FA Cup facts for kids
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| Organising body | The Football Association |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1871 |
| Region |
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| Number of teams | 745 (2024–25) |
| Qualifier for | UEFA Europa League FA Community Shield |
| Current champions | Crystal Palace (1st title) |
| Most successful club(s) | Arsenal (14 titles) |
| Television broadcasters | BBC Sport ITV Sport FPT Play (Vietnam) Optus Sport (Australia) |
The FA Cup is a super exciting football competition in England. Its full name is The Football Association Challenge Cup. It's a special kind of tournament where teams get knocked out if they lose, so every game is really important!
The FA Cup started way back in the 1871–72 season, making it the oldest national football competition in the world. That's a long time ago! The Football Association (the FA) organises it. There's also a Women's FA Cup that started in 1970.
Lots of football clubs can join the FA Cup, from the biggest professional teams to smaller amateur clubs. In fact, a record 763 clubs played in the 2011–12 competition! The tournament has 12 rounds, then the semi-finals, and finally, the big final match. Teams aren't "seeded," which means there's no special order for the best teams. Instead, a system of "byes" lets the higher-ranked teams join in later rounds. This means a team might play anywhere from six to fourteen games to win the whole thing!
The first six rounds are called the Qualifying Competition. These are played by clubs from the lower levels of English football, often called non-League teams. From these, 32 teams make it to the "Competition Proper." Here, they meet 48 professional teams from League One and League Two. The biggest teams, from the Premier League and Championship, join in the third round. It's very rare for a non-League team to get far, but when they do, it's a huge deal! People call it a "giant-killing" victory when a small team beats a much bigger one.
The winners get the famous FA Cup trophy. There have been a few different versions of the cup over the years. The current one is a copy of a design from 1911. Winning the FA Cup also means the team gets to play in the UEFA Europa League (a big European competition) and the FA Community Shield at the start of the next season. Arsenal has won the FA Cup the most times, with fourteen titles. Their old manager, Arsène Wenger, won it seven times, which is more than any other manager! The current champions are Crystal Palace, who won their first title in the 2025 final.
Contents
History of the FA Cup
The Football Association (the FA) was created in 1863. They made the official rules for football. On July 20, 1871, a man named C. W. Alcock suggested that the FA should start a "Challenge Cup" for all their clubs to play in.
The very first FA Cup tournament began in November 1871. After 13 games, Wanderers won the final on March 16, 1872. They even won the trophy again the next year! By the 1888–89 season, qualifying rounds were added to the competition.
The FA Cup was stopped during World War I (after the 1914–15 season) and World War II (from 1938–39 to 1945–46). The 100th tournament didn't happen until 1980–81 because of these breaks.
The 1923 FA Cup Final was special because it was the first final played at the new Wembley Stadium. This match is famous as the "White Horse Final." In the 1927 final, the song "Abide with Me" was sung for the first time, and it's been a tradition ever since.
For a long time, if a game ended in a draw, teams would play a "replay" match. Sometimes, there were many replays! In 1971–72, a game between Alvechurch and Oxford City was replayed six times! But replays for the main competition were stopped in 1991–92. From the 2024–25 season, replays have been removed completely from the first round onwards.
When Wembley Stadium was being rebuilt, the FA Cup final was played in Cardiff at the Millennium Stadium from 2001 to 2006. The final returned to the new Wembley in 2007.
Who Can Play in the FA Cup?
Clubs can apply to join the FA Cup in July each year. All teams in the top four levels of English football (the Premier League and the three divisions of the English Football League) can automatically play. Clubs from levels 5 to 9 (non-league football) can also join if they play in other FA competitions. All teams must have a suitable stadium for the matches.
The number of teams joining the FA Cup has changed over time. In the 2004–05 season, 660 clubs entered, which was a new record. This number grew to 763 in 2011–12. Now, the FA aims for a set number of entries each year, currently around 732 teams.
It's very rare for a top club to miss the competition. However, Manchester United didn't play in the 1999–2000 FA Cup. They were playing in the first-ever FIFA Club World Cup and felt they couldn't play in both tournaments. This decision caused a lot of discussion at the time.
