The FA Cup
The world's oldest football cup began with 15 teams in 1871, and its first trophy was stolen from a Birmingham shop window and never seen again.
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Quick Facts
- Founded
- 1871, proposed by Charles W. Alcock of the Football Association
- First final
- 16 March 1872 at the Kennington Oval: Wanderers 1-0 Royal Engineers
- Most wins
- Arsenal, with 14 victories (as of 2025)
- Biggest win
- Preston North End 26-0 Hyde, first round, October 1887
- Fastest final goal
- Louis Saha, 25 seconds, Everton v Chelsea, 2009
- Only non-English winners
- Cardiff City, who beat Arsenal 1-0 in 1927
- Final pre-match hymn
- "Abide with Me", sung before the final since 1927
- 2025 winners
- Crystal Palace, 1-0 against Manchester City, their first major trophy
The cup that started in an office
In July 1871, Charles W. Alcock, secretary of the Football Association, proposed a knockout competition for every club that wanted to enter. Alcock was a Harrow schoolboy turned sports administrator, and he drew inspiration from the knockout inter-house football competition he had experienced at Harrow School. Fifteen clubs joined the first competition. The first final took place at the Kennington Oval on 16 March 1872. Wanderers beat the Royal Engineers 1-0, and the goal came from Morton Betts, who played under the pseudonym A.H. Chequer. Wanderers won five of the first seven finals. One of their stars was Lord Kinnaird, who played in nine finals and ended up with five winner's medals, three with Wanderers and two with Old Etonians.
The little tin pot that vanished
The first trophy was a small silver cup that people nicknamed the "little tin pot". In 1895, after Aston Villa had won it, it was stolen from a shop window in Birmingham where it was on display. It was never recovered. A replacement was made and used until 1910. The familiar design with the big handles, made by Fattorini of Bradford, arrived in 1911 and served until 1992, when an exact replica took over.
From gentlemen to the north
The early cup belonged to southern amateurs. Then in 1883 Blackburn Olympic, a team of mill workers and tradesmen, beat the Old Etonians and became the first northern club to win. Blackburn Rovers followed with three in a row from 1884 to 1886. In 1901 Tottenham Hotspur, then in the Southern League, beat Sheffield United and became the only non-League club to win the cup since the Football League began. Cardiff City took the trophy out of England for the first and only time in 1927.
Wembley and the white horse
The first Wembley final in 1923 became the White Horse Final. Crowds poured onto the pitch and the game could not start until PC George Scorey rode his white horse, Billie, up and down to clear them. Bolton Wanderers beat West Ham 2-0. The 1953 final brought Stanley Matthews his only winner's medal, at 38. Blackpool came back from 3-1 down to beat Bolton 4-3, and Stan Mortensen scored a hat-trick. Wembley closed for rebuilding in 2000. The finals from 2001 to 2006 were played at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. The new Wembley hosted the final from 2007.
Giant-killers and Crazy Gangs
The cup's best stories are the upsets. In 1972, Hereford United beat Newcastle United after Ronnie Radford smashed in an equaliser on a muddy Edgar Street pitch. Non-League Hereford then won the replay. In 1973, Second Division Sunderland beat the mighty Leeds United. Ian Porterfield scored the only goal, and Jimmy Montgomery made a double save. Manager Bob Stokoe ran onto the pitch to hug him. And in 1988, Wimbledon's Crazy Gang beat Liverpool 1-0 thanks to a Lawrie Sanchez header. Goalkeeper Dave Beasant became the first to save a penalty in a Wembley FA Cup final, from John Aldridge.
Records and rituals
Arsenal hold the record with 14 wins, ahead of Manchester United on 13. The biggest margin of victory is Preston's 26-0 win over Hyde in October 1887. Louis Saha scored the quickest goal in a final, after 25 seconds, for Everton against Chelsea in 2009. The traditions are part of the appeal. The draw is made with numbered balls drawn from a bowl. The final crowd sings "Abide with Me" and the winning captain climbs the steps to lift the cup. Final replays ended after 1993. In 2025, Crystal Palace beat Manchester City 1-0 for the first major trophy in the club's history.
Notable people
- Charles W. Alcock
- Lord Kinnaird
- Morton Betts
- Stanley Matthews
- Stan Mortensen
- Ronnie Radford
- Ian Porterfield
- Jimmy Montgomery
- Bob Stokoe
- Lawrie Sanchez
- Dave Beasant
- Louis Saha
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