The FA Cup is the oldest national football competition in the world, and somehow it still feels relevant more than 150 years after it began. Officially called The Football Association Challenge Cup, it has been around since the 1871-72 season and remains one of the most recognisable parts of English football culture.
The FA Cup itself came from the idea of Charles W. Alcock, who was working as the Football Association’s secretary at the time. He wanted to bring clubs together in a simple knockout competition, all playing by the same rules. Only 15 teams entered that very first tournament, but it didn’t take long for people to take notice and want to get involved.
The first final was held at the Kennington Oval in London. Wanderers FC came out on top against the Royal Engineers, making history as the first FA Cup winners. Back then, the competition was mostly dominated by amateur sides, simply because professional football hadn’t really taken hold yet.
As the game started to grow, the FA Cup grew with it. Things really shifted in the 1880s when professional clubs were allowed to enter. Standards improved, crowds got bigger and the competition quickly became a key part of the English football season.
What has always made the FA Cup different, though, is how open it is. Teams from the very top of the game, right down to non-league football, can all be involved, as long as they qualify. That’s what gives smaller clubs the chance to take on famous names, and it’s often where the best stories come from.
Upsets are what people love about the FA Cup. From Hereford knocking out Newcastle in 1972 to Wigan shocking Manchester City in 2013, it’s a competition where anything can happen.
Today, the FA Cup features hundreds of teams and runs from early qualifying rounds in late summer through to the final in May. While modern football places heavy demands on clubs, the FA Cup continues to matter because of its history, the unpredictability and its ability to create moments that fans talk about for decades.
Don't forget to play this weekends Best Picks or Pick10 games as both include the 16 remaining matches from round 4 of the FA Cup.