FA Cup 1871/72

FA Cup 1871/72

Cup winners	Wanderers FC (1st title)
Beginning	November 11, 1871
final	March 16, 1872
Final stadium	Kennington Oval , London
Teams	15th
Games	15th
Gates	26 (ø 1.73 per game)
FA Cup 1872/73 →

The finals took place at Kennington Oval instead

Morton Betts scored the decisive goal in the final

The FA Cup 1871/72 was the first edition of The Football Association Challenge Cup (mostly known as the FA Cup ), making it the world's first football cup tournament . The cup season began with 14 clubs; However, a total of 15 clubs were represented, as Hampstead Heathens was not assigned an opponent in the first round.

The cup competition started on November 11, 1871 with the first round and ended with the final at the Kennington Oval in London on March 16, 1872 in front of a crowd of around 2,000 spectators. The winner of the competition was Wanderers FC . A total of 13 games were played.

competition

First round

The Hampstead Heathens automatically advanced to the next round. The games between the Royal Engineers AFC and Reigate Priory and the game between Wanderers FC and Harrow Checkers FC could not be played, so that the hosts automatically qualified for the next round.

date		Result		spectator
November 11, 1871	Barnes FC	2-0	FC Civil Service	1,200
November 11, 1871	FC Hitchin	0-0	Crystal Palace FC	750
November 11, 1871	Maidenhead United	2-0	Marlow FC	1,287
November 11, 1871	Upton Park FC	0: 3	Clapham Rovers FC	1,500
not carried out	Royal Engineers AFC		Reigate Priory	-
not carried out	Wanderers FC		Harrow FC Checkers	-

Hitchin and Crystal Palace both made it to the next round after going 0-0.

The game between Queen's Park and Donington School was originally scheduled for the first round. However, both teams did not find a suitable date and were jointly approved for the 2nd round, where they should meet again. Here Donington then renounced the game.

Second round

The game between Queen's Park and Donington School could not be played, so Queen's Park qualified for the next round.

date		Result		spectator
December 16, 1871	Crystal Palace FC	3-0	Maidenhead United	1,535
December 16, 1871	Wanderers FC	1-0	Clapham Rovers FC	2,000
December 23, 1871	Barnes FC	1: 1	Hampstead Heathens	1,200
January 10, 1872	FC Hitchin	0: 5	Royal Engineers AFC	750
not carried out	Queen's Park		Donington School	-

Replay

date		Result		spectator
January 6, 1872	Hampstead Heathens	1-0	Barnes FC	600

Third round

Queen's Park automatically made it to the semi-finals. After a draw between Wanderers FC and Crystal Palace FC , both qualified for the next round without any catch-up game.

date		Result		spectator
January 27, 1872	Royal Engineers AFC	3-0	Hampstead Heathens	?
January 10, 1872	Wanderers FC	0-0	Crystal Palace FC	?

Semifinals

All matches in the FA Cup semi-finals for the 1871/72 season were played in the Kennington Oval . Both ended in a draw. The match between the Royal Engineers AFC and Crystal Palace FC was repeated. As Queen's Park was unable to arrive from Glasgow , Wanderers FC automatically qualified for the cup final.