The FA Cup: The Oldest Tournament In The World

The FA Cup is a tournament that's been held in England for almost 150 years. In recent years, the final has been held in the legendary Wembley Stadium.

In 2021, the FA Cup will be 150 years old. It’s the oldest tournament in the world, dating back to a time when soccer was only really played in England. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the history of this event.

The FA Cup – the early years

The first time the FA Cup – the Football Association Challenge Cup – was played, was way back in 1871. The first champions were a team made up of former private school students from London, named the Wanderers.

In the early editions, the winners were “wealthy” clubs from the south of England. That trend continued until 1883 when a little known team called Blackburn Olympic became the first champions to come from the north of the country.

The FA Cup has always been played under the knockout system, meaning that there’s no elimination table. Each round consists of a single match for each team. If there’s a tie, the match is replayed. If they tie again, the winner is decided by a penalty shootout.

The original trophy awarded to the winner of the FA Cup was known as the “Little tin idol”. It was used until 1895 when it was stolen. The replacement was a replica of the original and was used from 1896 to 1910.

A larger trophy was designed in 1911 and was awarded to the FA champions until 1991. When it became too fragile to keep being passed around from club to club, it was replaced by another replica. For this same reason, organizers have also kept a spare trophy on hand ever since, in case the current one is lost or damaged.

Who takes part in the FA Cup?

Any team that takes part in the Premier League or the English Football League – levels 2 to 4 – is automatically entered into the FA Cup. Each must also have a suitable stadium for the contest.

Welsh sides that play in the English leagues can also participate, although there are only five teams that do so. The record for the number of entrants was in 2009/2010 when there was a grand total of 762 participating teams.

As for the stadiums, matches usually take place at the home ground of one of the two participating teams. Which team will be allowed to play at home is decided when the fixtures are drawn. Occasionally, matches may also be played at rented stadiums.

Over the years, the FA Cup final has been played in many different stadiums and changes every season. The first was the London Kennington Oval, which was used on several occasions up until 1982. Other stadiums include Goodison Park in Liverpool, Crystal Palace in London, Stamford Bridge in London, and Bramall Lane in Sheffield.

The FA Cup final has also taken place at the legendary, Old Trafford Stadium (1910-1911, 1914-1915, and 1969-1970). But the current FA Cup final venue is at Wembley stadium.

The original Wembley Stadium was used from 1922/1923 until 1969, and again from 1970/1971 to 1999/2000. The new Wembley Stadium has been used as the venue for the FA Cup final since it opened in 2007.

Past winners and statistics

The team with the most FA Cup titles under its belt is Arsenal, with a grand total of 14 (winning their last in 2020), followed by Manchester United with 12 (winning their last in 2016). Next, are Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur with eight titles each, followed by Liverpool and Aston Villa with seven, and finally Manchester City (winning their last title in 2019), Newcastle United, and Blackburn Rovers, each with six.

The Blackburn Rovers are one of two teams to hold the record for the most consecutive wins (1884, 1885, 1886). The other is the Wanderers (1876, 1877, and 1878). Both have also had two consecutive wins (1890 and 1891, and 1872 and 1873, respectively) along with Tottenham Hotspur (1961 and 1962, and 1981 and 1982).

Finally, we can’t finish this article without giving a small mention to the most prolific goalscorer in FA Cup history, Harry Cursham, who scored 49 goals in 44 games. And the best part is, he’s held this record since 1891!