The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout competition in English football, organised by and named after The Football Association (the FA), the governing body of the sport in England. It is the oldest existing football competition in the world, having commenced in the 1871–72 season. The tournament is open to all clubs in the top 10 levels of the English football league system, although a club's home stadium must meet certain requirements prior to entering the tournament. The competition culminates at the end of the league season (usually in May) with the FA Cup final, officially named The Football Association Challenge Cup Final Tie, which has traditionally been regarded as the showpiece finale of the English football season.
The vast majority of FA Cup final matches have been in London: most of these were played at the original Wembley Stadium, which was used from 1923 until the stadium closed in 2000. The other venues used for the final before 1923 were Kennington Oval, Crystal Palace, Stamford Bridge and Lillie Bridge, all in London, Goodison Park in Liverpool and Fallowfield Stadium and Old Trafford in Manchester. The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff hosted the final for six years (2001–2006), while the new Wembley Stadium was under construction. Other grounds have been used for replays, which until 1999 took place if the initial match ended in a draw. The new Wembley Stadium has been the permanent venue of the final since 2007.
As of 2026, 45 clubs have won the FA Cup. The record for the most wins is held by Arsenal, with 14 victories. Only one surviving club, Blackburn Rovers, have won the cup in three consecutive years, a feat that was also achieved by the now dissolved Wanderers; Chelsea are the only team to have lost three consecutive FA Cup finals. The cup has been won by the same team in two or more consecutive years on ten occasions, and four teams have won consecutive finals more than once: Wanderers, Blackburn Rovers, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. The cup has been won by a non-English team once: Cardiff City in 1927. The current holders are Manchester City, who defeated Chelsea in the 2026 final for their eighth win, having become the first team to qualify for four consecutive FA Cup finals.
History
The winners of the first tournament were Wanderers, a team of former public schoolboys based in London, who went on to win the competition five times in its first seven seasons. The early winners of the competition were all teams of wealthy amateurs from the south of England, but in 1883, Blackburn Olympic became the first team from the north to win the cup, defeating Old Etonians. Upon his team's return to Blackburn, Olympic captain Albert Warburton proclaimed: "The Cup is very welcome to Lancashire. It'll have a good home and it'll never go back to London".
With the advent of professionalism at around the same time, the amateur teams quickly faded from prominence in the competition. The leading professional clubs formed The Football League in 1888. Since then, one non-league team has won the cup. Tottenham Hotspur, then of the Southern League, defeated Sheffield United of The Football League to win the 1901 final. A year later Sheffield United returned to the final and won the cup, which then remained in the hands of Northern and Midland clubs until Tottenham won it again in 1921. In 1927, Cardiff City, a team which plays in the English football league system despite being based in Wales, won the cup, the only non-English club to do so. Scottish club Queen's Park reached the final twice in the early years of the competition.
The competition was not held during the First and Second World Wars, except in the 1914–15 season, when it was completed, and the 1939–40 season, when it was abandoned during the qualifying rounds.
Newcastle United enjoyed a brief spell of FA Cup dominance in the 1950s, winning the trophy three times in five years, and in the 1960s, Tottenham Hotspur enjoyed a similar spell of success, with three wins in seven seasons. This marked the start of a successful period for London-based clubs, with 11 wins in 22 seasons. Teams from the second tier of English football, at the time called the Second Division, experienced an unprecedented run of cup success between 1973 and 1980. Sunderland won the cup in 1973, Southampton repeated the feat in 1976, and West Ham United won in 1980, the most recent victory by a team from outside the top division.
Until 1999, a draw in the final would result in the match being replayed at a later date; since then the final has always been decided on the day, with a penalty shoot-out as required. As of 2022 a penalty shoot-out has been required on only three occasions, in the 2005, 2006 and 2022 finals. Arsenal hold the record for the highest number of FA Cup wins, having claimed the trophy 14 times, most recently in 2020.
Results +Key to list of winners(R)Replay*Match went to extra timeMatch decided via a penalty shoot-out after extra timeWinning team won the Double (League title and FA Cup)§Winning team won the Domestic Treble (League title, FA Cup and League Cup)#Winning team won the Continental Treble (League title, FA Cup and European Cup/Champions League)ItalicsTeam from outside the top tier of English league football (since the formation of The Football League in 1888)(#)Number of trophy won by club The "Season" column refers to the season the competition was held, and wikilinks to the article about that season. The wikilinks in the "Score" column point to the article about that season's final game. All teams are English, except where marked (Scottish) or (Welsh).
