27th May: FA Cup Final

The FA cup final 2017 takes place today. It is the 136th cup final and will be between Arsenal and Chelsea. Here are some facts about the FA cup final.

The oldest surviving FA Cup trophy, on display at the
National Football Museum, Preston.
The trophy was used between 1896 and 1910,
being an exact replica of the original trophy,
which was stolen and never recovered.

1. The official name for it is the Football Association Challenge Cup and it's been going for 146 years, making it the oldest association football competition in the world.
2. The first FA Cup final was in 1872 and came about because a sporting newspaper suggested a "challenge cup" tournament should be held. The first FA Cup final was played at the Kennington Oval. Wanderers beat the Royal Engineers one nil. The game was watched by two thousand people.
3. At time of writing the most successful teams are Arsenal and Manchester United who have won twelve cup finals each, followed by Tottenham Hotspur with eight wins. Leicester City has reached the final four times but has never won the cup, making them the unluckiest team ever.
4. There have been several versions of the FA cup. The first was stolen from the window of a shoe shop in 1895 and was never seen again. A replacement trophy was in use between 1896 and 1910, when it was was presented as a gift to Lord Kinnaird, the then head of the FA. A third came into service in 1911, which lasted until 1991 when it was deemed to have become to fragile and was retired. The most recent version of the trophy has been in use since 2014, when the 1992 trophy was showing increasing signs of wear and tear. There is also a "back-up" FA cup in case the original one gets lost, stolen or damaged.
5. During the game, ribbons in the colours of both finalists are tied to the cup. When the result is known, the ribbons for the losing side are removed.
6. The FA cup is open to any team which competes in English football, regardless as to the level at which they play. Amateur village teams can compete against Premier League clubs and sometimes the little guys win. This is known as a "giant killing". One club with a particular reputation for giant killing is Yeovil Town. As a non-league team the club recorded twenty wins against league sides; more than any other club in the competition.
7. Football clubs may appear at the final multiple times, but any referee can only appear once. The last referee to oversee more than one cup final was Arthur Kingscott in 1900 and 1901. In 1931, the cup final referee was his son. The referee for the match stays at the White’s Hotel the night before the game and is strongly advised by the FA not to go out. The Referee’s Association host a dinner for the officials and other serving referees the evening before the game.
8. The youngest player to play in a cup final was Curtis Weston who played for Millwall at 17 years and 119 days in 2004. The oldest was Billy Hampson who played for Newcastle United at 41 years and 257 days in 1924.
9. The largest total number of goals scored in a final is seven and this has happened twice. In 1890 when Blackburn Rovers beat The Wednesday by six goals to one, and in 1953 when Blackpool beat Bolton 4-3. There have only been two occasions upon which the final of the FA Cup has been decided on penalties, in 2005 and 2006.
10. The FA Cup Final is one of 10 events reserved for live broadcast on UK terrestrial television under the Ofcom Code on Sports and Other Listed and Designated Events. It was first broadcast in 1927, but that was a recording. The first live broadcast of an FA cup final was in 1938.

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