List of FA Cup finals
![A group of men, most of whom are wearing shorts and football shirts, holding two trophies, one of which is the FA Cup](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/BlackburnRovers_FA_Cup_1883-84.jpg/290px-BlackburnRovers_FA_Cup_1883-84.jpg)
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout competition in English football, organised by and named after The Football Association (the FA). It is the oldest existing football competition in the world,[1] having commenced in the 1871–72 season.[2] The tournament is open to all clubs in the top 10 levels of the English 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 the FA 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 original Wembley Stadium, which was used from 1923 until the stadium closed in 2000. The other venues used for the final before 1923 were Kennington Oval, Crystal Palace, Stamford Bridge and Lillie Bridge, all in London, Goodison Park in Liverpool and Fallowfield Stadium and Old Trafford in Manchester. The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff hosted 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. The new Wembley Stadium has 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 by Arsenal, with 14 victories.[2] 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 Hotspur and Arsenal.[2] The cup has been won by a non-English team once: Cardiff City in 1927. The current holders are Manchester United, who defeated local rivals Manchester City in the 2024 final.
History
[edit]![An elderly man holding the FA Cup](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/ArthurGrimsdell.jpg/200px-ArthurGrimsdell.jpg)
The winners of the first tournament were Wanderers, a team of former public schoolboys based in London, 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 in 1883, Blackburn Olympic became the first team from the north to win the cup, defeating Old Etonians. Upon his team's return to Blackburn, Olympic captain Albert Warburton proclaimed: "The Cup is very welcome to Lancashire. It'll have a good home and it'll never go back to London".[6]
With the advent of professionalism at around the same time, the amateur teams quickly faded from prominence in the competition.[5] The leading professional clubs formed The Football League in 1888.[7] Since then, one non-league team has won the cup. Tottenham Hotspur, then of the Southern League, defeated Sheffield United of The Football League to win the 1901 final.[8] A year later Sheffield United returned to the final and won the cup, which then remained in the hands of Northern and Midland clubs until Tottenham won it again in 1921.[2] In 1927, Cardiff City, a team which plays in the English football league system despite being based in Wales, won the cup, the only non-English club to do so.[9] Scottish club Queens Park reached the final twice in the early years of the competition.[2]
The competition was not held during the First and Second World Wars, except in the 1914–15 season, when it was completed, and the 1939–40 season, when it was abandoned during the qualifying rounds.[2]
Newcastle United enjoyed a brief spell of FA Cup dominance in the 1950s, winning the trophy three times in five years,[2] and in the 1960s, Tottenham Hotspur enjoyed 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 the Second Division, experienced an unprecedented run of cup success between 1973 and 1980.[10] Sunderland won the cup in 1973, Southampton repeated the feat in 1976, and West Ham United won in 1980, 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 a penalty shoot-out as required.[12] As of 2022 a penalty shoot-out has been required on only three occasions, in the 2005, 2006 and 2022 finals. Arsenal hold 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 to extra time |
† | Match decided via a penalty shoot-out after extra time |
‡ | Winning team won the Double (League title and FA Cup) |
§ | Winning team won the Domestic Treble (League title, FA Cup and League Cup) |
# | Winning team won the Continental Treble (League title, FA Cup and European Cup/Champions League) |
Italics | Team from outside the top-tier of English football (since the formation of The Football League in 1888) |
(#) | Number of trophy won by club |
- The "Season" column refers to the season the competition was held, and wikilinks to 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
[edit]Teams shown in italics are no longer in existence. Additionally, Queen's Park ceased to be eligible to enter the FA Cup after a Scottish Football Association ruling in 1887.[37]
- ^ Sheffield Wednesday's total includes two wins and one defeat under the earlier name of The Wednesday.
- ^ Bury have reformed as a phoenix club since their last appearance in the final.
- ^ Wimbledon relocated in 2003 from south London to Milton Keynes before rebranding the club as Milton Keynes Dons in 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
[edit]Notes
[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 played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.[30]
- ^ The 2021 final attendance was capped at 20,000 due to the COVID-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. Archived from the original on 17 January 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Ross, James M. "England FA Challenge Cup Finals". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 13 January 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
- ^ "FA Competition Administration". The Football Association. Archived from the original on 23 December 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
- ^ Townsend, Nick (21 May 2000). "Football: FA Cup Final: Calamity for James as Di Matteo makes history". The Independent.