Welsh teams that play in English leagues can also join. Cardiff City is the only non-English team to ever win the FA Cup, back in 1927! Teams from the Channel Islands and Isle of Man can also sometimes play.
How the Competition Works
Overview of Rounds
The FA Cup starts in August and is a "knockout tournament." This means if a team loses a match, they are out of the competition. There are twelve rounds, then the semi-finals, and finally, the big final match in May. Higher-level teams join in later rounds. There's no "seeding," so teams are drawn randomly for each round. From the 2024–25 season, if a game is a draw, it goes straight to extra time and then penalties (no replays). The first six rounds are qualifying rounds, usually played in regions to save travel costs for smaller teams. The next six rounds are the "proper" rounds, where all clubs are in one big draw.
Match Schedule
Teams from Level 9 start in the "extra preliminary round." Teams from Level 8 join either the extra preliminary or preliminary round. Clubs from higher levels join in later rounds, as shown in the table below.
The months for each round are usually the same every year, but the exact dates can change.
| Round | Month | Leagues entering this round | New entries this round | Winners from previous round | Number of fixtures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying Competition | |||||
| Extra preliminary round | August | Any vacancies filled by Level 10
Level 9 clubs Level 8 clubs (96 lowest ranked) |
416 | 208 | |
| Preliminary round | Level 8 clubs (64 highest ranked) | 64 | 208 | 136 | |
| First round | September | Level 7 clubs | 88 | 136 | 112 |
| Second round | Level 6 clubs | 48 | 112 | 80 | |
| Third round | October | none | 0 | 80 | 40 |
| Fourth round | Level 5 clubs | 24 | 40 | 32 | |
| Competition Proper | |||||
| First round | November | Level 3 and 4 clubs | 48 | 32 | 40 |
| Second round | December | none | 0 | 40 | 20 |
| Third round | January | Level 1 and 2 clubs | 44 | 20 | 32 |
| Fourth round | none | 0 | 32 | 16 | |
| Fifth round | February | 0 | 16 | 8 | |
| Quarter-finals | March | 0 | 8 | 4 | |
| Semi-finals | April | 0 | 4 | 2 | |
| Final | May | 0 | 2 | 1 | |
The final match is usually played on the Saturday after the Premier League season ends in May. Sometimes, the date changes for other big football events.
How Draws Work
The draws for the early qualifying rounds happen all at once. For later rounds, the draw happens after the previous round's games are finished. This means teams sometimes know who they might play next if there are replays.
The draws for the "proper" rounds are shown live on TV. Many people watch the draw for the third round, as this is when the biggest teams join the competition.
Tie-breaking Rules
In the past, if a game was a draw, teams would play a "replay" match at the other team's stadium. If that was also a draw, they would play extra time and then a penalty shootout. From the 2024–25 season, replays have been removed from the first round onwards. Now, if a game is a draw after normal time, it goes straight to extra time and then a penalty shootout if needed. This applies to all rounds from the first round proper to the final.
Before 1990–91, teams would keep replaying games until someone won! For example, in 1971–72, a game between Alvechurch and Oxford City was played six times!
What Winners Get
European Football
The team that wins the FA Cup gets a spot in the next season's UEFA Europa League. This is a big European competition. This spot is given even if the team is relegated from their league. If the FA Cup winner has already qualified for a European competition through their league position, then the FA Cup spot goes to the next highest-placed team in the Premier League that hasn't qualified yet.
FA Community Shield
The FA Cup winners also get to play in the FA Community Shield. This is a single match played at the start of the new season against the previous season's Premier League champions. It's a traditional way to kick off the new football year!
Where Games Are Played
For most of the 12 rounds, games are played at one of the two teams' home stadiums. The team that plays at home is decided by the random draw. Sometimes, games might be moved to a different stadium for safety reasons or if a ground isn't suitable. However, clubs can't move games just to make more money or for a bigger stadium.
The semi-finals and the final are played at a neutral stadium. This means it's not the home ground of either team playing. Since 2008, the semi-finals have been played at the rebuilt Wembley Stadium. Before that, they were played at large stadiums around England, usually chosen to be fair for both teams' travel.
