teams progress to the first round of the Competition Proper, meeting the first of the 48 professional teams fromLeagues One andTwo. The last entrants are the 20 Premier League and 24Championship clubs, into the draw for the third round proper.[3] In the modern era, only one non-League team has ever reached the quarter-finals, and teams below Level 2 have never reached the final.[note 1] As a result, significant focus is given to the smaller teams who progress furthest, especially if they achieve an unlikely "giant-killing" victory.
Winners receive the FA Cup trophy, of which there have been two designs and five actual cups; the latest is a 2014 replica of the second design, introduced in 1911. Winners also qualify for theUEFA Europa League and a place in the upcomingFA Community Shield.Arsenal are the most successful club with fourteen titles, most recently in2020, and their former managerArsène Wenger is the competition's most successful, having won seven finals with the team.Manchester United are the current holders, having defeatedlocal rivalsManchester City 2–1 in the2024 final.
In 1863, the newly foundedFootball Association (the FA) published theLaws of the Game of Association Football, unifying the various different rules in use before then. On 20 July 1871, in the offices ofThe Sportsman newspaper, the FA SecretaryC. W. Alcock proposed to the FA committee that "it is desirable that a Challenge Cup should be established in connection with the Association for which all clubs belonging to the Association should be invited to compete". Theinaugural FA Cup tournament kicked off in November 1871. After thirteen games in all,Wanderers were crowned the winners inthe final, on 16 March 1872. Wanderers retained the trophy thefollowing year. The modern cup was beginning to be established by the1888–89 season, when qualifying rounds were introduced.[4]
Following the1914–15 edition, the competition was suspended in mid air due to theFirst World War, and did not resume until1919–20. The1923 FA Cup Final, commonly known as the "White Horse Final", was the first final to be played in the newly openedWembley Stadium (known at the time as the Empire Stadium). The1927 final saw "Abide with Me" being sung for the first time at the Cup final, which has become a pre-match tradition.[5] Due to the outbreak ofWorld War II, the competition was not played between the1938–39 and1945–46 editions. Due to the wartime breaks, the competition did not celebrate its centenary year until1980–81.
After some confusion over the rules in its first competition, the FA decided that any drawn match would lead to areplay, with teams competing in further replays until a game was eventually won.[6]Alvechurch andOxford City contested the most replayed tie in the1971–72 qualification, in a tie which went to 6 matches.[6] Multiple replays were scrapped for the competition proper in 1991–92, and the qualifying rounds in 1997–98.[6] Replays were removed altogether from thesemi-final and final matches in 2000, from the quarter-finals in 2016–17, the fifth round in 2019–20[6] and the first round onwards from 2024 to 2025.[7]
Redevelopment of Wembley saw the final played outside of England for the first time, the2001–2006 finals being played at theMillennium Stadium inCardiff. The final returned to Wembley in2007, followed by the semi-finals from 2008.
An application window is open to clubs before entry lists, round byes and scheduling are announced in July. All clubs in the top four levels (thePremier League and the three divisions of theEnglish Football League) are automatically eligible. Clubs from Level 5–9 (non-league football) are also eligible provided they play in either theFA Trophy orFA Vase competitions in the current season. All participating clubs must also have a stadium suitable for the competition andThe Association may reject applications at its discretion.[3]
Previously, Level 10 clubs were a prominent feature in early qualifying rounds. The gradual remodelling of theNational League System to a 'perfect' 1–2–4–8–16 system, with a first phase in 2018–19, a final phase in 2021–22 (which included the promotion of 107 clubs), and played to a full quota in 2022–23 has resulted in a larger number of teams playing in Level 7–9.[8][9][10] Consequently, for the FA Cup, entries equal the number in tiers 1–9 and is cut off to those below.[3] Though still able to apply, Level 10 clubs are used as alternatives "subject to availability" in the event of a non/rejected applicant (with vacancies filled by Level 10 applicants with the bestPPG in the previous league season).[3]
The total number of entries in the FA Cup has changed asNon-League football has gradually been expanded and reorganised over time. In the2004–05 season, 660 clubs entered the competition, beating the long-standing record of 656 from the1921–22 season. In2005–06 this increased to 674 entrants, in2006–07 to 687, in2007–08 to 731 clubs, in2008–09 and2009–10 to 762.[11] The total number of entries has also varied naturally from year-to-year as new clubs form and others dissolve at unequal rates. Though most leagues in theNational League System maintain the same number of teams via reprieves, inevitably entry-level divisions (typically at tier 10) have to be impacted when a club leaves the pyramid.[12] Therefore, for example, 759 teams entered in2010–11, a record 763 in2011–12, 758 in2012–13, 737 in2013–14 and 736 in2014–15.[11] However, since 2021–22, The FA has cut off automatic eligibility to the 10th tier (to appear only subject to availability) and instead set the size of the draw to match the more stable number of teams in Level 1–9.[13] This means that the competition may now see a standardised number of entries from one year to the next.[14] This number is currently 732 but could rise to 748 for 2023–24 with plans for a newSWPL 9th tier division to share theSouth West with the existingWestern League.[15]
