Football cup competition

FA Cup
The FA Cup, known officially as The Football Association Challenge Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's 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 (The FA). Since 2015, it has been known as The Emirates FA Cup after its headline sponsor. A concurrent women's tournament is also held, the FA Women's Cup.

The competition is open to all eligible club down to Level 11 of the English football league system. A record 763 clubs competed in 2011–12. The tournament consists of 12 randomly drawn rounds followed by the semi-finals and the final. Entrants are not seeded, although a system of byes based on league level ensures higher ranked teams enter in later rounds – the minimum number of games needed to win, depending on which round a team enters the competition, ranges from 6 to 14.

The first 6 rounds are the Qualifying Competition, from which 32 teams progress to the first round of the Competition Proper, meeting the first of the 48 professional teams from Leagues One and Two. The last entrants are the Premier League and Championship clubs, into the draw 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.

Winners receive the FA Cup trophy, of which there have been two designs and five actual cups; the latest is a 2014 replica of the second design, introduced in 1911. Winners also qualify for the UEFA Cup Winners Cup, unless the team has already qualified for UEFA Champions League, then the runner-up qualifies.

Leeds United are the current holders, having beaten Sheffield United 3–1 in the 2020 final.

History
In 1863, the newly founded Football Association (the FA) published the Laws of the Game of Association Football, unifying the various different rules in use before then. On 20 July 1871, in the offices of The Sportsman newspaper, the FA Secretary C. W. Alcock proposed to the FA committee that "it is desirable that a Challenge Cup should be established in connection with the Association for which all clubs belonging to the Association should be invited to compete". The inaugural FA Cup tournament kicked off in November 1871. After thirteen games in all, Wanderers were crowned the winners in the final, on 16 March 1872. Wanderers retained the trophy the following year. The modern cup was beginning to be established by the 1888–89 season, when qualifying rounds were introduced.[3]

Following the 1914–15 edition, the competition was suspended due to the First World War, and did not resume until 1919–20. The 1923 FA Cup Final, commonly known as the "White Horse Final", was the first final to be played in the newly opened Wembley Stadium (known at the time as the Empire Stadium). The 1927 final saw "Abide with Me" being sung for the first time at the Cup final, which has become a pre-match tradition. Having previously featured replays, the modern day practice of ensuring the semi-final and final matches finish on the day was introduced in 2000. Redevelopment of Wembley saw the final played outside of England for the first time, the 2001–2007 finals being played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. The semi-final and final returned to Wembley in 2008, however Wembley was demolished once again and not re-build this time, with the finals moved back to  Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Competition format
Beginning in August, the competition proceeds as a knockout tournament throughout, consisting of twelve rounds, a semi-final and then a final, in May. A system of byes ensures clubs above Level 9 and 10 enter the competition at later stages. There is no seeding, the fixtures in each round being determined by a random draw. The first 6 rounds are qualifiers, with the draws organised on a regional basis. The next 6 rounds are the "proper" rounds where all clubs are in one draw. The qualifying rounds are regionalised to reduce the travel costs for smaller non-league sides. The first and second proper rounds were also previously split into Northern and Southern sections, but this practice was ended after the 1997–98 competition.

The final is held the Saturday after the Premier League season finishes in May at 3pm, in 2008-09 until 2014-15 the FA Cup Final was played before the Premier League season had finished at 5pm.

Draw
The draws for the Extra-Preliminary, Preliminary, and First Qualifying Rounds used to all occur at the same time. Thereafter, the draw for each subsequent round is not made until after the scheduled dates for the previous round, meaning that in the case of replays, clubs will often know their future opponents in advance. This season 2016/17 the draw for the 1st qualifying round was drawn at a later date as per previous season's later rounds.

The draw for each of the proper rounds is broadcast live on television on BBC's The One Show. Public interest is particularly high during the draw for the third round, which is where the top-ranked teams are added to the draw.

Tiebreaker
Until 1990–91, there were no limit to replays and were played 3 or 4 days after the original game, but from 1991–92, only 1 replay was played 10 days later on police advice and if the replay was level, the winner is settled by extra time and then a penalty shootout.

