The FA Cup, the oldest association football competition in the world, is a knockout tournament contested between teams in domestic English football since 1871. Winning the competition was previously seen as an equal achievement to winning the league championship, but the growing importance of the Premier League and UEFA Champions League has seen its importance diminish. Managers, particularly those at Premier League clubs, tend to make tactical changes in the FA Cup and rotate their squads, owing to fixture congestion caused by rival competitions such as the Premier League and European tournaments.

Arsène Wenger won seven FA Cups as manager of Arsenal, the most of any manager. George Ramsay won six FA Cups as manager of Aston Villa, while Alex Ferguson won five FA Cups as manager of Manchester United. Four managers have won the FA Cup as a player-manager. John Cameron was the first to do so in the 1901 final, a game in which he scored. Kenny Dalglish won two FA Cups as a player-manager in 1986 and 1989, and Ruud Gullit was player-manager when Chelsea won the 1997 final. Two managers have won the title with multiple sides: Billy Walker won as manager of Sheffield Wednesday in 1935 and Nottingham Forest in 1959, and Herbert Chapman won as manager of Huddersfield Town in 1922 and Arsenal in 1930. Joe Mercer was the first person to win the FA Cup as a captain and a manager; captaining Arsenal to victory in 1950, and managing Manchester City to a victory in 1969.

English managers have won the competition the most, with 76 wins by 50 different managers. Scottish managers are next with 32 wins by 17 different managers, and French managers are third with eight wins by two managers. Harry Redknapp was the last English manager to win the FA Cup, when he led Portsmouth to victory in the 2008 final. Gullit became the first manager from outside the British Isles to win the FA Cup when he guided Chelsea to victory in 1997.

FA Cup-winning managers

+FA Cup-winning managersFinalWinning managerNationalityClubRef.1872Wanderers1873Wanderers1874Oxford University1875Royal Engineers1876Wanderers1877Wanderers1878Wanderers1879Old Etonians1880Clapham Rovers1881Old Carthusians1882Old Etonians1883Blackburn Olympic1884Blackburn Rovers1885Blackburn Rovers1886Blackburn Rovers1887Aston Villa1888West Bromwich Albion1889Preston North End1890Blackburn Rovers1891Blackburn Rovers1892West Bromwich Albion1893Wolverhampton Wanderers1894Notts County1895Aston Villa1896The Wednesday1897Aston Villa1898Nottingham Forest1899Sheffield United1900Bury1901Tottenham Hotspur1902Sheffield United1903Bury1904Manchester City1905Aston Villa1906Everton1907The Wednesday1908Wolverhampton Wanderers1909Manchester United1910Newcastle United1911Bradford City1912Barnsley1913Aston Villa1914Burnley1915Sheffield United1920Aston Villa1921Tottenham Hotspur1922Huddersfield Town1923Bolton Wanderers1924Selection committeeNewcastle United1925Sheffield United1926Bolton Wanderers1927Cardiff City1928Blackburn Rovers1929Bolton Wanderers1930Arsenal1931West Bromwich Albion1932Newcastle United1933Everton1934Manchester City1935Sheffield Wednesday1936Arsenal1937Sunderland1938Preston North End1939Portsmouth1946Derby County1947Charlton Athletic1948Manchester United1949Wolverhampton Wanderers1950Arsenal1951Newcastle United1952Newcastle United1953Blackpool1954West Bromwich Albion1955Newcastle United1956Manchester City1957Aston Villa1958Bolton Wanderers1959Nottingham Forest1960Wolverhampton Wanderers1961Tottenham Hotspur1962Tottenham Hotspur1963Manchester United1964West Ham United1965Liverpool1966Everton1967Tottenham Hotspur1968West Bromwich Albion1969Manchester City1970Chelsea1971Arsenal1972Leeds United1973Sunderland1974Liverpool1975West Ham United1976Southampton1977Manchester United1978Ipswich Town1979Arsenal1980West Ham United1981Tottenham Hotspur1982Tottenham Hotspur1983Manchester United1984Everton1985Manchester United1986Liverpool1987Coventry City1988Wimbledon1989Liverpool1990Manchester United1991Tottenham Hotspur1992Liverpool1993Arsenal1994Manchester United1995Everton1996Manchester United1997Chelsea1998Arsenal1999Manchester United2000Chelsea2001Liverpool2002Arsenal2003Arsenal2004Manchester United2005Arsenal2006Liverpool2007Chelsea2008Portsmouth2009Chelsea2010Chelsea2011Manchester City2012Chelsea2013Wigan Athletic2014Arsenal2015Arsenal2016Manchester United2017Arsenal2018Chelsea2019Manchester City2020Arsenal2021Leicester City2022Liverpool2023Manchester City2024Manchester United2025Crystal Palace2026Manchester City

By individual +FA Cup-winning managers by individualRankManagerNationalityWinning YearsClub(s) 1 Arsène Wenger 71998, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2014, 2015, 2017 Arsenal 2 George Ramsay 61887, 1895, 1897, 1905, 1913, 1920 Aston Villa3 Alex Ferguson 51990, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004 Manchester United4 John Nicholson 41899, 1902, 1915, 1925 Sheffield United5 Charles Foweraker 31923, 1926, 1929 Bolton Wanderers Bill Nicholson1961, 1962, 1967Tottenham HotspurPep Guardiola2019, 2023, 2026Manchester City9Thomas Mitchell 21890, 1891Blackburn RoversJack Addenbrooke1893, 1908Wolverhampton WanderersArthur Dickinson1896, 1907The WednesdayHarry Spencer Hamer1900, 1903BuryFrank Watt1910, 1924Newcastle UnitedHerbert Chapman1922, 1930Huddersfield Town, ArsenalBilly Walker1935, 1959Sheffield Wednesday, Nottingham ForestMatt Busby1948, 1963Manchester UnitedStan Cullis1949, 1960Wolverhampton WanderersStan Seymour1951, 1952Newcastle UnitedBill Shankly1965, 1974LiverpoolJohn Lyall1975, 1980West Ham UnitedKeith Burkinshaw1981, 1982Tottenham HotspurRon Atkinson1983, 1985Manchester UnitedKenny Dalglish1986, 1989Liverpool

By nationality +FA Cup-winning managers by nationalityRankCountryManagersTotal 1 52 70 2 20 13 3 2 8 4 4 6 5 5 5 6 4 4 7 2 2 8 1 1

See also

List of FA Cup finals History of the FA Cup

Notes

References

Bibliography