It is very rare for top clubs to miss the competition, although it can happen in exceptional circumstances.Manchester United did not defend their title in1999–2000, as they were already in theinauguralClub World Championship. The club stated that entering both tournaments would overload their fixture schedule and make it more difficult to defend their Champions League and Premier League titles. The club claimed that they did not want to devalue the FA Cup by fielding a weaker side. The move benefited United as they received a two-week break and won the1999–2000 league title by an 18-point margin, although they did not progress past the group stage of the Club World Championship. The withdrawal from the FA Cup, however, drew considerable criticism as this weakened the tournament's prestige andSir Alex Ferguson later admitted his regret regarding their handling of the situation.[16][17][18]
Entries from clubs affiliated to "offshore" associations are also eligible subject to consideration on an annual basis, with special provisions that may apply.[3] In the2013–14 season the firstChannel Island club entered the competition whenGuernsey F.C. competed.[19] The first game played in the Channel Islands – and thus the southernmost FA Cup tie played – took place on7 August 2021 betweenJersey Bulls andHorsham YMCA. A third club,F.C. Isle of Man, was also eligible to play in2022–23, but in the end all Crown Dependency teams either did not appear on the entry list or later withdrew.[20][21]
Beginning in August, the competition proceeds as aknockout tournament throughout, consisting of twelve rounds, a semi-final and then a final, in May. A system of byes ensures clubs above level 9 enter the competition at later stages. There is noseeding, the fixtures in each round being determined by a random draw. Fixtures ending in a tie are replayed once only (from the 2024–25 campaign, prior to the first round proper).[22][23] The first six rounds are qualifiers, with the draws organised on a regional basis. The next six rounds are the "proper" rounds where all clubs are in one draw.
All entrants from Level 9 begin the competition in the extra preliminary round, and any Level 10 team filling in for a vacancy.[3] Teams from Level 8 are ranked on their PPG in the previous season, except newly promoted teams automatically ranked towards the bottom and newly relegated teams ranked to the top; teams are then split between entering at either the Extra-Preliminary or preliminary round so as to ensure the right balance of fixtures throughout the competition.[3] From there, clubs from higher levels are added in later rounds, as per the table below.
The months in which rounds are played are traditional, with exact dates subject to each calendar. The number of new entries, winners from previous rounds, and division of Level 8 teams in the two preliminary rounds are based on an entry list of 732 modelled on theEnglish league system as of 2022–23. From 2023 to 2024, the entry list could rise to 746 in line with sixteen additional clubs at Level 9 meaning that the extra preliminary round will have 444 teams with only 50 Level 8 clubs entering at the preliminary round.[15]
The qualifying rounds are regionalised to reduce the travel costs for smaller non-league sides. The first and second proper rounds were also previously split into Northern and Southern sections, but this practice was ended after the1997–98 competition.[citation needed]
The final is normally held the Saturday after thePremier League season finishes in May. The only seasons in recent times when this pattern was not followed were:1999–2000, when most rounds were played a few weeks earlier than normal as an experiment;2010–11 and2012–13 when the FA Cup Final was played before the Premier League season had finished, to allowWembley Stadium to be ready for theUEFA Champions League final,[24] and in2011–12 to allowEngland time to prepare for that summer'sEuropean Championships;[25]2019–20 when the final was delayed until August due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom,[26][27] and the2021-22 when the final was held a week before the end of the league. The2025 Final is also scheduled to take place the week before the end of the league.[28]
The draws for the Extra Preliminary, Preliminary, and first qualifying rounds used to all occur at the same time. Thereafter, the draw for each subsequent round is not made until after the scheduled dates for the previous round, meaning that in the case of replays, clubs will often know their future opponents in advance.
The draw for each of the proper rounds is broadcast live on television, usually taking place at the conclusion of live coverage of one of the games of the previous round. Public interest is particularly high during the draw for the third round, which is where the top-ranked teams are added to the draw.
Until 2024-25, rounds up to and including the fourth round proper, fixtures resulting in a draw (after normal time) went to areplay, played at the venue of the away team, at a later date; if that replay was still tied, the winner was settled by a period ofextra time, and if still necessary, apenalty shootout. Since2016–17, ties have been settled on the day from the quarter-finals onwards, using extra time and penalties. From2018–19, Fifth round ties have also been settled by extra time and penalties. Beginning with the2024–25 competition, replays have been scrapped from the first round onwards.[29] The decision to scrap replays received criticism from a number of lower-tier clubs and government officials.[30]
Until1990–91, further replays would be played until one team was victorious. In1971–72, afourth qualifying round game betweenAlvechurch andOxford City was played six times until Alvechurch won in the fifth replay.[31] In their1975 campaign,Fulham played 12 games over six rounds, which remains the most games played by a team to reach a final.[32] Replays were traditionally played three or four days after the original game, but from1991–92 they were staged at least 10 days later on police advice for the rounds proper. This led topenalty shoot-outs being introduced, the first of which came on 26 November 1991 whenRotherham United eliminatedScunthorpe United.[33]
From1980–81 to1998–99, the semi-finals went to extra time on the day if the score after 90 minutes was a draw. If the score was still level after extra time, the match would go to a replay. Replays for the semi-finals were scrapped for1999–2000; the last semi-final to go into a replay was in 1998–99, when Manchester United beatrivals Arsenal 2–1 after extra time, following a 0–0 draw in the original match.