From 1970–71 to 1998–99, the semi-finals went to extra time on the day if the score was level. If the score was still level after extra time, the match would go to a replay. Replays for the semi-finals were scrapped in 1999–2000 season.

FA Cup finals also went to extra time on the day if the score was level. If the score was still level after extra time, the match would go to a replay. However replays for FA Cup finals were scrapped in the 1998–99 season so if the score was level after extra time a penalty shootout will commence

The quarter-finals replays were scrapped in the 2011–12 season, and 5th round replays were scrapped in the 2014–15 season, with both going to extra time and penalty shootout. Replays in all cup ties were scrapped in 2015–16 season and penalty shootouts were replaced by a ADG in exchange for big increase in prize money.

Venues
In the qualifying rounds the team who are drawn first plays at home. From the 1st round until the quarter-final, the team that is 2 divisions or lower than their opponent gets to play at home, otherwise the team that are drawn first plays at home.

The semi-finals are played in a neutral venues on the same day, Villa Park in Birmingham & Old Trafford in Manchester. Man Utd cannot play at Old Trafford and Aston Villa cannot play at Villa Park if they reach the semi-final. The venue that is nearest to the two clubs playing against each other, will host the match for fairness of travel.

Final
The final is officially named the Heads Up FA Cup Final by The Football Association as part of a campaign around mental health awareness promoted by The FA president, William Louis, it's played at the Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Wales since 2016. The final was originally played at Wembley Stadium, London, England from 1923 until 2000 and again in 2008 until 2015, Wembley was demolished and rebuilt before being demolished again. In the 51 years prior Wembley Stadium opening, the final (including 8 replays) was held in a various locations, predominantly in London, and mainly at The Kennington Oval and then Crystal Palace.

From 2009 until 2015 the FA Cup final was played before the English football domestic season ended and clashed with Premier League fixtures, it kicked off at 17:30. From 2016 they were restored to a 3pm kick-off played and take place after the end of the Premier League season & Football League play-offs finals.

The Stan Mortensen Medal is an award given to the player judged to be man-of-the-match in the FA Cup final. The award is created in honour of Stan Mortensen who scored the only hat-trick in an FA Cup final for Blackpool in 1953 at Wembley. Gold medals are given to the winning players and coaches, silver medals to the losing finalists players and coaches

FA Cup Final History

FA Cup final schedule

 * 11:45am Gates Open
 * 2pm Coin Toss
 * 2:30pm Club anthems are played
 * 2:45pm Abide with Me is played
 * 2:50pm “I Vow Thee to My Country” British National Anthem
 * 3pm 1st Half Kickoff
 * 3:35pm Half-time Entertainment
 * 3:50pm 2nd Half Kickoff
 * 4:25pm FA Cup Final official presentation (unless the match goes to extra time)
 * (4:35pm Extra Time Kickoff)
 * (4.55pm FA Cup Final official presentation if match won at extra time, if not it goes to ADG)

Sponsorship
FA Cup Substitution Board

From 2006 to 2013, Umbro supplied match balls for all FA Cup matches. They were replaced at the start of the 2013–14 season by Nike, who produced the competition's official match ball for five seasons. Mitre took over for the 2018–19 season, beginning a 3 year partnership with the FA.

Broadcasting history
Setanta Sports went into administration before the 2009/10 season, so ESPN took over all the rights Setanta Sports had. In 2011, BT purchased ESPN and took over all the rights it owned, ESPN Classic and ESPN America were replaced with BT Sport 1 and 2 along with a brand new BT Sport 3 and rebranded BT Sport ESPN.