The FA Cup final has been played at the new Wembley Stadium since it opened in 2007. Before that, from 2001 to 2006, it was held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, while Wembley was being rebuilt. The original Wembley Stadium hosted the final from 1923 to 2000.
Artificial Pitches
Since the 2014–15 season, teams can play on artificial turf (3G) pitches in all rounds of the FA Cup. These pitches must be of a good quality, approved by FIFA. The first match in the main competition played on a 3G pitch was at Maidstone United's stadium in 2014.
The FA Cup Trophy
The winners of the FA Cup get to hold the famous trophy. It's loaned to the club by the FA, and they have to return it by March 1st the next year. The trophy is often taken on special tours for people to see.
The trophy has three parts: the cup, a lid, and a base. There have been two main designs for the trophy, but five actual cups have been used. The very first trophy, made in 1871, was stolen in 1895 and never found! So, an exact copy was made. In 1911, a new, larger design was introduced. To protect this original, a replica was made in 1992, and then another, stronger one in 2014.
The winning team's name is engraved on the trophy's base right after the final match. This means the engraver has to work very quickly! During the final, the trophy is decorated with ribbons in the colours of both teams. The losing team's ribbons are removed at the end. The tradition of tying ribbons started in 1901.
The trophy wasn't always given to the winners right after the game. For the very first final in 1872, the winners got it four weeks later! In the past, if a club won the cup three times, they got to keep it forever. But the rules were changed when Wanderers won it three times.
Portsmouth holds the record for keeping the FA Cup trophy the longest. They won in 1939, just before World War II started. The competition was stopped during the war, so Portsmouth kept the trophy safe for seven years! It was kept in a country pub called The Bird in Hand to protect it from bombings.
Original Trophy Design (1871)
The first trophy, nicknamed the "little tin idol," cost £20 to make. It was stolen from a shoe shop in Birmingham in 1895 while Aston Villa had it. It was never found.
1895 Replica Trophy
After the theft, a copy of the original trophy was made. This replica was used until 1910. Later, it was given to Lord Kinnaird, a long-serving FA president. In 2005, his family sold it at an auction for £420,000! David Gold, who was a chairman of Birmingham City, bought it to keep it in the country. He gave it to the National Football Museum, where it's now on display. In 2020, it was sold again for £760,000 and bought by Sheikh Mansour, the owner of Manchester City, who loaned it back to the museum.
Current Trophy Design (1911)
The new trophy design, first used in 1911, was much bigger. It was made by Fattorini & Sons. Interestingly, Bradford City won it in its first year!
1992 Replica Trophy
A replica of the 1911 trophy was made in 1992 by Toye, Kenning and Spencer.
2014 Replica Trophy
The newest replica was made in 2014 by Thomas Lyte. It's made of silver and took over 250 hours to create! It's also heavier (6.3 kg) to make it more durable.
Medals for Players
Each team in the final gets 40 medals for their players, staff, and officials. The winners get gold medals, and the runners-up get silver medals. The medal designs were updated for the 2021 final.
Sponsorship of the FA Cup
Since the 1994–95 season, the FA Cup has had sponsors. The sponsor's name is always added to "The FA Cup" to protect the competition's identity. For example, Emirates Airline has been the sponsor since 2015, calling it 'The Emirates FA Cup'.
| Period | Sponsor | Name | Trophy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1871–1994 | N/A | The FA Cup | Original |
| 1994–1998 | Littlewoods | The FA Cup sponsored by Littlewoods | |
| 1998–2002 | AXA | The AXA sponsored FA Cup (1998–1999) The FA Cup sponsored by AXA (1999–2002) |
|
| 2002–2006 | N/A | The FA Cup | |
| 2006–2011 | E.ON | The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON | |
| 2011–2014 | Budweiser | The FA Cup with Budweiser | |
| 2014–2015 | N/A | The FA Cup | |
| 2015–2024 | Emirates | The Emirates FA Cup (2015–2020) Emirates FA Cup (2020–2024) |
Different companies have also supplied the official match balls for the FA Cup over the years, including Umbro, Nike, and Mitre.
