The 1939–40 FA Cup was an abandoned season of the world's oldest

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cup competition A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as 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 ...

. The competition began as the 65th season of the competition, but was abandoned after just the first round of qualifying matches, due to the start of

World War II 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 ...

Suspension

The 1939–40 FA Cup began on 2 September 1939, the day after Germany had invaded Poland. On 3 September the

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declared war with Germany and its allies. The FA suspended the FA Cup on 7 September, until further notice; on 21 September it was announced that all organised football was cancelled for the duration of the war, with only friendly and regional competitions permitted. All results to date in the 1939-40 season were declared null and void. The

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 ...

began in October 1939. Organised by

the 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 Engla ...

, this was the only national-level competition during the war. Alongside this, the

Wartime League The Wartime League was a football league competition held in England during World War II, which replaced the suspended Football League. The exclusion of the FA Cup in these years saw the creation of the Football League War Cup and it was a friendly ...

or regionalised competitions provided regular football for players and fans during the war.

Extra-Preliminary Round

62 ties were scheduled for 2 September 1939. The results of several matches are missing, but it is not known if these were simply not played, or if the results went unrecorded as it quickly became apparent that the competition would not be continued. Of the teams involved, this was the only FA Cup appearance for Holiday's Sports, Cheadle, Dagenham Town and

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. Norwich Electricity Works withdrew before playing a game, in what would have otherwise been their only appearance.

References

;General
Official site; fixtures and results service
at TheFA.com ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:1939-40 Fa Cup FA Cup seasons

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 ...