+FA Cup finalsSeasonWinnersScoreRunners-upVenueAttendanceWanderers (1)1–0Royal EngineersKennington Oval2,000Wanderers (2)2–0Oxford UniversityLillie Bridge3,000Oxford University (1)2–0Royal EngineersKennington Oval2,000Royal Engineers (1)Old Etonians2,0002–0 (R)3,000Wanderers (3)Old Etonians3,5003–0 (R)1,500Wanderers (4)Oxford University3,000Wanderers (5)3–1Royal Engineers4,500Old Etonians (1)1–0Clapham Rovers5,000Clapham Rovers (1)1–0Oxford University6,000Old Carthusians (1)3–0Old Etonians4,000Old Etonians (2)1–0Blackburn Rovers6,500Blackburn Olympic (1)Old Etonians8,000Blackburn Rovers (1)2–1 Queen's Park4,000Blackburn Rovers (2)2–0 Queen's Park12,500Blackburn Rovers (3)0–0West Bromwich Albion15,0002–0 (R)12,000Aston Villa (1)2–0West Bromwich AlbionKennington Oval15,500West Bromwich Albion (1)2–1Preston North End19,000Preston North End (1)3–0Wolverhampton Wanderers22,000Blackburn Rovers (4)6–1The Wednesday20,000Blackburn Rovers (5)3–1Notts County23,000West Bromwich Albion (2)3–0Aston Villa32,810Wolverhampton Wanderers (1)1–0EvertonFallowfield Stadium45,000Notts County (1)4–1Bolton WanderersGoodison Park37,000Aston Villa (2)1–0West Bromwich AlbionCrystal Palace42,560The Wednesday (1)2–1Wolverhampton Wanderers48,836Aston Villa (3)3–2Everton65,891Nottingham Forest (1)3–1Derby County62,017Sheffield United (1)4–1Derby County73,833Bury (1)4–0Southampton68,945Tottenham Hotspur (1)2–2Sheffield United110,8203–1 (R)Burnden Park20,470Sheffield United (2)1–1SouthamptonCrystal Palace76,9142–1 (R)33,068Bury (2)6–0Derby County63,102Manchester City (1)1–0Bolton Wanderers61,374Aston Villa (4)2–0Newcastle United101,117Everton (1)1–0Newcastle United75,609The Wednesday (2)2–1Everton84,594Wolverhampton Wanderers (2)3–1Newcastle United74,697Manchester United (1)1–0Bristol City71,401Newcastle United (1)1–1Barnsley77,7472–0 (R)Goodison Park69,000Bradford City (1)0–0Newcastle UnitedCrystal Palace69,0681–0 (R)Old Trafford58,000Barnsley (1)0–0West Bromwich AlbionCrystal Palace54,556 (R)Bramall Lane38,555Aston Villa (5)1–0SunderlandCrystal Palace121,919Burnley (1)1–0Liverpool72,778Sheffield United (3)3–0ChelseaOld Trafford49,557Aston Villa (6)Huddersfield TownStamford Bridge50,018Tottenham Hotspur (2)1–0Wolverhampton Wanderers72,805Huddersfield Town (1)1–0Preston North End53,000Bolton Wanderers (1)2–0West Ham UnitedWembley Stadium (original)126,047Newcastle United (2)2–0Aston Villa91,695Sheffield United (4)1–0 Cardiff City91,763Bolton Wanderers (2)1–0Manchester City91,447 Cardiff City (1)1–0Arsenal91,206Blackburn Rovers (6)3–1Huddersfield Town92,041Bolton Wanderers (3)2–0Portsmouth92,576Arsenal (1)2–0Huddersfield Town92,488West Bromwich Albion (3)2–1Birmingham92,406Newcastle United (3)2–1Arsenal92,298Everton (2)3–0Manchester City92,950Manchester City (2)2–1Portsmouth93,258Sheffield Wednesday (3)4–2West Bromwich Albion93,204Arsenal (2)1–0Sheffield United93,384Sunderland (1)3–1Preston North End93,495Preston North End (2)Huddersfield Town93,497Portsmouth (1)4–1Wolverhampton Wanderers99,370Derby County (1)Charlton Athletic98,000Charlton