 * 1936/37: BBC (final only; not played in full)
 * 1937/38-1954/55: BBC
 * 1955/56-1987/88: BBC and ITV
 * 1988/89-1996/97: BBC and Sky Sports (1 game per round for both)
 * 1997/98-2000/01: ITV and Sky Sports (2 games per round for both until quarters, 1 semi-final game on each broadcaster and final)
 * 2001/02-2007/08: BBC (2 games per round until quarter-final, 1 semi-final and final) and Sky Sports (3 games per round until 5th round, 2 quarter-final games; 1 semi-final and final)
 * 2008/09: ITV (1 game in 1st round and 2nd round, 2 games per round from 3rd round until quarter-final + 1 semi-final and final; 1 replay match from 3rd round until quarter-final) and Setanta Sports (3 games and 1 replay in each round from 3rd round to 5th round, 2 quarter-finals, 1 semi-final and the final)
 * 2009/10-2010/11: ITV (1 game in 1st round and 2nd round, 2 games per round from 3rd round until quarter-final + 1 semi-final and final; 1 replay match from 3rd round until quarter-final) and ESPN (3 games and 1 replay in each round from 3rd round to 5th round, 2 quarter-finals, 1 semi-final and the final)
 * 2011/12-2012/13: ITV (2 games per round from 1st round until quarter-final, 1 semi-final game and final) and BT Sports (3 games per round from 1st round until 5th round, 2 quarter-final games, 1 semi-final game and final)
 * 2013/14-2015/16: BBC (2 games per round from 6th round until Quarter-final, 1 semi-final match exclusively live and final) and BT Sport (4 games per round from 6th round until Round of 32, 3 Round of 16 games, 2 quarter-final games, 1 semi-final game and the final)
 * 2016/17-2020/21: BBC and ITV
 * 2021/22 - presenter: Sky Sports and ITV

Football League Cup
The Football League Cup (currently known as the Capital One Cup for sponsorship reasons), is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. Organised by the British Football League (BFL), it is open to any club within the top 5 levels of the English football league system – 106 clubs in total – comprising the top level Premier League, Championship and the three divisions of the English Football League's own league competition (Division One, Division Two and Division Three).

First held in 1960–61 as the Football League Cup, it is one of the three top-tier domestic football competitions in England, alongside the Premier League and FA Cup. It concludes in February, long before the other two, which end in May. It was introduced by the league as a response to the increasing popularity of European football, and to also exert power over the FA. It also took advantage of the roll-out of floodlights, allowing the fixtures to be played as midweek evening games.

The tournament is played over 7 rounds, with single-leg ties throughout. The final is held at Principality Stadium; it is the only tie in the competition played at a neutral venue and on a weekend (Sunday). Preliminary round until Quarter-final is split into North and South sections, and a system of byes based on league level ensures higher ranked teams enter in later rounds, and to defer the entry of teams still involved in Europe. Winners receive a trophy, which there have been three designs, the current one also being the original. Winners also qualify for the UEFA Cup Winners Cup, the runner-up takes the winners' place if the winner of the cup has qualified for the UEFA Champions League.

History
The original idea for a League Cup came from Stanley Rous who saw the competition as a consolation for clubs who had already been knocked out of the FA Cup. However, it was not Rous who came to implement it, but Football League Secretary Alan Hardaker. Hardaker initially proposed the competition as a way for the clubs to make up on lost revenue, due to a reduction in matches played, for when the league was to be re-organised. The re-organisation of the league was not immediately forthcoming; however, the cup competition was introduced regardless.

The trophy was paid for personally by Football League President Joe Richards, who was proud of the competition and he had his own name engraved on it. Richards described the competition's formation as an "interim step" on the way to the league's re-organisation. Richards' priority was the re-organisation of the leagues; "perhaps by cutting down the number of clubs in each division, as has already been suggested, and even given more consideration to the system of four up and four down".

Hardaker felt that the Football League needed to adapt to the times, as the English game was losing prestige. He felt that the Football League should take the lead in revitalizing football in the nation: "It must be obvious to all of you that the time has come to do something, and it is up to the Football League to give the lead. I hope the Press will not immediately assume that the League is going to fall out with the F.A. or anybody else... the time has come for our voice to be heard in every problem which affects the professional game."

The League Cup competition was established at a time when match day attendances were dwindling. The league had lost one million spectators compared to the previous season. It was established at a time when tensions between the Football League and the Football Association were high. The biggest disagreement was about how revenue was shared between the clubs.

During the late 1950s, the majority of senior English clubs equipped their grounds with floodlights. This opened up the opportunity to exploit weekday evenings throughout the winter. The League Cup was introduced in the 1960–61 season specifically as a mid-week floodlit tournament, to replace the Southern Professional Floodlit Cup.