- ^ a b Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin (1983). Encyclopedia of British Football. Willow Books. p. 19. ISBN 0-00-218049-9.
- ^ Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin. Encyclopedia of British Football. p. 20.
- ^ Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin. Encyclopedia of British Football. pp. 16–17.
- ^ a b Lyles, Christopher (5 January 2008). "FA Cup by numbers". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2008.
- ^ Shuttleworth, Peter (9 May 2008). "Cardiff in footsteps of FA Cup giants". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2008.
- ^ a b Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin. Encyclopedia of British Football. p. 27.
- ^ McNulty, Phil (4 February 2005). "FA Cup in danger of losing lustre". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2008.
- ^ "Rules of The FA Challenge Cup". The Football Association. Archived from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
- ^ "FA Cup final 2020: Arsenal 2–1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. 1 August 2020. Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- ^ a b Barnes, Stuart (2008). Nationwide Football Annual 2008–2009. SportsBooks Ltd. pp. 132, 134–143. ISBN 978-1-899807-72-7.
- ^ Bateson, Bill; Sewell, Albert (1992). News of the World Football Annual 1992–93. HarperCollins. p. 219. ISBN 0-85543-188-1.
- ^ "The F.A. Cup – Bolton's Victory – Record Crowds". The Times. News International. 30 May 1923. Archived from the original on 11 January 2010. Retrieved 13 October 2008.
- ^ "Arsenal win Cup shoot-out". ABC News. 21 May 2005. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
- ^ "Liverpool 3-3 West Ham (aet)". BBC Sport. 13 May 2006. Archived from the original on 9 September 2007. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
- ^ Bevan, Chris (30 May 2009). "Chelsea 2–1 Everton". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 12 January 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ "Chelsea 1–0 Portsmouth". BBC Sport. 15 May 2010. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ McNulty, Phil (14 May 2011). "Man City 1–0 Stoke". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ "A Look Back at Three Classic FA Cup Encounters Between Chelsea and Liverpool". The Football Association. 2 March 2010. Archived from the original on 1 March 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ "Manchester City v Wigan Athletic, 11 May 2013". 11v11. Association of Football Statisticians. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ "Arsenal v Hull City, 17 May 2014". 11v11. Association of Football Statisticians. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ "Arsenal v Aston Villa, 30 May 2015". 11v11. Association of Football Statisticians. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ "Crystal Palace v Manchester United, 21 May 2016". 11v11. Association of Football Statisticians. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ "Arsenal v Chelsea, 27 May 2017". 11v11. Association of Football Statisticians. Archived from the original on 4 October 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ "Chelsea v Manchester United, 19 May 2018". 11v11. Association of Football Statisticians. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ "Manchester City v Watford, 18 May 2019". 11v11. Association of Football Statisticians. Archived from the original on 1 September 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ McNulty, Phil (1 August 2020). "FA Cup final: The Wembley showpiece that deserved so much more". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 19 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
- ^ "Arsenal v Chelsea, 01 August 2020". 11v11. Association of Football Statisticians. Archived from the original on 15 October 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ 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. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
- ^ "Youri Tielemans stunner fires Leicester City to maiden Emirates FA Cup crown". The Football Association. 15 May 2021. Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
- ^ a b "Liverpool beat Chelsea on penalties to win FA Cup final – recap". BBC Sport. 14 May 2022. Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
- ^ "Manchester City 2–1 Manchester United". BBC Sport. 3 June 2023. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
- ^ "Man United win FA Cup with superb display against Man City". ESPN. 26 May 2024. Archived from the original on 26 May 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ "Ask Albert – Number 5". BBC Sport. 19 February 2001. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
- ^ "Merton to be given Dons trophies". BBC Sport. 2 August 2007. Archived from the original on 16 January 2008. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
External links
[edit]- The FA Cup Archive Archived 4 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine at TheFA.com
- England FA Challenge Cup Finals Archived 13 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine at RSSSF.com