FA Cup facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
FA Cup

Organising body	The Football Association
Founded	1871; 154 years ago (1871)
Region	England Wales
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 Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competition in the world. It is organised by and named after the Football Association (the FA). A concurrent Women's FA Cup has been held since 1970.

The competition is open to all eligible clubs down to level 9 of the English football league system, with level 10 clubs acting as stand-ins in the event of non-entries from above. A record 763 clubs competed in 2011–12. The tournament consists of 12 randomly drawn rounds followed by the semi-finals and the final. Entrants are not seeded, although a system of byes 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 the National League System, levels 5 to 10 of the English football system, more commonly called non-League. 32 of these teams progress to the first round of the Competition Proper, meeting the first of the 48 professional teams from Leagues One and Two. The last entrants are the 20 Premier League and 24 Championship clubs, into the draw for the third round proper. 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. 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 the UEFA Europa League and a place in the upcoming FA Community Shield. Arsenal are the most successful club with fourteen titles, most recently in 2020, and their former manager Arsène Wenger is the competition's most successful, having won seven finals with the team. Crystal Palace are the current holders, having defeated Manchester City 1–0 in the 2025 final.

History

Harry Hampton scores one of his two goals in the 1905 FA Cup final, when Aston Villa defeated Newcastle United

In 1863, the newly founded Football Association (the FA) published the Laws of the Game of Association Football, unifying the various different rules in use before then. On 20 July 1871, in the offices of The Sportsman newspaper, the FA Secretary C. 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". The inaugural FA Cup tournament kicked off in November 1871. After thirteen games in all, Wanderers were crowned the winners in the final, on 16 March 1872. Wanderers retained the trophy the following year. The modern cup was beginning to be established by the 1888–89 season, when qualifying rounds were introduced.

Following the 1914–15 edition, the competition was suspended in mid air due to the First World War, and did not resume until 1919–20. The 1923 FA Cup Final, commonly known as the "White Horse Final", was the first final to be played in the newly opened Wembley Stadium (known at the time as the Empire Stadium). The 1927 final saw "Abide with Me" being sung for the first time at the Cup final, which has become a pre-match tradition. Due to the outbreak of World War II, the competition was not played between the 1938–39 and 1945–46 editions. Because of the wartime breaks, the hundredth tournament did not take place until 1980–81.

After some confusion over the rules in its first competition, the FA decided that any drawn match would lead to a replay, with teams competing in further replays until a game was eventually won. Alvechurch and Oxford City contested the most replayed tie in the 1971–72 qualification, in a tie which went to 6 matches. Multiple replays were scrapped for the competition proper in 1991–92, and the qualifying rounds in 1997–98. Replays were removed altogether from the semi-final and final matches in 2000, from the quarter-finals in 2016–17, the fifth round in 2019–20 and the first round onwards from 2024 to 2025.

Redevelopment of Wembley saw the final played outside of England for the first time, the 2001–2006 finals being played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. The final returned to Wembley in 2007, followed by the semi-finals from 2008.

Eligibility

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 (the Premier League and the three divisions of the English Football League) are automatically eligible. Clubs from Level 5–9 (non-league football) are also eligible provided they play in either the FA Trophy or FA Vase competitions in the current season. All participating clubs must also have a stadium suitable for the competition and The Association may reject applications at its discretion.

Previously, Level 10 clubs were a prominent feature in early qualifying rounds. The gradual remodelling of the National 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. Consequently, for the FA Cup, entries equal the number in tiers 1–9 and is cut off to those below. 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 best PPG in the previous league season).

The total number of entries in the FA Cup has changed as Non-League football has gradually been expanded and reorganised over time. In the 2004–05 season, 660 clubs entered the competition, beating the long-standing record of 656 from the 1921–22 season. In 2005–06 this increased to 674 entrants, in 2006–07 to 687, in 2007–08 to 731 clubs, in 2008–09 and 2009–10 to 762. 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 the National 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. Therefore, for example, 759 teams entered in 2010–11, a record 763 in 2011–12, 758 in 2012–13, 737 in 2013–14 and 736 in 2014–15. 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. This means that the competition may now see a standardised number of entries from one year to the next. This number is currently 732 but could rise to 748 for 2023–24 with plans for a new SWPL 9th tier division to share the South West with the existing Western League.

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 in 1999–2000, as they were already in the inaugural Club 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 the 1999–2000 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 and Sir Alex Ferguson later admitted his regret regarding their handling of the situation.