The firstFA Cup Final to go to extra time and a replay was the1875 final, between theRoyal Engineers and theOld Etonians. The initial tie finished 1–1 but the Royal Engineers won the replay 2–0 in normal time. The last replayed final was the1993 FA Cup Final, when Arsenal andSheffield Wednesday fought a 1–1 draw. The replay saw Arsenal win the FA Cup, 2–1 after extra time.
The last quarter-final to go to a replay was Manchester United vsWest Ham United in the2015–16 FA Cup. The original game at Old Trafford ended in a 1–1 draw, while Manchester United won the replay at theBoleyn Ground, 2–1. It was also the last FA Cup game ever played at the Boleyn Ground.[34]
The FA Cup winners qualify for the following season'sUEFA Europa League (formerly named the UEFA Cup); they previously entered theUEFA Cup Winners' Cup from its launch in1960 until its final edition in1998. This European place applies even if the team isrelegated or is not in the English top flight. In the past, if the FA Cup winning team also qualified for the following season'sChampions League or Europa League through their league or European performance, then the losing FA Cup finalists were given the European berth of the League Cup winners and the League Cup winners would be given the league berth instead. FA Cup winners enter the Europa League at the group stage but losing finalists, if they had not qualified for Europe via the league, began earlier, at the play-off or third qualifying round stage.[36] During the Cup Winners' Cup era, if a team had already qualified for the UEFA Cup, they were be promoted to the Cup Winners' Cup and their initial UEFA Cup berth would be transferred to the next league team. From the2015–16 UEFA Europa League season, however,UEFA does not allow the runners-up to qualify for the Europa League through the competition.[37] If the winner of the FA Cup has already qualified for a European Competition through their Premier League position, the Europa League berth is then given to the highest placed team in the Premier League who has not yet qualified for a European Competition.
The FA Cup winners also qualify for the following season's single-matchFA Community Shield, the traditional season opener played against the previous season'sPremier League champions (or the Premier League runners-up if the FA Cup winners also won the league – thedouble).
Fixtures in the 12 rounds of the competition are usually played at the home ground of one of the two teams. Thesemi-finals andfinal are played at a neutral venue – the rebuiltWembley Stadium.
In the matches for the 12 competition rounds, the team who plays at home is decided when the fixtures are drawn – simply the first team drawn out for each fixture. Occasionally games may have to be moved to other grounds due to other events taking place, security reasons or a ground not being suitable to host popular teams. However, since2003, clubs cannot move grounds to the away side's for capacity or financial reasons. If any move has to be made, it has to be to a neutral venue and any additional monies earned by the move goes into the central pot.[38] In the event of adraw, thereplay is played at the ground of the team who originally playedaway from home.
In the days when multiple replays were possible, the second replay (and any further replays) were played at neutral grounds. The clubs involved could alternatively agree to toss for home advantage in the second replay.
The semi-finals have been played exclusively at the rebuiltWembley Stadium since2008, one year after it opened and after it had already hosted a final (in 2007). For the first decade of the competition, theKennington Oval was used as the semi-final venue. In the period between this first decade and the reopening of Wembley, semi-finals were played at high-capacity neutral venues around England; usually the home grounds of teams not involved in that semi-final, chosen to be roughly equidistant between the two teams for fairness of travel. The top three most used venues in this period wereVilla Park in Birmingham (55 times),Hillsborough in Sheffield (34 times) andOld Trafford in Manchester (23 times). Theoriginal Wembley Stadium was also used seven times for semi-final, between 1991 and 2000 (the last held there), but not always for fixtures featuringLondon teams. In 2005, both were held at the Millennium Stadium.
In 2003 the FA decided to permanently use the new Wembley for semi-finals to recoup debts in financing the new stadium.[39] This was controversial, with the move seen as both unfair to fans of teams located far from London, and taking some of the prestige away from a Wembley final.[40] In defending the move, the FA has also cited the extra capacity Wembley offers, although the 2013 fixture betweenMillwall andWigan Athletic led to the unprecedented step of placing 6,000 tickets on sale to neutral fans after the game failed to sell out.[41] A fan poll byThe Guardian in 2013 found 86% opposition to Wembley semi-finals.[41]
The final has been played at the rebuiltWembley Stadium since it opened, in2007.[42] The rebuilding process meant that between 2001 and 2006 they were hosted at theMillennium Stadium inCardiff in Wales. Prior to rebuilding, the final was hosted by theoriginal Wembley Stadium since it opened in1923 (being originally named the Empire Stadium). One exception to this 78-year series of Empire Stadium finals (including five replays) was the1970 replay betweenLeeds United andChelsea, held atOld Trafford in Manchester.
