FA Cup History
If you are a serious “Football” fan, then the FA Cup is must see and must keep track of every year. Originally dubbed the Football Association Challenge Cup, it is the oldest football competition in the world….and worthy of your attention. It was launched in 1871 as the flagship event of the newly formed Football Association (FA), designed to be a knockout competition for clubs of any level. 16 teams entered the very first Cup and it was won by Wanderers. The first 12 years of the Cup was all about amateur clubs, as the professional ranks had not yet formed. The last amateur team to win the cup was the Old Etonians in 1882. After that, “professional” teams took charge and it has been that way ever since.
The original power house club, Preston North End (the club is still around today) had won 42 consecutive matches back in 1888, but amazingly, lost the FA Cup final to West Bromich Albion, another club still a part of the English professional leagues today. Other oddities in the early days…in 1900 non-league team Tottenham Hotspur won the Cup and became the last non-league team to win the trophy.
The finals moved to Wembley Stadium in 1923. The first cup televised live by the BBC was in 1938, a match between Preston North End and Huddersfield. Dubbed the most famous FA cup of all time occurred in 1953, between Blackpool and Bolton Wanderers. Famous English player Stanley Matthews scored an injury time winner for his first ever Cup trophy at age 38. It also marked the first ever goal by a black player in an FA Cup final scored by Bill Perry from the assist from Stanley Matthews.
The heyday for the FA Cup and the period when it was the ultimate event in football was the 70’s and 80’s. There was very little live programing on TV in those days, ands with only 3 channels to choose from….I know…crazy right….the entire country was tuned into the FA Cup on finals day….it was the Super Bowl of its era. Other than the World Cup every 4 years…the FA Cup was the event! This period was helped by the beginning the the “magic of the cup”, the fact that lower tier teams can enter and pull off some amazing upsets, makes the tournament pretty unique. Several Second Division teams became Cup champions during this period including Second Division Sunderland beating the mega club Leeds United in 1973, 2nd Division Southampton taking down mighty Manchester United in 1976 and finally 2nd division West Ham beating mighty Arsenal in 1980……the last Cup win for a lower tier team, although every year there are plenty of big shock upsets in early rounds.
Some of the shine of the FA Cup has diminished as League titles have become a priority, the Champions League has taken on the title as worlds best tournament along with the World Cup, and the top clubs have started to dominate…. and no more underdogs are securing Cup glory. But we still love it and watch every year….will the lower tiered teams pull off the big upset, how far can teams outside the Premier League last, will a lower team make the quarters, semi-finals, finals….so we watch and cheer for the underdog and the relish in the most famous tournament in soccer….The FA Cup.
Tournament Facts
The competition is open to any eligible club down to Level 10 of the English Football system, which includes the 92 professional clubs in the Premier League and the 74 teams in the next three levels, Championship, League 1 and League 2, as well as several hundred non-league teams in levels 5 to 10. As many as 700 teams have entered in past years. The tournament consists of 12 randomly drawn rounds followed by a semi-finals and final.
The first six rounds are the Qualifying Competition, from which 32 teams progress to the first round of the “real competition”, meeting the first of the 48 professional teams from League 1 and 2. The last entrants are the Premier League and Championship clubs, added for the Third Round. 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.
Team History
43 teams have won the FA Cup in its 149 year history. The top 6 include:
- Arsenal 14 Last title in 2020
- Manchester United 12 Last title in 2016
- Chelsea 8 Last title in 2018
- Tottenham Hotspur 8 Last title in 1991
- Liverpool 7 Last title in 2006
- Aston Villa 7 last title in 1957
3 teams have won 6 Cups, 3 teams have won 5 Cups, 3 teams have won 4 cups. 2 teams with 3 cups, 6 teams with 2 cups and 20 teams have lifted at least 1 Cup trophy.
This Years FA Cup
Round 3 just was completed and the draw for the 4th round is done. There are now 32 teams alive for the Cup with the next 16 games in the 4th round scheduled for January 22-25th later this month. Let’s look at the biggest upset of the 3rd Round…..Crawley Town 3-0 over Leeds United. Let me set this up for you….and this is what is so cool about this tournament. Any team from the top 10 levels and including some non-league teams can enter the tournament. It leads to some very interesting match ups and some very interesting results. Leeds United is in the top level, the Premier League and currently sits in the 12th position in the table. Crawley Town is in League 2, the 4th level of English Football and sits in the 7th position in the table. So, what you have is the 12th best team in English soccer facing off against the 75th best team in English soccer. An easy win for Leeds, right….well no, Crawley Town totally dominated the game and scored early to take a lead and then 2 more in the second half for a dominant, exhilarating and a bit shocking win….3-0. Announcers were calling it the “greatest win in Crawley Town history”. And that is just cool. The ultimate little guy knocking off the big boys, and likely the biggest moment in every one of the Crawley players careers…the night they knocked off a Premier League team!
Round Four Match Ups
32 teams remain and here is a quick breakdown of competition.
Premier League has 14 teams remaining. There is still 1 game left in Round 3 between Southampton of the Premier League versus Shrewsbury of League 1 so making the assumption that Southampton will win….but you never know! Championship League has 11 teams remaining. And from levels 3-4-5 we have 4 teams still alive from League 1, 2 teams still alive from League 2 and amazingly, we have 1 team alive from the 5th level….Chorley. Let’s go Chorley!!!!
The Biggest Game of the Round. That’s easy. It’s a blind draw and so sometimes this happens. In round 4 we get the top two teams in English football squaring off…..LIVERPOOL vs. MANCHESTER UNITED. What are the odds you would pull these two out of a hat from a list of 32 teams….crazy but fun for fans.
The Biggest mismatch of the round….at least on paper. That’s easy as well. In round 4 we get Wolverhampton Wolves (14th best) vs. Chorley (126th best). That is an amazing 112 position difference between these two clubs. COME ON CHORLEY, WE WANT THE UPSET! Two other big mismatches include Bournemouth (23rd) vs. Crawley Town (75th) and Cheltenham (74th) vs. Manchester City (3). Can there possibly be more upsets coming. That is the “Magic of the Cup”. Can’t wait to check it out! Will any of the 7 teams in levels 3-4-5 stay alive. How many teams from level 2 will advance. Which Premier League team will get knocked out next!