The 1885–86 Football Association Challenge Cup was the 15th edition of the

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 ...

, England's oldest

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

tournament. There were 130 entrants, sixteen more than in the previous season, although six teams did not play a match. Five Scottish clubs entered but one was eliminated in the first round in an all-Scottish tie and travel constraints caused the rest to withdraw.

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

became the second team to win the competition in three successive seasons and, as of 2022, they remain the last to do so. The final between Blackburn and

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

is the earliest to have been contested by two extant clubs that are still members of either the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

or the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...

First round

Notes. ''In all rounds, a ''walkover'' means the tie was not played and the first-named team progressed to the next round. If a match was ''declared void'' for any reason, a replay was necessary.''

Replays

Second replays

Second round

Replays

Third round

Replay

Fourth round

Fifth round

Replay

Second replay

Sixth round

Semi-finals

Final

Replay

References

FA Cup Results Archive
* ''The Complete Record of the FA Cup'' by Mike Collett (2003). SportsBooks Ltd, Cheltenham. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fa Cup 1885-86 1885-86 1885–86 in English football