In the 51 years prior to the Empire Stadium opening, the final (including 8 replays) was held in a variety of locations, predominantly in London, and mainly at theKennington Oval and thenCrystal Palace. It was played 22 times at The Oval (the inaugural competition in 1872, and then all but two times until1892). After The Oval, Crystal Palace hosted 21 finals from1895 to1914, broken up by four replays elsewhere. The other London venues wereStamford Bridge from1920 to1922 (the last three finals before the move to Empire Stadium); and the University of Oxford'sLillie Bridge inFulham for the second ever final, in1873. The other venues used sparingly in this period were all outside of London, as follows:
The FA permittedartificial turf (3G) pitches in all rounds of the competition from the2014–15 edition and beyond.[43] Under the 2015–16 rules, the pitch must be of FIFA One Star quality, or Two Star for ties if they involve one of the 92 professional clubs.[3] This followed approval two years previously for their use in the qualifying rounds only – if a team with a 3G pitch progressed to the competition proper, they had to switch their tie to the ground of another eligible entrant with a natural grass pitch.[44] Having been strong proponents of the surface, the first match in the proper rounds to be played on a 3G surface was a televised first round replay atMaidstone United'sGallagher Stadium on 20 November 2014.[45]
The winners of the competition receive the FA Cup. It is only loaned to the club by the FA; under the current (2015–16) rules it must be returned by 1 March, or earlier if given seven days' notice.[3] Traditionally, the holders had the Cup until the following year's presentation, although more recently the trophy has been taken on publicity tours by the FA in between finals.[46]
The trophy comes in three parts – the cup itself, plus a lid and a base. There have been two designs of trophy in use, but five physical trophies have been presented. The original trophy, known as the "little tin idol", was 18 inches high and made by Martin, Hall & Co. It was stolen in 1895 and never recovered, and so was replaced by an exact replica, used until 1910. The FA decided to change the design after the1909 winners, Manchester United, made their own replica, leading the FA to realise they did not own the copyright.[47] This new, larger design was byFattorini and Sons, and was used from 1911.[47] In order to preserve this original, from 1992 it was replaced by an exact replica, although this had to be replaced after just over two decades, after showing wear and tear from being handled more than in previous eras. This third replica, first used in 2014, was built heavier to withstand the increased handling.[46]
Originally commissioned in 2013, the current trophy was handcrafted using the similar age-old techniques, including casting, hand-chasing, hand-engraving and polishing. It included many of the trophy’s original features, including grapes, vines and fluting. It also incorporated the base from the previous edition and engraving on the plinth. Speaking at the unveiling of the third trophy in the competition’s history, Alex Horne, the then general secretary of the FA, explained why the FA had taken the decision to replace its 22-year-old predecessor. “The current trophy is fragile and is too delicate to continue to repair, so must be retired for these reasons," he said. "However, it will remain cherished and will forever be an integral part of The FA Cup’s rich history." [48]
Kevin Baker, Chief Executive and founder the makers of the current FA Cup trophy,Thomas Lyte, said: “After many years of restoring the previous trophy, we are honoured to be making the new FA Cup. This sporting trophy is a national treasure, an icon of English football, and its heritage is embedded within the design and the craft of the new trophy. Thomas Lyte prides itself on the skills of its expert silversmiths and this iconic symbol of competition and fair play couldn’t be in better hands.”
Of the four surviving trophies, only the 1895 replica has entered private ownership.[49]The name of the winning team is engraved on the silver band around the base as soon as the final has finished, in order to be ready in time for the presentation ceremony.[46] This means the engraver has just five minutes to perform a task which would take 20 under normal conditions, although time is saved by engraving the year on during the match, and sketching the presumed winner.[50] During the final, the trophy is decorated with ribbons in the colours of both finalists, with the loser's ribbons being removed at the end of the game.[51] The tradition of tying ribbons started afterTottenham Hotspur won the1901 FA Cup Final and the wife of a Spurs director decided to tie blue and white ribbons to the handles of the cup.[52] Traditionally, at Wembley finals, the presentation is made at the Royal Box, with players, led by thecaptain, mounting a staircase to a gangway in front of the box and returning by a second staircase on the other side of the box. At Cardiff the presentation was made on a podium on the pitch.