Welsh sides that play in English leagues are eligible, although since the creation of the League of Wales there are only five clubs remaining: Cardiff City (the only non-English team to win the tournament, in 1927), Swansea City, Newport County, Wrexham, and Merthyr Town. In the early years other teams from Wales, Ireland and Scotland also took part in the competition, with Glasgow side Queen's Park losing the final to Blackburn Rovers in 1884 and 1885 before being barred from entering by the Scottish Football Association.

Entries from clubs affiliated to "offshore" associations are also eligible subject to consideration on an annual basis, with special provisions that may apply. In the 2013–14 season the first Channel Island club entered the competition when Guernsey F.C. competed. The first game played in the Channel Islands – and thus the southernmost FA Cup tie played – took place on 7 August 2021 between Jersey Bulls and Horsham YMCA. A third club, F.C. Isle of Man, was also eligible to play in 2022–23, but in the end all Crown Dependency teams either did not appear on the entry list or later withdrew.

Competition format

Overview

Beginning in August, the competition proceeds as a knockout 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 no seeding, the fixtures in each round being determined by a random draw. Prior to the fifth round, fixtures ending in a tie are replayed once only (from the 2024–25 campaign, this will be prior to the first round proper). 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.

Schedule

All entrants from Level 9 begin the competition in the extra preliminary round, as well as any Level 10 team filling in for a vacancy. 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. 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 the English 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.

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 the 1997–98 competition.

The final is normally held the Saturday after the Premier 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 and 2012–13 when the FA Cup Final was played before the Premier League season had finished, to allow Wembley Stadium to be ready for the UEFA Champions League final, and in 2011–12 to allow England time to prepare for that summer's European Championships; 2019–20 when the final was delayed until August due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, and the 2021-22 when the final was held a week before the end of the league. The 2025 Final is also scheduled to take place the week before the end of the league.

Draws

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.

Tiebreaking

In rounds up to and including the fourth round proper, fixtures resulting in a draw (after normal time) go to a replay, played at the venue of the away team, at a later date; if that replay is still tied, the winner is settled by a period of extra time, and if still necessary, a penalty shootout. Since 2016–17, ties have been settled on the day from the quarter-finals onwards, using extra time and penalties. From 2018–19, Fifth round ties are also settled by extra time and penalties. Beginning with the 2024–25 competition, replays have been scrapped from the first round onwards. The decision to scrap replays received criticism from a number of lower tier clubs and government officials.

Until 1990–91, further replays would be played until one team was victorious. In 1971–72, a fourth qualifying round game between Alvechurch and Oxford City was played six times until Alvechurch won in the fifth replay. In their 1975 campaign, Fulham played 12 games over six rounds, which remains the most games played by a team to reach a final. Replays were traditionally played three or four days after the original game, but from 1991–92 they were staged at least 10 days later on police advice for the rounds proper. This led to penalty shoot-outs being introduced, the first of which came on 26 November 1991 when Rotherham United eliminated Scunthorpe United.

From 1980–81 to 1998–99, 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 for 1999–2000; the last semi-final to go into a replay was in 1998–99, when Manchester United beat rivals Arsenal 2–1 after extra time, following a 0–0 draw in the original match.

The first FA Cup Final to go to extra time and a replay was the 1875 final, between the Royal Engineers and the Old Etonians. The initial tie finished 1–1 but the Royal Engineers won the replay 2–0 in normal time. The last replayed final was the 1993 FA Cup Final, when Arsenal and Sheffield 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 vs West Ham United in the 2015–16 FA Cup. The original game at Old Trafford ended in a 1–1 draw, while Manchester United won the replay at the Boleyn Ground, 2–1. It was also the last FA Cup game ever played at the Boleyn Ground.

The last fifth round replay saw Tottenham Hotspur defeat Rochdale 6–1 at Wembley in the 2017–18 FA Cup after the first match at Spotland Stadium ended in a 2–2 draw.

Qualification for subsequent competitions

European football

The FA Cup winners qualify for the following season's UEFA Europa League (formerly named the UEFA Cup; from its launch in 1960 until 1998, they entered the now-defunct UEFA Cup Winners' Cup instead). This European place applies even if the team is relegated or is not in the English top flight. In the past, if the FA Cup winning team also qualified for the following season's Champions 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 (in the Cup Winners' Cup era, teams qualifying for the UEFA Cup via other competitions would be promoted to the Cup Winners' Cup instead). FA Cup winners enter the Europa League at the group stage. Losing finalists, if they had not qualified for Europe via the league, began earlier, at the play-off or third qualifying round stage. From the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League season, however, UEFA does not allow the runners-up to qualify for the Europa League through the competition. If the winner of the FA Cup has already qualified for a European Competition through their Premier League position, the FA Cup berth is then given to the highest placed team in the Premier League who has not yet qualified for a European Competition.