FA Cup Winners and Finalists
Since it began, 45 different clubs have won the FA Cup. Some clubs shown in italics no longer exist.
Results by Team
| Club | Wins | First final won | Last final won | Runners-up | Last final lost | Total final appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | 14 | 1930 | 2020 | 7 | 2001 | 21 |
| Manchester United | 13 | 1909 | 2024 | 9 | 2023 | 22 |
| Chelsea | 8 | 1970 | 2018 | 8 | 2022 | 16 |
| Liverpool | 8 | 1965 | 2022 | 7 | 2012 | 15 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 8 | 1901 | 1991 | 1 | 1987 | 9 |
| Manchester City | 7 | 1904 | 2023 | 7 | 2025 | 14 |
| Aston Villa | 7 | 1887 | 1957 | 4 | 2015 | 11 |
| Newcastle United | 6 | 1910 | 1955 | 7 | 1999 | 13 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 6 | 1884 | 1928 | 2 | 1960 | 8 |
| Everton | 5 | 1906 | 1995 | 8 | 2009 | 13 |
| West Bromwich Albion | 5 | 1888 | 1968 | 5 | 1935 | 10 |
| Wanderers | 5 | 1872 | 1878 | 0 | — | 5 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 4 | 1893 | 1960 | 4 | 1939 | 8 |
| Bolton Wanderers | 4 | 1923 | 1958 | 3 | 1953 | 7 |
| Sheffield United | 4 | 1899 | 1925 | 2 | 1936 | 6 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 3 | 1896 | 1935 | 3 | 1993 | 6 |
| West Ham United | 3 | 1964 | 1980 | 2 | 2006 | 5 |
| Preston North End | 2 | 1889 | 1938 | 5 | 1964 | 7 |
| Old Etonians | 2 | 1879 | 1882 | 4 | 1883 | 6 |
| Portsmouth | 2 | 1939 | 2008 | 3 | 2010 | 5 |
| Sunderland | 2 | 1937 | 1973 | 2 | 1992 | 4 |
| Nottingham Forest | 2 | 1898 | 1959 | 1 | 1991 | 3 |
| Bury | 2 | 1900 | 1903 | 0 | — | 2 |
| Huddersfield Town | 1 | 1922 | 4 | 1938 | 5 | |
| Leicester City | 1 | 2021 | 4 | 1969 | 5 | |
| Oxford University | 1 | 1874 | 3 | 1880 | 4 | |
| Royal Engineers | 1 | 1875 | 3 | 1878 | 4 | |
| Derby County | 1 | 1946 | 3 | 1903 | 4 | |
| Leeds United | 1 | 1972 | 3 | 1973 | 4 | |
| Southampton | 1 | 1976 | 3 | 2003 | 4 | |
| Burnley | 1 | 1914 | 2 | 1962 | 3 | |
| Cardiff City | 1 | 1927 | 2 | 2008 | 3 | |
| Blackpool | 1 | 1953 | 2 | 1951 | 3 | |
| Crystal Palace | 1 | 2025 | 2 | 2016 | 3 | |
| Clapham Rovers | 1 | 1880 | 1 | 1879 | 2 | |
| Notts County | 1 | 1894 | 1 | 1891 | 2 | |
| Barnsley | 1 | 1912 | 1 | 1910 | 2 | |
| Charlton Athletic | 1 | 1947 | 1 | 1946 | 2 | |
| Old Carthusians | 1 | 1881 | 0 | — | 1 | |
| Blackburn Olympic | 1 | 1883 | 0 | — | 1 | |
| Bradford City | 1 | 1911 | 0 | — | 1 | |
| Ipswich Town | 1 | 1978 | 0 | — | 1 | |
| Coventry City | 1 | 1987 | 0 | — | 1 | |
| Wimbledon | 1 | 1988 | 0 | — | 1 | |
| Wigan Athletic | 1 | 2013 | 0 | — | 1 | |
| Queen's Park | 0 | — | 2 | 1885 | 2 | |
| Birmingham City | 0 | — | 2 | 1956 | 2 | |
| Watford | 0 | — | 2 | 2019 | 2 | |
| Bristol City | 0 | — | 1 | 1909 | 1 | |
| Luton Town | 0 | — | 1 | 1959 | 1 | |
| Fulham | 0 | — | 1 | 1975 | 1 | |
| Queens Park Rangers | 0 | — | 1 | 1982 | 1 | |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | — | 1 | 1983 | 1 | |
| Middlesbrough | 0 | — | 1 | 1997 | 1 | |
| Millwall | 0 | — | 1 | 2004 | 1 | |
| Stoke City | 0 | — | 1 | 2011 | 1 | |
| Hull City | 0 | — | 1 | 2014 | 1 | |
Winning Multiple Times in a Row
Four clubs have won the FA Cup in back-to-back seasons more than once:
- Wanderers (1872, 1873 and 1876, 1877, 1878)
- Blackburn Rovers (1884, 1885, 1886 and 1890, 1891)
- Tottenham Hotspur (1961, 1962 and 1981, 1982)
- Arsenal (2002, 2003 and 2014, 2015)
Managers with Most Wins