The tradition of presenting the trophy immediately after the game did not start until the1882 final; after the first final in 1872 the trophy was not presented to the winners, Wanderers, until a reception held four weeks later in the Pall Mall Restaurant in London.[53] Under the original rules, the trophy was to be permanently presented to any club which won the competition three times, although when inaugural winners Wanderers achieved this feat by the1876 final, the rules were changed by FA Secretary CW Alcock (who was also captain of Wanderers in their first victory).[54]
Portsmouth have the distinction of being the football club which has held the FA Cup trophy for the longest uninterrupted period - seven years. Portsmouth had defeatedWolverhampton Wanderers 4–1 in the1939 FA Cup Final and were awarded the trophy as 1938–39 FA Cup winners. But with the outbreak ofWorld War II in September 1939, the regularFootball League andFA Cup competitions for the1939–40 season were cancelled for the duration of the war. Portsmouth's managerJack Tinn was rumoured to have kept the FA Cup trophy 'safe under his bed' throughout the duration of the war, but this is anurban myth. Because the naval city of Portsmouth was a primary strategic military target forGerman Luftwaffe bombing, the FA Cup trophy was actually taken ten miles to the north of Portsmouth, to the nearby Hampshire village ofLovedean, and there it resided in a quaint thatched roof country pub calledThe Bird in Hand for the seven years of the war.[55] After the conclusion of World War II, the FA Cup trophy was presented back to the Football Association by the club in time for the1946 FA Cup Final.
The first trophy, the 'little tin idol', was made by Martin, Hall & Co at a cost of £20.[56] It was stolen from aBirmingham shoe shop window belonging to William Shillcock while held byAston Villa on 11 September 1895 and was never seen again. Despite a £10 reward for information, the crime was never solved. As it happened while it was in their care, the FA fined Villa £25 to pay for a replacement.
Just over 60 years later, 80 year old career criminal Henry (Harry) James Burge claimed to have committed the theft, confessing to a newspaper, with the story being published in theSunday Pictorial newspaper on 23 February 1958. He claimed to have carried out the robbery with two other men, although when discrepancies with a contemporaneous report in theBirmingham Post newspaper (the crime pre-dated written police reports) in his account of the means of entry and other items stolen, detectives decided there was no realistic possibility of a conviction and the case was closed. Burge claimed the cup had been melted down to make counterfeithalf-crown coins, which matched known intelligence of the time, in which stolen silver was being used to forge coins which were then laundered throughbetting shops at a local racecourse, although Burge had no history of forgery in a record of 42 previous convictions for which he had spent 42 years in prison. He had been further imprisoned in 1957 for seven years for theft from cars. Released in 1961, he died in 1964.[57]
The second FA Cup trophy, used between 1896 and 1910
After the theft, a replica of the trophy was made, which was used until a redesign of the trophy in 1911. The 1895 replica was then presented to the FA's long-serving presidentLord Kinnaird.[47] Kinnaird died in 1923, and his family kept it in their possession, out of view, until putting it up for auction in 2005.[58] It was sold atChristie's auction house on 19 May 2005 for£420,000 (£478,400 including auction fees and taxes).[47] The sale price set a new world record for a piece of footballmemorabilia, surpassing the £254,000 paid for theJules Rimet World Cup Trophy in 1997.[49] The successful bidder wasDavid Gold, the then joint chairman ofBirmingham City; claiming the FA and government were doing nothing proactive to ensure the trophy remained in the country, Gold stated his purchase was motivated by wanting to save it for the nation.[49] Accordingly, Gold presented the trophy to theNational Football Museum in Preston on 20 April 2006, where it went on immediate public display.[58] It later moved with the museum to its new location in Manchester.[47] In November 2012, it was ceremonially presented toRoyal Engineers, after they beatWanderers 7–1 in a charity replay of thefirst FA Cup final. In September 2020, Gold sold the replica trophy for £760,000 through theBonhams auction house.[59] In January 2021, it was revealed that the trophy had been purchased bySheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the owner ofManchester City, who stated that it would be returned on loan to the National Football Museum.[60]
The current design of the FA Cup (1992 replica pictured)
The redesigned trophy first used in 1911 was larger at 61.5 cm (24.2 inches) high, and was designed and manufactured byFattorini & Sons of Bradford, coincidentally being won byBradford City in its first outing.[46][47]
On 27 March 2016 episode of the BBC television programmeAntiques Roadshow, this trophy was valued at £1 million by expertAlastair Dickenson, although he suggested that, due to the design featuring depictions of grapes and vines, it may not have been specifically produced for the FA, but was instead an off-the-shelf design originally meant to be a wine or champagne cooler.[47] This was later disproved when Thomas Fattorini was invited to the Antiques Roadshow to "ambush" Alastair Dickenson with the competition winning design by Fattorini & Sons. The show was filmed atBaddesley Clinton and subsequently aired on 23 October 2016.
