FA Cup Final | |
---|---|
Status | Active |
Genre | Sporting event |
Date(s) | Varies, but usually the last Saturday of May |
Frequency | Annual |
Location(s) | London, England |
Inaugurated | 1872 |
Organised by | The Football Association |
The FA Cup Final is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official attendance of 89,472 at the 2017 final (the 2020 event has been the exception, due to the COVID-19 pandemic). The Final is the culmination of a knockout competition among clubs belonging to The Football Association in England, although Scottish and Irish teams competed in the early years and Welsh teams regularly compete, with Cardiff City winning the Cup in 1927 and reaching the final in 1925 and 2008. From 1923 until 2000 it was played mostly at the original Wembley Stadium, and has been played at the current Wembley Stadium since 2007.
As of 2024 [update] , 143 FA Cup Finals have been played. The latest final was held on 25 May 2024 and was contested between Manchester City and Manchester United, with Manchester United winning 2–1.
The first FA Cup Final was held at Kennington Oval on 16 March 1872 and was contested between Wanderers and Royal Engineers, with Wanderers winning 1–0.
After the 1873 final was held at Lillie Bridge, the event was held at the Oval until 1892. The 1893 and 1894 finals were respectively held at Fallowfield Stadium in Manchester and Goodison Park in Liverpool, before the event returned to London in 1895, being held at Crystal Palace until the outbreak of World War I. After the war, the event was held at Stamford Bridge, before Wembley Stadium opened in 1923. The first final at Wembley, in which Bolton Wanderers beat West Ham United 2–0, had an official attendance of 126,047, although the actual figure is believed to be as much as 300,000. A police horse named Billy was used to regain control after the large crowd overflowed onto the field, earning it the nickname "White Horse Final". The 1927 final saw "Abide with Me" being sung for the first time at the Cup final, which has become a pre-match tradition. [1]
Wembley continued to host the final until 2000, when it closed for redevelopment. The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff hosted the final between 2001 and 2006, before the new Wembley Stadium opened in 2007.
Up to and including 1998, if the final ended in a draw, a replay would be required. This happened on 14 occasions, the last being in 1993 between Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday. In September 1998, the Football Association decided that all future finals would be decided "on the day", meaning that a penalty shootout would decide the winner if the score was level after normal and extra time. [2] Three finals since have been decided by a penalty shootout, those of 2005 (Arsenal defeating Manchester United), 2006 (Liverpool defeating West Ham United) and 2022 (Liverpool defeating Chelsea).
Stan Mortensen's hat-trick for Blackpool in 1953 is the only hat-trick ever scored at Wembley in the competition's final. [3] The fastest goal in an FA Cup Final was scored by Manchester City's İlkay Gündoğan, 12 seconds after kick-off in the 2023 FA Cup final. [4] Bury's 6–0 victory over Derby County in the 1903 FA Cup final and Manchester City's 6–0 victory over Watford 2019 FA Cup final are the largest winning margins. With his goal in the 2012 Final, Chelsea's Didier Drogba became the first player to score a goal in four finals.
The FA Cup Final is one of ten events reserved for live broadcast on UK terrestrial television under the Ofcom Code on Sports and Other Listed and Designated Events.
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. Since 2015, it has been known as Emirates FA Cup after its headline sponsor Emirates. A concurrent Women's FA Cup has been held since 1970.
The 2005–06 FA Cup was the 125th staging of the world's oldest football competition, the FA Cup.
The 2006–07 FA Cup was the 126th staging of the world's oldest football knockout competition; the FA Cup. This season's edition was the first to be sponsored by E.ON.
The FA Cup semi-finals are played to determine which teams will contest the FA Cup Final. They are the penultimate phase of the FA Cup, the oldest football tournament in the world.
The 2007–08 FA Cup was the 127th season of the world's oldest football knockout competition, the FA Cup. A record 731 clubs' entries were accepted for the competition.
The history of the FA Cup in association football dates back to 1871–72. Aside from suspensions during the First and Second World Wars, the competition has been played every year since.