The League Cup was criticised by the better-endowed clubs. The Times' correspondent at the time felt that the League Cup was a step in the wrong direction; the European Cup had been formed five years prior to the League Cup and the correspondent felt the League Cup's introduction was adding to existing problems. The Times published on 30 May 1960: "Where a drastic reduction is required in an attempt to raise quality, no doubt quantity and a further spread of mediocrity will be the dose. Where men like Count Bernabeu with his wider horizons, think in terms of a European League for the future in which a lead could surely now be given jointly by our leaders, the Football League propose next season to implement their useless Football League Cup to be played in midweek. It gets the players, the clubs and the public nowhere."

Aston Villa were the inaugural winners in 1960–61, defeating Rotherham United 3–2 in the final over two legs. Football in England was considered to be of a low quality, compared to what was being played on the continent, as relatively unfashionable clubs Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers were England's representatives in Europe that year, having lifted the major honours ahead of much bigger clubs like Arsenal and Manchester United. Richards referred to the appetite for European football as 'continental fever'. He was keen for the league to re-establish itself: 'We must be prepared to put the interests of the League and the game before individual clubs.' 16 clubs opposed the competition's creation, 31 approved it. The average attendance across the League Cup was 10,556, just higher than the average gate in the Third Division. The total attendance of the Football League competition had fallen by 4 million from the previous season. Richards is reputed to have told Hardaker that he foresaw 'the League Cup final being held at Wembley, but that it wouldn't be during his lifetime'. The first League Cup final to be held at Wembley was Third Division Queens Park Rangers's win over First Division West Bromwich Albion on 4 March 1967. Richards died in 1968.

The first League Cup was won in 1960–61 by Aston Villa who, at the time, held the overall record for major trophies won in England. The next three finals, however, saw the trophy won by clubs who had never won a major trophy before. One of them, Norwich City, had yet to even play in the First Division, while their opponents Rochdale had played no higher than the Third Division.

The introduction of the League Cup gave the Football League more negotiating power with the FA and UEFA. Hardaker threatened UEFA with a boycott of the UEFA Cup, unless UEFA gave the League Cup winner European qualification. As a result of the negotiating tactics, UEFA provided the League Cup winner with a place in the European competitions, providing the team was in the first division. Tottenham Hotspur were the first team to qualify for Europe by virtue of winning the competition. Although Leeds United had won the competition before Tottenham, Leeds qualified for Europe based on league position. The winners of the 1966–67 and 1968–69 editions, Queen's Park Rangers and Swindon Town did not participate in Europe, as they were not in the First Division.[citation needed]

Prior to the agreement with UEFA, the competition was not considered worthy of the larger clubs' attention. However, once a position in Europe was on offer, as was a final at Wembley Stadium, the competition's standing was improved and in the 1968–69 season only Manchester United declined to participate. Everton chose not to compete in 1970–71 so that they could concentrate their efforts on the European Cup. Entry was made compulsory for all Football League teams the following year.

Liverpool have won the cup on the most occasions with eight victories, including winning their four League Cups in successive years in the early 1980s. They completed two trebles of trophy wins, in 1983–84 and 2000–01, winning the League Cup in both of these years.

English clubs lost their place in European competitions for an indefinite period in 1985 as a result of the Heysel disaster, where Liverpool fans had taken part in a riot at the European Cup final, resulting in the death of 39 spectators. That year's winners of the League Cup were Norwich City, who would otherwise have played in a European competition for the first time in the 1985–86 season. Oxford United, Arsenal, Luton Town and Nottingham Forest also missed out on the chance to compete in the UEFA Cup as League Cup holders over the next 4 years. Even when the ban was lifted in 1990, League Cup winners did not participate in European competitions for 2 more years, when Manchester United won the trophy and qualified for the UEFA Cup anyway, as they had finished second in the league. In the previous 2 seasons, Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday had both been prevented from competing in the UEFA Cup as League Cup winners, due to the gradual reintegration of English clubs in European competitions.

England and France are the only UEFA members to offer a European berth to the winners of their domestic league cup competitions. That ended in 2020, when Coupe de la Ligue was scrapped, leaving England the only country to do so. This has allowed the League Cup to retain popularity, especially with fans of clubs for whom success in cup competitions offers their only realistic chance of qualifying for Europe. Winning the League Cup will awarded you a UEFA Cup Winners Cup spot similar to the FA Cup.

