Every country in Europe has a domestic cup each year. It is an entirely separate tournament from the regular season, that is scheduled to coincide with the futbol season (beginning in August and ending in May). The format is a single elimination tournament (similar to our NCAA march madness) that allows lower leagues to eventually compete with the premiere leagues.England has the FA Cup with 737 participants, Spain has El Copa del Rey with 83 participants, Germany has the DFB Pokal with 64 participants, and Italy has the Coppa Italia with 78 participants. England also has a second domestic cup, known as the Capital One Cup, that exclusively fields it's 92 league clubs, however this tournament isn't as revered as the FA Cup. There is no tournament in Europe that compares with the respected FA Cup, which is what I want to primarily focus on here.
The FA Cup History
England's FA Cup is the oldest association competition in the world, and for that reason has garnered the most attention. It first began in 1871 with 15 of top clubs competing against each other, and was won by the Wanderers FC from London. Since then the tournament has grown significantly in size allowing every major division a chance to compete in the tournament. The FA Cup grants entry to the 7 highest level divisions of the national league system, while having qualifications for levels below that.
In the history of the cup, only one club from a non-league division has gone on to win it all; Tottenham Hotspur in 1901 (They eventually were promoted to the Football League in 1908 and have now become a top quality premiere club.) Only 8 clubs, outside of the premiership have gone on to win the FA Cup. What makes this tournament so unique is the possibility of giant-killing, where every club has a fair chance to win it all. Everyone loves a David-vs-Goliath story, and where better to achieve glory than at one of the oldest and biggest sports tournaments in the world.
The FA Cup Format
The tournament thus begins with 6 rounds of qualifications where the lower divisional clubs are drawn at random to compete against one another. The winner moves on to the next round and so forth, until there are 32 remaining teams to face the higher leagues and begin the proper rounds. (However important to note that this cup doesn't affect the leagues relegation or promotion. That is determined by their regular season performances)
At the eighth round known as the "Second Round Proper" the 48 clubs of the League One and League Two enter the tournament. At the tenth round known as the "Third Round Proper" the Premiere League and the Football League enter and the tournament. At this point there are 64 teams remaining in the tournament and the championship is open game.From the first round to the final championship match there are a total of 737 clubs that partake in this tournament! It is not only one of the oldest tournaments yet also one of the biggest tournaments in the world.
FA Cup Team Results
| FA Cup Wins | Appearances Finals | ||
| Manchester United | 11 | Manchester United | 18 |
| Arsenal | 10 | Arsenal | 17 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 8 | Liverpool | 14 |
| Aston Villa | 7 | Newcastle United | 13 |
| Liverpool | 7 | Everton | 13 |
| Chelsea | 7 | Chelsea | 11 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 6 | Aston Villa | 10 |
| Newcastle United | 6 | West Bromwich Albion | 10 |
| Everton | 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 9 |
| The Wanderers | 5 | Blackburn Rovers | 8 |
| West Bromwich Albion | 5 | Manchester City | 8 |
| Bolton Wanderers | 4 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 8 |
| Manchester City | 4 | Bolton Wanderers | 7 |
| Sheffield United | 4 | Preston North End | 7 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 4 | Old Etonians | 6 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 3 | Sheffield United | 6 |
| West Ham United | 3 | Sheffield Wednesday | 6 |
| Bury | 2 | Huddersfield Town | 5 |
| Nottingham Forest | 2 | Portsmouth | 5 |
| Old Etonians | 2 | The Wanderers | 5 |
| Portsmouth | 2 | West Ham United | 5 |
| Preston North End | 2 | Leeds United | 4 |
| Sunderland | 2 | Leicester City | 4 |
| Barnsley | 1 | Oxford University | 4 |
| Blackburn Olympic | 1 | Royal Engineers | 4 |
| Blackpool | 1 | Sunderland | 4 |
| Bradford City | 1 | Derby County | 4 |
| Burnley | 1 | Southampton | 4 |
| Cardiff City | 1 | Nottingham Forest | 3 |
| Charlton Athletic | 1 | Burnley | 3 |
| Clapham Rovers | 1 | Blackpool | 3 |
| Coventry City | 1 | Cardiff City | 3 |
| Derby County | 1 | Birmingham City | 2 |
| Huddersfield Town | 1 | Bury | 2 |
| Ipswich Town | 1 | Barnsley | 2 |
| Leeds United | 1 | Charlton Athletic | 2 |
| Notts County | 1 | Clapham Rovers | 2 |
| Old Carthusians | 1 | Notts County | 2 |
| Oxford University | 1 | Queen's Park (Glasgow) | 2 |
| Royal Engineers | 1 | Blackburn Olympic | 1 |
| Southampton | 1 | Bradford City | 1 |
| Wimbledon | 1 | Brighton & HA | 1 |
| Bristol City | 1 | ||
| Coventry City | 1 | ||
| Crystal Palace | 1 | ||
| Fulham | 1 | ||
| Ipswich Town | 1 | ||
| Luton Town | 1 | ||
| Middlesbrough | 1 | ||
| Millwall | 1 | ||
| Old Carthusians | 1 | ||
| Queen's Park Rangers | 1 | ||
| Watford | 1 | ||
| Wimbledon | 1 |
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