The 2004–05 FA Cup was the 124th season of the world's oldest football competition, the FA Cup. The competition began on 28 August 2004, with the lowest-ranked of the entrants competing in the Extra preliminary round. For England's top 44 clubs, from the 2004–05 Premier League and 2004–05 Football League Championship, the FA Cup began at the third round in January.
The 2002–03 FA Cup was the 122nd staging of the world's oldest cup competition, the FA Cup. The competition was won by Arsenal with a 1–0 victory in the final at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff against Southampton, courtesy of a Robert Pires goal.
The 2000–01 FA Cup was the 120th season of the world's oldest knockout football competition, the FA Cup. The competition was won by Liverpool, who came from 1–0 behind against Arsenal to eventually win 2–1 in the final. The final was played outside England for the first time, at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, because Wembley Stadium was being knocked down to be replaced with a new stadium.
The 1999–2000 FA Cup was the 119th staging of the FA Cup. Both the semifinals and final of the competition were played at Wembley Stadium for the last time before reconstruction work began. The competition culminated with the final between Chelsea and Aston Villa. The game was won by a goal from Chelsea's Roberto Di Matteo, giving them a 1–0 victory.
The 1993–94 FA Cup was the 113th staging of the world and England's oldest cup competition, the Football Association Cup or FA Cup. The competition overall was won by Manchester United for the first time since 1990, with a 4–0 thrashing of Chelsea.
The 1971–72 FA Cup was the 91st season of the world's oldest football cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup. Leeds United won the competition for the first time, beating holders Arsenal 1–0 in the final at Wembley, London.
The 2009 FA Cup final was the 128th final of the world's oldest domestic football cup competition, the FA Cup. The final was played at Wembley Stadium in London on 30 May 2009 and marked the third time that the final has been staged at the stadium since it was rebuilt. The match was contested by Chelsea, who beat Arsenal 2–1 in their semi-final, and Everton who beat Manchester United 4–2 on penalties after a 0–0 draw after extra time. After Louis Saha opened the scoring after just 25 seconds, which is the second fastest ever goal in an FA Cup Final, Didier Drogba equalised in the 21st minute before Frank Lampard scored the winner with 19 minutes left to play to give Chelsea their fifth FA Cup success.
The 2009–10 FA Cup was the 129th season of the world's oldest football knockout competition; the FA Cup. As in the previous year, 762 clubs were accepted for the competition. One club, Newcastle Blue Star, folded before the fixtures were released. As they were scheduled to enter the competition in the first round qualifying, their opponents in this round received a walkover.
The 2010–11 FA Cup was the 130th season of the world's oldest football knockout competition; the FA Cup. A total of 806 clubs applied to enter of which 759 were accepted, a slight drop compared to the 762 clubs accepted into the 2009–10 competition.
The 2014–15 FA Cup, also called the 2014–15 FA Challenge Cup, was the 134th occurrence of the FA Cup, the main domestic cup in English football and the oldest knockout competition in the world. It was the first season when the BBC and BT Sport hosted televised matches, seven years after the BBC lost the rights to ITV. The 2014–15 season's Cup also marked the first time that 3G artificial pitches were allowed in all rounds of the competition, designed to lower costs for maintenance. After Queens Park Rangers, Luton Town, Oldham Athletic and Preston North End trialled artificial pitches in the 1980s, they were made illegal in 1995.
The 2015–16 FA Cup was the 135th edition of the oldest recognised football tournament in the world. It was sponsored by Emirates, and known as The Emirates FA Cup for sponsorship purposes. It began with the extra preliminary round on 15 August 2015, and concluded with the final on 21 May 2016. The FA Cup winner qualifies for the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League group stage.
The 2016–17 FA Cup was the 136th edition of the oldest recognised football tournament in the world. It was sponsored by Emirates, and known as The Emirates FA Cup for sponsorship purposes. 736 clubs were accepted into the tournament, and it began with the extra preliminary round on 6 August 2016, and concluded with the final on 27 May 2017. The winner qualified for the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League group stage.
The 2023 FA Cup final was the final match of the 2022–23 FA Cup, the 142nd season of the oldest football tournament in the world, the Football Association Challenge Cup. It was played at Wembley Stadium in London on 3 June 2023 between Manchester City and Manchester United, making it the first time the Manchester derby was contested in a cup final.