Watch The English FA Cup Live
The FA Cup is an annual knockout cup competition in English football; it is the oldest association football competition in the world. It is organised by and named after the Football Association, its official name being the The Football Association Challenge Cup. For sponsorship reasons, from 2015 through to 2018 it is also known as The Emirates FA Cup. A concurrent women's tournament is also held, known as the FA Women's Cup.
The FA Cup was first held in 1871–72. Entry is open to all teams who compete in the Premier League, the Football League and in Steps 1 to 5 of the FA National League System, as well as selected teams in Step 6. This means that clubs of all standards compete, from the largest clubs in England and Wales down to amateur village teams. The tournament has become known for the possibility for "minnows" from the lower divisions to become "giant-killers" by eliminating top clubs from the tournament and even theoretically winning the Cup, although lower division teams rarely progress beyond the early stages. The qualification rounds and a system of byes mean that the very smallest and very biggest teams almost never meet.
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. Arsenal are the current holders, having beaten Aston Villa 4–0 in the 2015 final to win the cup for the second year in a row. It was their 12th FA Cup title overall, making Arsenal the FA Cup's most successful club ahead of Manchester United on 11.
Watch The English FA Cup Live |
The defending champions are Premier League side Arsenal, after they beat Aston Villa 4–0 in the previous final on 30 May 2015.
Forthcoming matches
Tue 09 Feb 2016 West Ham vs Liverpool FCWed 10 Feb 2016 Peterborough vs West Bromwich
Watch The English FA Cup Live |