A smaller but otherwise identical replica was also made by the companyThomas Fattorini for the North Wales Coast FA Cup trophy which is contested annually by members of that regional Association.[61]
The 1992 replica was made byToye, Kenning and Spencer.[62] A copy of this trophy was also produced, in case anything happened to the primary trophy.[63]
The 2014 replica was made byThomas Lyte, handcrafted in sterling 925 silver over 250 hours. A weight increase for greater durability has taken it to 6.3 kilograms (14 lb).[46]
Each club in the final receives 40 winners or runners-up medals to be distributed among players, staff and officials. The traditional styles of gold-cased medals – the winners' medal, which had remained largely unchanged since the 1890s, and runners-up medals, which were last updated in 1946 – were replaced for the 2021 final by new designs of gold winners' medals and silver runners-up medals suspended on a ribbon.[64]
Since the start of the1994–95 season, the FA Cup has been sponsored. However, to protect the identity of the competition, the sponsored name has always included 'The FA Cup' in addition to the sponsor's name, unlike sponsorship deals for theLeague Cup where the word 'cup' is preceded by only the sponsor's name. Sponsorship deals run for four years, though – as in the case ofE.ON – one-year extensions may be agreed.Emirates Airline has been the sponsor since 2015, initially renaming the competition as 'The Emirates FA Cup', unlike previous editions, which included 'The FA Cup in association with E.ON' and 'The FA Cup withBudweiser'.[65] The Emirates sponsorship deal, originally scheduled to terminate in 2018, was later extended three times until 2021, 2024, 2028.[66]
From 2006 to 2013,Umbro supplied match balls for all FA Cup matches. They were replaced at the start of the 2013–14 season byNike, who produced the competition's official match ball for five seasons.Mitre took over for the 2018–19 season, beginning a three-year partnership with the FA.[73]
Harlow Town (1979–80: Preliminary, 1st–4th qualifying rounds, 1st–4th rounds)
Most games played in a season: 13,Bideford (1973–74: one First Qualifying, two Second Qualifying, five Third Qualifying, four Fourth Qualifying and one first round)
Most goals by a player in a single FA Cup season: 19,Jimmy Ross (forPreston North End,1887–88.) (Preston outscored opponents 50–5 over 7 matches, including "Biggest win" shown above.)[76]
The possibility of unlikely victories in the earlier rounds of the competition, where lower ranked teams beat higher placed opposition in what is known as a "giant killing", is much anticipated by the public. Such upsets are considered an integral part of the tradition and prestige of the competition, and the attention gained by giant-killing teams can be as great as that for winners of the cup.[81] Almost every club in theLeague Pyramid has a fondly remembered giant-killing act in its history.[82] It is considered particularly newsworthy when a topPremier League team suffers an upset defeat, or where the giant-killer is a non-league club, i.e. from outsideThe Football League.
One analysis of four years of FA Cup results showed that it was 99.85 per cent likely that at least one team would beat one from its next higher division in a given year. The probability drops to 48.8 per cent for a two-division gap, and 39.28 per cent for a three-division gap.[82]
The Football League was founded in 1888, 16 years after the first FA Cup competition. Before its establishment as the dominant football competition in England, teams from rival leagues did make the final of the FA Cup. The Wednesday (later Sheffield Wednesday) in 1890 reached the final as a member of theFootball Alliance, two years before that competition merged with the Football League.[83] Later, with the Football League predominantly inthe North andMidlands of England, leading clubs of theSouthern Football League were of a level with Football League teams, and in 1901 Southern League membersTottenham Hotspur became the only non-League side to win the Cup,[84] while fellow Southern League teamSouthampton were losing finalists in 1900 and 1902. In1920–21, the Football Leagueexpanded to incorporate teams from the Southern League's first division, and the following year it added afurther division consisting of leading northern and midlands clubs. This consolidated the Football League's position as the leading competition in English football, and established the hierarchy in which non-League clubs in theEnglish football league system competing in the FA Cup would face Football League teams as clearunderdogs.
Since the expansion of the Football League in 1921, the best performance of a team from outside the Football League wasNational League sideLincoln City's run to the quarter-finals of the2016–17 FA Cup, during which they defeated Championship sideBrighton 3–1 in the fourth round and Premier League sideBurnley1–0 in the fifth, before falling to ultimate Cup championsArsenal 5–0 at the Emirates. Lincoln's defeat of Burnley was only the third (and most recent) FA Cup victory for a non-league team over a top-flight side since 1989.[85] Giant-killings can also be applied where the defeated team is from lower down the Football League, particularly where the defeated club is very notable or the winning team particularly obscure.Liverpool, having already won five league titles in their history, were in theSecond Division in1959 when theylost 2–1 toWorcester City of theSouthern League.[86]
Some small clubs gain a reputation for being "cup specialists" after two or more giant killing feats within a few years.[82]Yeovil Town hold the record for the most victories over league opposition as a non-league team, having recorded 20 wins through the years before they achievedpromotion into The Football League in2003.[89] The record for a club which has never entered the Football League is held byAltrincham, with 17 wins against league teams.
For non-League teams, reaching the third round proper – where all Level 1 sides now enter – is considered a major achievement. In the2008–09 FA Cup, a record eight non-League teams achieved this feat.[90] As of the2023–24 season, onlyeleven non-League teams have reached the fifth round proper (last 16) since 1925,[91] and onlyLincoln City have progressed to the quarter-finals (last 8), during the2016–17 edition of the tournament.[92]
During the2023–24 season,Maidstone United in theNational League South (Level 6) had an 8–game cup run, reaching the fifth round when they won 2–1 away atEFL Championship (Level 2) sideIpswich Town.[94] Their run ended at the fifth round after losing 5–0 away to another EFL Championship sideCoventry City.[95] They became theeleventh non–League team to reach the fifth round, and the lowest-ranked team to do so sinceBlyth Spartans (Level 7) in1977–78. Maidstone's co–owner Oliver Ash stated that their cup run had earned the club 'something like £700,000 before tax'.[96]
Giant-killings can apply to matches between league clubs, particularly where teams from tier 4 have defeated tier 1 sides. In games between League sides, one of the most notable results was the1992 victory byWrexham,bottom of the previous season's League (avoiding relegation due to expansion ofThe Football League), overreigning champions Arsenal. Another similar shock was whenShrewsbury Town beatEverton 2–1 in2003. Everton finished seventh in thePremier League and Shrewsbury Town wererelegated to theFootball Conference thatsame season.