FA Community Shield

The FA Cup winners also qualify for the following season's single-match FA Community Shield, the traditional season opener played against the previous season's Premier League champions (or the Premier League runners-up if the FA Cup winners also won the league – the double).

Venues

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.

Fixtures in the 12 rounds of the competition are usually played at the home ground of one of the two teams. The semi-finals and final are played at a neutral venue – the rebuilt Wembley Stadium.

Competition rounds

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, since 2003, 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. In the event of a draw, the replay is played at the ground of the team who originally played away 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.

Semi-finals

The semi-finals have been played exclusively at the rebuilt Wembley Stadium since 2008, one year after it opened and after it had already hosted a final (in 2007). For the first decade of the competition, the Kennington 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 were Villa Park in Birmingham (55 times), Hillsborough in Sheffield (34 times) and Old Trafford in Manchester (23 times). The original Wembley Stadium was also used seven times for semi-final, between 1991 and 2000 (the last held there), but not always for fixtures featuring London 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. This was controversial, with the move seen as both unfair to fans of teams located far from London, as well as taking some of the prestige away from a Wembley final. In defending the move, the FA has also cited the extra capacity Wembley offers, although the 2013 fixture between Millwall and Wigan Athletic led to the unprecedented step of placing 6,000 tickets on sale to neutral fans after the game failed to sell out. A fan poll by The Guardian in 2013 found 86% opposition to Wembley semi-finals.

Final

The final has been played at the rebuilt Wembley Stadium since it opened, in 2007. The rebuilding process meant that between 2001 and 2006 they were hosted at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in Wales. Prior to rebuilding, the final was hosted by the original Wembley Stadium since it opened in 1923 (being originally named the Empire Stadium). One exception to this 78-year series of Empire Stadium finals (including five replays) was the 1970 replay between Leeds United and Chelsea, held at Old 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 the Kennington Oval and then Crystal Palace. It was played 22 times at The Oval (the inaugural competition in 1872, and then all but two times until 1892). After The Oval, Crystal Palace hosted 21 finals from 1895 to 1914, broken up by four replays elsewhere. The other London venues were Stamford Bridge from 1920 to 1922 (the last three finals before the move to Empire Stadium); and the University of Oxford's Lillie Bridge in Fulham for the second ever final, in 1873. The other venues used sparingly in this period were all outside of London, as follows:

• Racecourse Ground, Derby (1886)
• Fallowfield Stadium, Manchester (1893)
• Goodison Park, Liverpool (1894)
• Burnden Park, Bolton (1901 replay)
• Goodison Park (1910 replay)
• Old Trafford, Manchester (1911 replay)
• Bramall Lane, Sheffield (1912 replay)
• Old Trafford (1915)

Artificial turf

The FA permitted artificial turf (3G) pitches in all rounds of the competition from the 2014–15 edition and beyond. 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. 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. 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 at Maidstone United's Gallagher Stadium on 20 November 2014.

Trophy

King George V presents the FA Cup trophy to Tommy Boyle of Burnley, April 1914

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. 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.

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 the 1909 winners, Manchester United, made their own replica, leading the FA to realise they did not own the copyright. This new, larger design was by Fattorini and Sons, and was used from 1911. 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. Of the four surviving trophies, only the 1895 replica has entered private ownership. 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. 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. 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. The tradition of tying ribbons started after Tottenham Hotspur won the 1901 FA Cup Final and the wife of a Spurs director decided to tie blue and white ribbons to the handles of the cup. Traditionally, at Wembley finals, the presentation is made at the Royal Box, with players, led by the captain, 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.

George Armstrong celebrating with the FA Cup trophy following Arsenal's win over Liverpool in the 1971 final.

The tradition of presenting the trophy immediately after the game did not start until the 1882 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. 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 the 1876 final, the rules were changed by FA Secretary CW Alcock (who was also captain of Wanderers in their first victory).

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 defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers 4–1 in the 1939 FA Cup Final and were awarded the trophy as 1938–39 FA Cup winners. But with the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, the regular Football League and FA Cup competitions for the 1939–40 season were cancelled for the duration of the war. Portsmouth's manager Jack Tinn was rumoured to have kept the FA Cup trophy 'safe under his bed' throughout the duration of the war, but this is an urban myth. Because the naval city of Portsmouth was a primary strategic military target for German Luftwaffe bombing, the FA Cup trophy was actually taken ten miles to the north of Portsmouth, to the nearby Hampshire village of Lovedean, and there it resided in a quaint thatched roof country pub called The Bird in Hand for the seven years of the war. After the conclusion of World War II, the FA Cup trophy was presented back to the Football Association by the club in time for the 1946 FA Cup Final.

