The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football Association. The name "FA Cup" refers to the English men's tournament.
The FA Cup is the oldest football competition in the world, commencing in 1871–72. Because it involves clubs of all standards playing against each other there is the possibility for "minnows" or "Cinderella runs" from the lower divisions to become "giant-killers" by eliminating top clubs from the tournament, although lower division teams rarely reach the final. A record 731 teams were accepted into the FA Cup in 2007–08. In comparison, the League Cup can involve only the 72 members of The Football League (which organises that competition) and the 20 teams in the Premier League for a total of 92 eligible teams.
The Cup involves clubs in the English football league system. The competition is a knockout tournament with pairings drawn completely at random - there are no seeds, and a draw takes place after the majority of fixtures have been played in each round. However the qualifying round draws are regionalised to reduce the travel costs of smaller non-league sides. Rounds one and two were also previously split into northern and southern draw sections, however this practice was abandoned after the 1997–98 cup competition. The draw also determines which team will play at home. If a match (other than the semi-final or final) is drawn, there is a replay, usually at the ground of the team who were away for the first game. Drawn replays are now settled with extra time and penalty shootouts, though in the past further replays were possible, and some ties took as many as six matches to settle; in their 1975 campaign, Fulham played 12 games over six rounds.
The current holders are Manchester United F.C. who beat Chelsea F.C. 6-5 on penalties, 1-1 after extra time, in Moscow on the 21st May 2008.
The draw for each round, performed by drawing numbered balls from a bag, is a source of great interest to clubs and their supporters, and is broadcast on television. When the top clubs enter the competition the possibilities for interesting and lucrative match-ups generate plenty of speculation. Sometimes two top clubs may be drawn against each other in the early rounds, removing the possibility of them meeting in the final. Lower-ranked clubs with reputations as 'giant-killers' look forward to meeting a top team at home, although in some cases the expense of providing policing for a game can outweigh any financial windfall from larger crowds. Mid-ranked teams hope for a draw against a peer to improve their chances of reaching future rounds.
The UEFA Champions league is open to the league champions of all UEFA member associations (except Liechtenstein, which has no league competition), as well as to the clubs finishing from second to fourth position in the strongest leagues. Since January 2007 the two lowest-ranked league competitions can also represent their domestic champions in the Champions LeagueAll Premier League and Football League clubs may enter. Non-league clubs may also enter if they competed in the previous season's FA Cup, FA Trophy, or FA Vase competition and are deemed to be playing in an "acceptable" league for the current season. All clubs entering the competition must have a suitable stadium. In the 2004–05 season, 660 clubs entered the competition, beating the long-standing record of 656 from the 1921–22 season. In 2005–06 a further high point was reached, with 674 entrants, and again in 2006–07 when 687 clubs entered. A new record was made in the 2007–08 season where 731 clubs entered.
The competition begins in August with the extra preliminary round contested by clubs occupying a low position in the English football league system, and the preliminary round. There are then four qualifying rounds and six rounds of the competition proper, followed by the semi-finals and the final.
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