The Football Association Challenge Vase, usually referred to as the FA Vase, is an annual
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 ...
competition for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English
National League System (or equivalently, tier 9 or 10 of the overall
English football league system
The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isl ...
). For the 2017–18 season 619 entrants were accepted, with two qualifying rounds preceding the six proper rounds, semi-finals (played over two legs) and final to be played 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 ...
.
The
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
winners were
Newport Pagnell Town, who beat
Littlehampton Town 3–0 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 ...
.
History
Until 1974, football players were either professionals or amateurs. Professionals were paid to play by their clubs, and the only cup competitions such clubs were allowed to enter were 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 ...
and, after 1969, for clubs outside
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 ...
, the
FA Trophy. Amateurs, on the other hand, were not paid (at least not officially) by their clubs, and such clubs had their own cup competition, the
FA Amateur Cup.
In 1974, with many of the top amateur players receiving payment for playing,
the Football Association
The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...
abolished the distinction, scrapped the Amateur Cup and introduced the FA Vase for the majority of clubs who had previously played in the competition. Well over 200 clubs entered in the first season, 1974–75, when
Hoddesdon Town of the
Spartan League
The Spartan League was a football league in England covering London and adjacent counties. Established in 1907, it merged with the South Midlands League in 1997 to form the Spartan South Midlands League.
History
The Spartan League was establish ...
beat
Epsom & Ewell of the
Surrey Senior League
The Surrey Senior League was an English regional football league for teams based in Surrey although teams from outside the county were often admitted as well. The league existed from 1922 until 1978, when it was rebranded as the Home Counties Leagu ...
2–1 in the final 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 ...
before a crowd of 9,000.
In September 2021
Hinckley AFC set a new record score in the competition, beating
St Martins 18-0.
Eligibility
In recent years, entry to the FA Vase has been restricted to clubs in the ninth and lower tiers of the
English football league system
The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isl ...
(those in the four levels above the ninth qualified for the FA Trophy). Reorganisation of the
National League System for 2004 onwards moved the dividing line down to the new "Step 5" (ninth tier overall). Clubs from the
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
(
First Tower United,
St. Martins and
Vale Recreation) and the Isle of Man (
Douglas HSOB) also entered the Vase in the past.
Guernsey F.C., who were formed in 2011 and played in the "Step 5"
Combined Counties League
The Combined Counties Football League is a regional men's football league in south-eastern England with members in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Jersey, Kent, Middlesex, Oxfordshire, Surrey, and the western half and sou ...
, gained entry for the 2012–13 season
and reached the semi-finals.
Exemptions
*Eligible teams who played in the FA Vase the previous season and finished in the top four of a Step 5 league are exempt from qualifying, and start play in the first round proper of the Vase, unless they were promoted to a Step 4 league. (If they were promoted, they would play for the FA Trophy instead.)
*Eligible teams who played in the FA Trophy the previous season and were relegated from a Step 4 league are exempt from qualifying, and start play in the first round proper of the Vase as well.
*Clubs that played in the 4th round or later of the previous season's FA Vase are exempt from qualifying and the first round, and start play in the second round proper.
Finals
Only five teams have won the FA Vase more than once.
Whitley Bay
Whitley Bay is a seaside town in the North Tyneside borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It formerly governed as part of Northumberland and has been part of Tyne and Wear since 1974. It is part of the wider Tyneside built-up area, being around eas ...
are the only team to win the FA Vase three times in successive seasons, while
Billericay Town
Billericay Town Football Club is a football club based in Billericay, Essex, England. The club are currently members of and play at New Lodge. They are the second most successful club in FA Vase history, having won the competition on three o ...
,
Tiverton Town
Tiverton Town Football Club are an English football club based in Tiverton, Devon. The club are currently members of the and play at Ladysmead.
History
The club was established in 1913 as Tiverton Athletic, and initially played at the Athle ...
and
Halesowen Town
Halesowen Town Football Club is a football club based in Halesowen, West Midlands, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Grove Recreation Ground.
History
The club was believed to have been established around 1873, but rec ...
have won back-to-back titles. As of
2017–18, at least one
Northern League team has reached the final for 10 consecutive seasons, with teams from the league winning the title in all but two of those years. In 2017
Forest Green Rovers
Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...
became the first FA Vase winners to go on to play in 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 ...
, while one former Football League team (
Glossop North End) have been beaten finalists.
Media coverage
BT Sport
BT Sport is a group of pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe and BT Group, they first launched on 1 August 2013. The channels are based at the former International Bro ...
showed the
2016 FA Vase Final between
Hereford
Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...
and
Morpeth Town
Morpeth Town Association Football Club is a football club based in Morpeth, Northumberland, England. They are currently members of the and play at Craik Park.
History
The club was established in 1909. They joined the Northern Alliance in 193 ...
live on 22 May as part of a double-header along with the
2016 FA Trophy Final
The 2015–16 FA Trophy Final was the 47th final of the FA Trophy. The match was contested by FC Halifax Town and Grimsby Town. Grimsby Town were beaten finalists in 2013, but it was FC Halifax Town's first final and their first visit to Wembley ...
.
This has continued in more recent years.
References
External links
The FA Vase at the FA website
{{FA Vase seasons
9
Recurring sporting events established in 1974
Amateur association football