Athletic (1)Burnley99,000Manchester United (2)4–2Blackpool99,000Wolverhampton Wanderers (3)3–1Leicester CityArsenal (3)2–0Liverpool100,000Newcastle United (4)2–0BlackpoolNewcastle United (5)1–0ArsenalBlackpool (1)4–3Bolton WanderersWest Bromwich Albion (4)3–2Preston North EndNewcastle United (6)3–1Manchester CityManchester City (3)3–1Birmingham CityAston Villa (7)2–1Manchester UnitedBolton Wanderers (4)2–0Manchester UnitedNottingham Forest (2)2–1Luton TownWolverhampton Wanderers (4)3–0Blackburn RoversTottenham Hotspur (3)2–0Leicester CityTottenham Hotspur (4)3–1BurnleyManchester United (3)3–1Leicester CityWest Ham United (1)3–2Preston North EndLiverpool (1)Leeds UnitedEverton (3)3–2Sheffield WednesdayTottenham Hotspur (5)2–1ChelseaWest Bromwich Albion (5)EvertonManchester City (4)1–0Leicester CityChelsea (1)Leeds United (R)Old Trafford62,078Arsenal (4)LiverpoolWembley Stadium (original)100,000Leeds United (1)1–0ArsenalSunderland (2)1–0Leeds UnitedLiverpool (2)3–0Newcastle UnitedWest Ham United (2)2–0FulhamSouthampton (1)1–0Manchester UnitedManchester United (4)2–1LiverpoolIpswich Town (1)1–0ArsenalArsenal (5)3–2Manchester UnitedWest Ham United (3)1–0ArsenalTottenham Hotspur (6)Manchester City3–2 (R)92,000Tottenham Hotspur (7)Queens Park Rangers100,0001–0 (R)90,000Manchester United (5)Brighton & Hove Albion100,0004–0 (R)Everton (4)2–0WatfordManchester United (6)EvertonLiverpool (3)3–1Everton98,000Coventry City (1)Tottenham HotspurWimbledon (1)1–0Liverpool98,203Liverpool (4)Everton82,500Manchester United (7)Crystal Palace80,0001–0 (R)Tottenham Hotspur (8)Nottingham ForestLiverpool (5)2–0SunderlandArsenal (6)Sheffield Wednesday79,347 (R)62,267Manchester United (8)4–0Chelsea79,634Everton (5)1–0Manchester United79,592Manchester United (9)1–0Liverpool79,007Chelsea (2)2–0Middlesbrough79,160Arsenal (7)2–0Newcastle United79,183Manchester United # (10)2–0Newcastle United79,101Chelsea (3)1–0Aston Villa78,217Liverpool (6)2–1ArsenalMillennium Stadium72,500Arsenal (8)2–0Chelsea73,963Arsenal (9)1–0Southampton73,726Manchester United (11)3–0Millwall71,350Arsenal (10)Manchester United71,876Liverpool (7)West Ham United71,140Chelsea (4)Manchester UnitedWembley Stadium89,826Portsmouth (2)1–0 Cardiff City89,874Chelsea (5)2–1Everton89,391Chelsea (6)1–0Portsmouth88,335Manchester City (5)1–0Stoke City88,643Chelsea (7)2–1Liverpool89,041Wigan Athletic (1)1–0Manchester City86,254Arsenal (11)Hull City89,345Arsenal (12)4–0Aston Villa89,283Manchester United (12)Crystal Palace88,619Arsenal (13)2–1Chelsea89,472Chelsea (8)1–0Manchester United87,647Manchester City § (6)6–0Watford85,854Arsenal (14)2–1Chelsea0Leicester City (1)1–0Chelsea20,000Liverpool (8)Chelsea84,897Manchester City # (7)2–1Manchester United83,1792023–24Manchester United (13)2–1Manchester City 84,8142024–25Crystal Palace (1)1–0Manchester City 84,1632025–26Manchester City (8)1–0Chelsea 83,337
Results by team Teams shown in italics are no longer in existence. Additionally, Queen's Park ceased to be eligible to enter the FA Cup after a Scottish Football Association ruling in 1887.