The 1944 Football League War Cup South Final was the final of the southern section of

Football League War Cup The Football League War Cup was an association football tournament held between 1939 and 1945. It aimed to fill the gap left in English football by the suspension of the FA Cup during the Second World War. Though it was often referred to in conte ...

, an unofficial cup competition held in England during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as a replacement for the suspended

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

. The match took place at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

on 15 April 1944 and was won by

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

, who beat

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

3–1. Charlton later contested a play-off against the winners of the equivalent

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

final,

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

Match summary

Chelsea took an early lead thanks to a

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) A p ...

from Joe Payne. Charlton equalised through Charlie Revell and took the lead on 36 minutes when a defensive mix-up enabled

Don Welsh Donald Welsh (25 February 1911 – 2 February 1990) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he played at inside left for Charlton Athletic and for England, winning the FA Cup with Charlton in 1946–47. Playing career Welsh ...

to score. Revell scored Charlton's third a minute later to put the game beyond Chelsea's reach.

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

Supreme Commander of the Allied forces was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the United States-led Allies of World War II, Allied occupation of Japan following World War II. It issued SCAP Directives (alias SCAPIN, SCAP Index Number) to the Japanese government, aiming ...

, presented the cup to victorious captain Welsh. The match produced a record gate of £26,000, of which £12,000 was recouped by the Government in Entertainment Tax.

Match details

Notes

References

* * {{Football League War Cup Finals War Cup South Final 1944 War Cup South Final 1944 1943–44 in English football Football League War Cup 1944 in English sport