Since its establishment, the FA Cup has been won by 44 clubs. Teams shown initalics are no longer in existence. Additionally,Queen's Park ceased to be eligible to enter the FA Cup after aScottish Football Association ruling in 1887.[100]
The record for most titles for a manager is held byArsène Wenger, who won the FA Cup with Arsenal seven times (1998,2002,2003,2005,2014,2015,2017). Wenger is also the only manager to have won the Cup at the old Wembley Stadium, the Millennium Stadium, and the new Wembley Stadium.
Eight clubs have won the FA Cup as part of aleague and cup double, namelyPreston North End (1889),Aston Villa (1897),Tottenham Hotspur (1961),Arsenal (1971, 1998, 2002),Liverpool (1986),Manchester United (1994, 1996, 1999),Chelsea (2010) andManchester City (2019, 2023). In 1993, Arsenal became the first side to win both the FA Cup and the League Cup in the same season when they beatSheffield Wednesday in both finals. Liverpool (2001, 2022), Chelsea (2007) and Manchester City (2019) have since repeated this feat. In 2012, Chelsea won both the FA Cup and the Champions League.
The FA Cup has only been won by a non-English team once.Cardiff City achieved this in 1927 when they beat Arsenal in the final at Wembley. They had previously made it to the final only to lose toSheffield United in 1925 and lost another final toPortsmouth in 2008. Cardiff City are also the only team to win the national cups of two countries in the same season, having also won theWelsh Cup in 1927. The Scottish teamQueen's Park reached and lost the final in both 1884 and 1885.
Since the creation of the Football League in 1888, the final has never been contested by two teams from outside the top division, and there have only been eight winners who were not in the top flight:Notts County (1894);Tottenham Hotspur (1901);Wolverhampton Wanderers (1908);Barnsley (1912);West Bromwich Albion (1931);Sunderland (1973),Southampton (1976) andWest Ham United (1980). With the exception of Tottenham, these clubs were all playing in the second tier (the old Second Division) – Tottenham were playing in theSouthern League and were only elected to the Football League in 1908, meaning they are the only non-League winners of the FA Cup since the League's creation. Other than Tottenham's victory, only24 finalists have come from outside English football's top tier, with a record of 7 wins and 17 runners-up: and none at all from the third tier or lower, Southampton (1902, then in the Southern League) being the last finalist from outside the top two tiers.
Sunderland's win in 1973 was considered a major upset, having beatenLeeds United who finished third inthe top flight that season,[102] as was West Ham's victory over Arsenal in 1980 as the Gunners were in their third successive FA Cup Final and were the cup holders and just having finished4th in the First Division, whereas West Ham had ended the season 7th in Division 2. This also marked the last time (as of 2023–24) a team from outside the top division won the FA Cup. Uniquely, in2008 three of the four semi-finalists (Barnsley,Cardiff City and West Bromwich) were from outside the top division, although the eventual winner was the last remaining top-flight team,Portsmouth.[103] West Bromwich (1931) are the only team to have won the FA Cup and earned promotion to the top flight in the same season; whereasWigan Athletic (2013) are the only team to have won the Cup and been relegated from the top flight in the same season.
In the early years of coverage the BBC had exclusive radio coverage with a picture of the pitch marked in theRadio Times with numbered squares to help the listener follow the match on the radio. The first FA Cup Final on Radio was in1926 betweenBolton Wanderers and Manchester City but this was only broadcast in Manchester, the first national final on BBC Radio was between Arsenal and Cardiff City in 1927. The first final on BBC Television was in 1937 in a match which featured Sunderland and Preston North End but this was not televised in full. The following season's final between Preston andHuddersfield Town was covered in full by the BBC. When ITV was formed in 1955 they shared final coverage with the BBC in one of the only club matches shown live on television, during the 1970s and 1980s coverage became more elaborate with BBC and ITV trying to steal viewers from the others by starting coverage earlier and earlier some starting as early as 9 a.m. which was six hours before kick off. The sharing of rights between BBC and ITV continued from 1955 to 1988, when ITV lost coverage to the BBC. From 1988 to 1997, the BBC was the exclusive broadcaster of the competition on terrestrial television and covered the competition from the third round onwards, showing one live match per round alongside highlights.
In 1990,British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB) obtained rights to the competition, and showed a live match from rounds 1 and 2. This continued to be the case afterSky took over BSB in 1991.
