The F A Cup is the oldest cup football competition, and one of the most respected, in the World, dating back to 1871. With professionals often pitted against non-professional teams in a straight knock-out competition, the F A Cup is famed for its giant killings.
Whether you are following your team home or away in the F A Cup you will find all the hotel, flights and travel information you need through the Football Travel Guide.
Non league teams compete in the F A Cup preliminary arounds for the opportunity to make it to the first round proper - where they could be competing against professional teams from League One and League Two.
Those clubs from non league and lower league football that make it through rounds 1 and 2 of the F A Cup go in to the draw for the third round where they could be drawn to play a Premiership team - a dream come to for any non professional, non league team.
The F A Cup Final is the tradional finale to the English football season, played in May at Wembley. The winner also qualifies for a place in the European football in the following season.
2010/11 F A Cup Winners
The 130th F A Cup Final was contested by big spending Manchester City who Stoke City were making their first ever appearance in the Final after 148 years of trying. Manchester City won the game 1-0 and ended a 35 drought for a trophy, the longest in their history.
2009/10 F A Cup Winners
The 2009/10 Final was contested by Chelsea, the winners from 2009, and Portsmouth, the winners from 2008. The final was won by Chelsea 1-0 in a game that contained a penalty save/miss for each side.
2008/09 F A Cup Winners
The 2008/09 F A Cup Final was between Everton and Chelsea. despite Everton scoring the fastest goal ever in the F A Cup Final they eventually lost the final 2-1.
2007/08 F A Cup winners
Premiership team Portsmouth won the FA Cup in 2007/08 after beating Championship team Cardiff City 1-0 in a dramatic tournament last season.
F A Cup Wins
Manchester United hold the record for the most wins in this competition having lifted the Cup 11 times.
F A Cup Facts
- Three 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), and Tottenham Hotspur (1961, 1962 and 1981, 1982).
- Arsenal and Manchester United share the record of three doubles. Arsenal has won a double in each of three separate decades (1970s, 1990s, 2000s). Manchester United's three doubles in the 1990s highlights their dominance of English football at the time.
- In 1993, Arsenal became the first side to win both the FA Cup and League Cup in the same season, beating Sheffield Wednesday 2–1, in both finals. Liverpool repeated this feat in 2001, as did Chelsea in 2007.
- In 1998–99, Manchester United added the 1999 Champions League crown to their double, an accomplishment known as The European treble. Two years later, in 2000–01, Liverpool won the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup to complete a cup treble.
- Portsmouth have the unusual accolade of holding the FA Cup for the longest unbroken period of time; having won the Cup in 1939, the next final was not contested until 1946, due to the outbreak of the Second World War.
- 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.
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