Giant killings
Giant killings are less well remembered in the League Cup than the FA Cup due to the absence of non-league sides and the fact that many big clubs have fielded very under-strength sides when knocked out. However, there have been some notable upsets, such as Fourth Division side Chester beating league champions Leeds United 3–0 en route to the semi-finals in 1974–75. In 1995–96, Manchester United were beaten 3–0 at home by York City in the second round, first leg; United could only win 3–1 in the second leg and went out 4–3 on aggregate (York went on to repeat the achievement against Everton the following year). Also, the final of 1966–67 saw Division Three side Queens Park Rangers come from 2–0 down at half time to win 3–2 against top-flight West Bromwich Albion in the first League Cup Final to be hosted at Wembley Stadium. Two years later in 1968–69, Third Division side Swindon Town beat Arsenal 3–1 after extra time in the final to win the trophy.

Manchester United have also been knocked out by Southend United and Coventry City in 2006–07 and 2007–08 respectively: in the match against Southend they fielded a strong side with 10 internationals, bucking a trend they had themselves started. In the 2014–15 season, Manchester United fielded 5 international players but lost 4–0 in the 2nd round (in which they entered the tournament) against 3rd tier MK Dons (now MKFC).

In 2001–02, holders Liverpool were defeated 2–1 at home by Grimsby Town, then humbled again by Northampton Town in September 2010. Grimsby recorded another giant killing in 2005 by knocking out Tottenham Hotspur. In the 2012–13 competition, League Two (fourth tier) side Bradford City knocked out Premier League sides Wigan and Aston Villa en route to the semi-final before losing to Arsenal 4–3 on aggregate, but they became the lowest-ranked team to do so since Rochdale in 1961–62. Swansea City, in their centenary year, became the first team from outside England to win the League Cup on 24 February 2013, when they beat Arsenal 3–0 to win their first major English trophy in their history. Former League club and now defunct Scarborough defeated Chelsea 4–3 on aggregate in October 1989, while a Division 4 club. In 1992–93, Scarborough defeated Coventry City (then a top-tier side) 3–2 on aggregate, before ultimately going out of the competition, narrowly, 1–0, against Arsenal.

Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Papa John's Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all the clubs in Football League Division One, Division Two and Division Three and Vanarama Division Four, the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th tiers of the English football league system It is the 3rd most prestigious knockout trophy in English football after the FA Cup and EFL Cup. It began in the 1983–84 season as the Associate Members' Cup, but in 1992, after the lower-division clubs became full members of the Football League, it was renamed the Football League Trophy.

The Area 1st Round draw is made in August, the competition is a single-elimination knockout competition spilt into 2 regions: north and south, before the 2 region winners meet in late March in the final at the Principality Stadium since 2001 after originally being played at Wembley Stadium before its subsequent closure and demolition in 2000. The current (2018–19) champions are Portsmouth, who beat Sunderland 5–4 on penalties in the 2019 final to win the competition for the first and only time. The most successful club is Bristol City, who have lifted the trophy 3 times, in 1986, 2003 and 2015, and were finalists in 1987 and 2000.

FA Trophy
The FA Trophy is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The competition was instigated in 1969 to cater for those non-league clubs that paid their players and were therefore not eligible to enter the FA Amateur Cup.

Eligibility rules have changed over time, but from 2008 onwards the competition has been open to all clubs playing in tiers 6–11 of the overall English football league system. Nicknamed the "Non-League FA Cup". The final of the competition was held at the original Wembley Stadium from the tournament's instigation until the stadium closed in 2000. The final has been played at the Villa Park since 2001 as part of a double-header along with the FA Vase Final. The record for the most FA Trophy wins is shared by Woking, Scarborough Athletic and Telford United, with 3 victories each. The Trophy is currently held by AFC Fylde who beat Leyton Orient in the 2019 final.

FA Vase
FA Vase is an annual football competition for teams playing in Tiers 6–11 of the English Football League System. For the 2017–18 season 619 entrants were accepted, with 2 qualifying rounds preceding 6 rounds, semi-finals and final, played at Villa Park as part of a double-header along with the FA Trophy Final.