The manager with the most FA Cup titles is Arsène Wenger. He won the cup seven times with Arsenal (1998, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2014, 2015, 2017). He's also the only manager to win the Cup at the old Wembley, the Millennium Stadium, and the new Wembley.
Winning More Than One Trophy (Doubles/Trebles)
- Manchester City (2019) is the only club to win the domestic "treble." This means they won the league, the FA Cup, and the League Cup all in one season.
- Manchester United (1999) and Manchester City (2023) are the only English teams to win the "continental treble." This includes the league, the FA Cup, and the UEFA Champions League (Europe's biggest club competition).
- Eight clubs have won the FA Cup as part of a "double," meaning they won both the league and the FA Cup in the same season. These include Preston North End (1889), Aston Villa (1897), Tottenham Hotspur (1961), Arsenal (1971, 1998, 2002), Liverpool (1986), Manchester United (1994, 1996, 1999), Chelsea (2010), and Manchester City (2019, 2023).
- Arsenal (1993) was the first team to win both the FA Cup and the League Cup in the same season. Liverpool (2001, 2022), Chelsea (2007), and Manchester City (2019) have also done this.
- In 2012, Chelsea won both the FA Cup and the Champions League.
Winners from Outside England
The FA Cup has only been won by a non-English team once. Cardiff City from Wales won it in 1927 when they beat Arsenal. The Scottish team Queen's Park reached the final twice (1884 and 1885) but lost both times.
Winners from Lower Divisions
Since the Football League started in 1888, the final has never been played by two teams from outside the top division. Only eight winners were not in the top league at the time:
- Notts County (1894)
- Tottenham Hotspur (1901)
- Wolverhampton Wanderers (1908)
- Barnsley (1912)
- West Bromwich Albion (1931)
- Sunderland (1973)
- Southampton (1976)
- West Ham United (1980)
Tottenham Hotspur is the only team to win the FA Cup while not being part of the Football League at all. Sunderland's win in 1973 was a big surprise because they beat a top-flight team. West Ham's win in 1980 was also a shock, as they were in the second division. This was the last time a team from outside the top division won the FA Cup.
In 2008, three of the four semi-finalists were from outside the top division, but Portsmouth, a top-flight team, won the cup. West Bromwich Albion (1931) is the only team to win the FA Cup and get promoted to the top league in the same season. Wigan Athletic (2013) is the only team to win the Cup and get relegated from the top league in the same season.
Images for kids
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Harry Hampton scores one of his two goals in the 1905 FA Cup final, when Aston Villa defeated Newcastle United
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Since 2007, the FA Cup final has been held at Wembley Stadium, on the site of the previous stadium which hosted it from 1923 to 2000.
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George Armstrong celebrating with the FA Cup trophy following Arsenal's win over Liverpool in the 1971 final.
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The pre-match ceremony ahead of the 2010 FA Cup Final featuring sponsorship by E.ON.
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The second FA Cup trophy, used between 1896 and 1910.
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FA Cup trophy design by Fattorini & Sons, 1911.
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The current design of the FA Cup (1992 replica pictured).
See also
In Spanish: FA Cup para niños