From 1997 to 2001, Sky owned the coverage showing one match per round, with the free-to-air rights sublicensed to ITV who showed an additional match from the third round onwards.[104]: 44 The BBC continued with highlights onMatch of the Day.
From 2001 to 2008, BBC and Sky again shared coverage with BBC having two or three matches per round and Sky having one or two.
Until the 2008–09 season, theBBC andSky Sports shared television coverage, with the BBC showing three matches in the earlier rounds. Some analysts argued the decision to move away from the Sky and, in particular, the BBC undermined the FA Cup in the eyes of the public.
From2008–09 to2013–14, FA Cup matches were shown live byITV across England andWales, withUTV broadcasting toNorthern Ireland. Scottish memberSTV refused to show them, and instead the regularly advertised programming that otherwise would mostly have been shown across the UK (new and repeated network entertainment and drama content, films, local productions etc.) would continue as normal in a delayed or exclusive fashion while the rest of the ITV network aired the football. ITV showed 16 FA Cup games per season, including the first pick of live matches from each of the first to sixth rounds of the competition, plus one semi-final exclusively live. The final was also shown live on ITV. Under the same 2008 contract,Setanta Sports showed three games and one replay in each round from round three to five, two quarter-finals, one semi-final and the final. The channel also broadcast ITV's matches, albeit with their own commentary teams, exclusively toScotland, after STV's decision to replace the games with regular programming. Setanta entered administration in June 2009 and as a result the FA terminated Setanta's deal to broadcast FA-sanctioned competitions andEngland internationals.[105]
The early rounds of the 2008–09 competition were covered for the first time by ITV's online service,ITV Local. Thefirst match of the competition, betweenWantage Town andBrading Town, was broadcast live online. Highlights of eight games of each round were broadcast as catch up on ITV Local.[106][107] Since ITV Local closed, this coverage did not continue.
As a result of Setanta going out of business ITV showed the competition exclusively in the 2009–10 season with between three and four matches per round, all quarter finals, semi-finals and final live as the FA could not find a pay TV broadcaster in time. Many expectedBSkyB to make a bid to show some of the remaining FA Cup games for the remainder of the 2009–10 season which would include a semi-final and shared rights to the final.
In October 2009, The FA announced that ITV would show an additional match in the First and second rounds on ITV, with one replay match shown onITV4. One match and one replay match from the first two rounds will broadcast on The FA website for free, in a similar situation to the2010 World Cup Qualifier betweenUkraine andEngland.[108] The 2009–10 first-round match betweenOldham Athletic and Leeds United was the first FA Cup match to be streamed online live.[109]
ESPN bought the competition for the 2010–11 to 2012–13 season and during this timeRebecca Lowe became the first woman to host the FA Cup Final in the UK.
ESPN took over the package Setanta held for the FA Cup from the 2010–11 season.[110] The 2011 final was also shown live onSky 3D in addition to ESPN (who provided the 3D coverage for Sky 3D) and ITV.[111] Following the sale of ESPN's UK and Ireland channels toBT, ESPN's rights package transferred toBT Sport from the 2013–14 season.[112]STV would continue to broadcast regular programming in place of FA Cup games, live draws and highlights shows throughout this period, although it did the broadcast the 2014 final live.
ITV lost the rights to the FA Cup beginning with the2014–15 FA Cup, terrestrial rights returned toBBC Sport, with the final being shown onBBC One while BT Sport hold the pay TV rights. Under this deal, the BBC will show around the same number of games as ITV and still having the first pick for each round.[113]
Matches involving Welsh clubs are sometimes exclusively broadcast onWelsh language channelS4C, which is also available to view across the rest of the United Kingdom on satellite and cable television, and through the channel's website.[114] A similar arrangement is shared withBBC Cymru Wales when the corporation obtained the rights from 2014 to 2015, potentially giving the BBC an extra match per round.[115]
On 23 May 2019, it was announced that ITV would replaceBT Sport in broadcasting the FA Cup from the 2021–22 season, this new deal will seeBBC and ITV become joint broadcasters of the tournament for the first time since 1988, this will mean for the first time that all FA Cup matches would all be exclusively broadcast onfree-to-air television.[116]
In addition, full coverage of the tournament returned to STV in Scotland, after the broadcaster replaced content from the competition with regular network programmes (and local content made in Scotland, plus films and specials) during the 2008 to 2014 period that ITV last held the rights.
BBC Radio 5 Live andTalksport provides radio coverage including several full live commentaries per round, with additional commentaries broadcast onBBC Local Radio.
^Since the formation of the Football League in 1888, the only non-League club to win the FA Cup is Tottenham Hotspur in 1901. Since 1914, when Queens Park Rangers reached the fourth round proper (the last eight/quarter-final stage), the only non-League club to have reached that stage is Lincoln City in 2017. Both Tottenham and QPR achieved their feats whilst members of the Southern Football League, which ran parallel to the Football League until 1920, when the Football League expanded and absorbed the top division of the Southern League. Since then, the Southern League became part of the English league pyramid, below the Football League.
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