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 ...
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
. It is the oldest football competition in the world, having commenced in 1871. The Cup is organised by
The Football Association
The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...
, the governing body of the sport in England, and is open only to clubs playing in FA-affiliated leagues in the modern era, all of which are based in England, although a number of Welsh clubs have taken part. Several teams from
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
have also entered, primarily in the competition's early years.
The first Scottish club to enter was Queen's Park in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, who accepted an invitation to take part in the first competition after a number of the clubs which had originally entered withdrew. Queen's Park was by far the dominant force in Scottish football, and no other team had even managed to score a goal against them. Because of a combination of byes and the withdrawal of opponents, "Queen's" reached the semi-finals without playing a match, but after holding Wanderers to a draw the Scottish club was forced to withdraw, as the funds could not be raised to return for a replay. The following season Queen's Park entered the competition again and, to reduce the travelling expenses required to take part in a competition in which virtually every other team was based in the
home counties
The home counties are the counties of England that surround London. The counties are not precisely defined but Buckinghamshire and Surrey are usually included in definitions and Berkshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Kent are also often included ...
surrounding London, were afforded byes all the way to the semi-finals. At that stage the club was drawn against
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...
, but the Scots withdrew from the competition, although one account states that Queen's in fact beat Oxford, but then withdrew as the team could not afford to travel to London for the final. In 1873, the newly formed Scottish Football Association launched the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, but Queen's Park continued to enter the FA Cup draw, although for unknown reasons the club withdrew each time without playing.
In 1883, Queen's returned to the FA Cup and reached the final, scoring resounding wins over
Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
(10–0) and Manchester F.C. (15–0) en route, only to be defeated by
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. Th ...
. The match against Manchester was the first FA Cup tie to be staged in Scotland, hosted at
Titwood
Titwood is a cricket ground in the Pollokshields area of Glasgow, Scotland. It is the home of the Clydesdale Cricket Club and is one of four international grounds in Scotland approved by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as a home venue f ...
, the home of
Clydesdale Cricket Club
Clydesdale Cricket Club is a sporting club situated at Titwood on the periphery of Pollokshields in the south of Glasgow.
History
The club was founded in Kinning Park in 1848 by Archibald Campbell. It was formed by members of two previous cl ...
. A year later Queens met Blackburn Rovers in the final once again, but Rovers won again. The 1885–86 competition saw the first entries by other Scottish clubs, as Queen's were joined by Partick Thistle,
Third Lanark
Third Lanark Athletic Club was a Scottish football club based in Glasgow. Founded in 1872 as an offshoot of the 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers, the club was a founder member of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) in 1872 and the Scottish ...
Cowlairs
Cowlairs is an area in the Scottish city of Glasgow, part of the wider Springburn district of the city. It is situated north of the River Clyde, between central Springburn to the east and Possilpark to the west.
Administratively, in the 21st ...
.
In 1887, the Scottish Football Association banned its members from taking any further part in the FA Cup. No more Scottish clubs participated until Gretna F.C. entered the competition in the 1980s. Because the town of Gretna is close to the
border
Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...
, the local football club had opted to play in the English football league system and by the 1980s had reached the Northern Premier League, making the team eligible to enter the FA Cup. Gretna played in the qualifying rounds of the FA Cup for nineteen seasons, and reached the first round proper twice, until the club joined the Scottish Football League in 2002.
Participation of Scottish clubs by season
See also
*
Non-English football clubs in the FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout competition in English association football. It is the oldest football competition in the world, having commenced in 1871.
Although the competition is the national ...
- a full list of all clubs from outside England that have competed in the FA Cup
* Berwick Rangers F.C. - a club geographically located in England, but which plays in the Scottish league system (and thus the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,FA Cup
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 ...