Original design from 1871

1871 original

The first trophy, the 'little tin idol', was made by Martin, Hall & Co at a cost of £20. It was stolen from a Birmingham shoe shop window belonging to William Shillcock while held by Aston 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.

1895 replica

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 president Lord Kinnaird. Kinnaird died in 1923, and his family kept it in their possession, out of view, until putting it up for auction in 2005. It was sold at Christie's auction house on 19 May 2005 for £420,000 (£478,400 including auction fees and taxes). The sale price set a new world record for a piece of football memorabilia, surpassing the £254,000 paid for the Jules Rimet World Cup Trophy in 1997. The successful bidder was David Gold, the then joint chairman of Birmingham 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. Accordingly, Gold presented the trophy to the National Football Museum in Preston on 20 April 2006, where it went on immediate public display. It later moved with the museum to its new location in Manchester. In November 2012, it was ceremonially presented to Royal Engineers, after they beat Wanderers 7–1 in a charity replay of the first FA Cup final. In September 2020, Gold sold the replica trophy for £760,000 through the Bonhams auction house. In January 2021, it was revealed that the trophy had been purchased by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the owner of Manchester City, who stated that it would be returned on loan to the National Football Museum.

Current design from 1911

1911 original

FA Cup trophy design by Fattorini & Sons, 1911

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 by Fattorini & Sons of Bradford, coincidentally being won by Bradford City in its first outing.

On the 27 March 2016 episode of the BBC television programme Antiques Roadshow, this trophy was valued at £1 million by expert Alastair 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. 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 at Baddesley Clinton and subsequently aired on 23 October 2016.

A smaller, but otherwise identical, replica was also made by the company Thomas Fattorini, the North Wales Coast FA Cup trophy, and is contested annually by members of that regional Association.

1992 replica

The 1992 replica was made by Toye, Kenning and Spencer. A copy of this trophy was also produced, in case anything happened to the primary trophy.

2014 replica

The 2014 replica was made by Thomas Lyte, handcrafted in sterling 925 silver over 250 hours. A weight increase for greater durability has taken it to 6.3 kilograms (14 lb).

Medals

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.

Sponsorship

The pre-match ceremony ahead of the 2010 FA Cup Final featuring sponsorship by E.ON

Since the start of the 1994–95 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 the League Cup where the word 'cup' is preceded by only the sponsor's name. Sponsorship deals run for four years, though – as in the case of E.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 with Budweiser'. The Emirates sponsorship deal, originally scheduled to terminate in 2018, was later extended until 2021 and again until 2024.

From 2006 to 2013, Umbro supplied match balls for all FA Cup matches. They were replaced at the start of the 2013–14 season by Nike, 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.

Winners and finalists

Results by team

Since its establishment, the FA Cup has been won by 45 clubs. 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.

Consecutive winners

Four clubs have won consecutive FA Cups on more than one occasion: Wanderers (1872, 1873 and 1876, 1877, 1878), Blackburn Rovers (1884, 1885, 1886 and 1890, 1891), Tottenham Hotspur (1961, 1962 and 1981, 1982) and Arsenal (2002, 2003 and 2014, 2015).

Winning managers

The record for most titles for a manager is held by Arsène 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.

Doubles/Trebles

Manchester City (2019) are the only club to have achieved a domestic treble of league, FA Cup and League Cup, having beaten Chelsea 4–3 on penalties in the League Cup Final, finished at the top of the Premier League, and beaten Watford 6–0 in the FA Cup Final.

Manchester United (1999) and Manchester City (2023) are the only two English teams to have won the continental treble of league, FA Cup, and Champions League. They are two of only nine European sides to do so. Liverpool won the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup in (2001) to complete a cup treble.

Eight clubs have won the FA Cup as part of a league and cup double, namely 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). In 1993, Arsenal became the first side to win both the FA Cup and the League Cup in the same season when they beat Sheffield 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.

Outside England

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 to Sheffield United in 1925 and lost another final to Portsmouth in 2008. Cardiff City are also the only team to win the national cups of two countries in the same season, having also won the Welsh Cup in 1927. The Scottish team Queen's Park reached and lost the final in both 1884 and 1885.

Outside the top division

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) and West 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 the Southern 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, only 24 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 beaten Leeds United who finished third in the top flight that season, 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 finished 4th 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, in 2008 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. West Bromwich (1931) are the only team to have won the FA Cup and earned promotion to the top flight in the same season; whereas Wigan Athletic (2013) are the only team to have won the Cup and been relegated from the top flight in the same season.

See also

In Spanish: FA Cup para niños