The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the
FA Trophy, is a
knockoutA single-elimination tournament, also called a knockout, cup or sudden death tournament, is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match is immediately eliminated from winning the championship or first prize in the event...
cup competition in
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
footballAssociation football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players using a spherical ball...
, run by and named after
The Football AssociationThe Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
and competed for primarily by
semi-professionalA semi-professional athlete is one who is paid to play and thus is not an amateur, but for whom sport is not a full-time occupation, generally because the level of pay is too low to make a reasonable living based solely upon that source, thus making the athlete not a full professional...
teams. The competition was instigated in 1969 to cater for those
non-leagueNon-League football is football in England played at a level below that of the Premier League and The Football League. The term non-League was commonly used well before 1992 when the top football clubs in England all belonged to The Football League; all clubs who were not a part of The Football...
clubs which paid their players and were therefore not eligible to enter the
FA Amateur CupThe FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs. It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when The Football Association abolished official amateur status.-History:...
. Eligibility rules have changed over time, but as of 2008 the competition is open to clubs playing in Steps 1-4 of the
National League SystemThe National League System comprises the seven levels of the English football league system immediately below the level of the Premier League and The Football League. It contains 91 league competitions and more than 1,600 clubs. It comes under the jurisdiction of The Football Association...
, equivalent to levels 5-8 of the overall
English football league systemThe English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for club football in England...
. This covers the
Football ConferenceThe Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, but most of them are semi-professional...
, the
Southern LeagueThe Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales....
,
Isthmian LeagueThe Isthmian League is a regional football league covering London and South East England. It is sponsored by Ryman, and therefore officially known as the Ryman League.-History:...
, and
Northern Premier LeagueThe Northern Premier League, known in recent years as the UniBond League under a title sponsorship contract, is one of the regional English football leagues which sits directly below the Football Conference. Geographically, the league covers all of Northern England, and the northern areas of the...
. Clubs in levels 5 to 7 of the
National League SystemThe National League System comprises the seven levels of the English football league system immediately below the level of the Premier League and The Football League. It contains 91 league competitions and more than 1,600 clubs. It comes under the jurisdiction of The Football Association...
play in the
FA VaseThe Football Association Challenge Vase is an annual football competition for teams playing below Step 4 of the English National League System. For the 2008–09 season 514 entrants were accepted, with two qualifying rounds preceding the six proper rounds, semi-finals and final to be played at...
instead.
The final of the competition was held at the original Wembley Stadium from the tournament's instigation until the stadium closed in 2000. Since the opening of the new
Wembley StadiumThe original Wembley Stadium was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007.-History:...
in 2007, the final has once again been played at the national stadium. The record for the most FA Trophy wins is shared by
WokingWoking Football Club is a football club from in Woking, Surrey, England, formed in 1889. They will be playing in the Conference South in the 2009-10 season.-Early years:...
and two defunct clubs,
ScarboroughScarborough Football Club were an English football club based in the seaside resort of Scarborough, North Yorkshire. They were one of the oldest football clubs in England, formed in 1879, before they were wound up on 20 June 2007, with debts of £2.5 million.In the 2006–07 season...
and
Telford UnitedTelford United F.C. was an English football team based in Telford, Shropshire.The club was first formed in 1872 as Parish Church Institute. They later changed their name and were known as Wellington Town F.C. until 1969. The club born from the ashes of the old Telford United now play in the...
, with three victories each.
The Trophy is currently held by
Stevenage BoroughStevenage Borough F.C. are an English football club based in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. The club currently participate in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. They play their home games at Broadhall Way in Stevenage. Founded in 1976 following the demise of the town's former...
, who beat
York CityYork City Football Club is an English football club based in York, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. Founded in 1922, they joined the Football League in 1929, and have spent most of their history in the lower divisions...
2–0 in the 2009 final.
History
The competition was created by
the Football AssociationThe Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
in 1969 to afford
semi-professionalA semi-professional athlete is one who is paid to play and thus is not an amateur, but for whom sport is not a full-time occupation, generally because the level of pay is too low to make a reasonable living based solely upon that source, thus making the athlete not a full professional...
teams an opportunity to compete for the chance to play at Wembley Stadium. Fully amateur clubs took part in the long-standing
FA Amateur CupThe FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs. It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when The Football Association abolished official amateur status.-History:...
, but most of the leading
non-leagueNon-League football is football in England played at a level below that of the Premier League and The Football League. The term non-League was commonly used well before 1992 when the top football clubs in England all belonged to The Football League; all clubs who were not a part of The Football...
clubs made at least some form of payment to their players and were therefore ineligible to enter the Amateur Cup. The first winners of the competition were
Macclesfield TownMacclesfield Town Football Club are an English football team. The club were formed in 1874 and are based in the small town of Macclesfield in Cheshire. The team play their home games at the 6,355-capacity Moss Rose stadium...
of the
Northern Premier LeagueThe Northern Premier League, known in recent years as the UniBond League under a title sponsorship contract, is one of the regional English football leagues which sits directly below the Football Conference. Geographically, the league covers all of Northern England, and the northern areas of the...
, who defeated
Telford UnitedTelford United F.C. was an English football team based in Telford, Shropshire.The club was first formed in 1872 as Parish Church Institute. They later changed their name and were known as Wellington Town F.C. until 1969. The club born from the ashes of the old Telford United now play in the...
of the
Southern LeagueThe Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales....
in the final. Northern Premier League clubs dominated the first decade of the competition, with
Telford UnitedTelford United F.C. was an English football team based in Telford, Shropshire.The club was first formed in 1872 as Parish Church Institute. They later changed their name and were known as Wellington Town F.C. until 1969. The club born from the ashes of the old Telford United now play in the...
the only
Southern LeagueThe Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales....
team to break the northern clubs' hold on the competition. In the early years of its existence the competition struggled to achieve the same level of prestige as the long-established Amateur Cup.
In 1974 the FA abolished the distinction between official professional and amateur status and discontinued the Amateur Cup. The leading
amateurAn amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without formal training or pay. An amateur receives little or irregular income from their activities, and differs from a professional who makes a living from the pursuit and typically has some formal...
teams joined the Trophy, which swelled to include over 300 clubs. This figure was gradually reduced until by 1991 only around 120 clubs took part. Amendments to the eligibility rules, linked to the development of the
National League SystemThe National League System comprises the seven levels of the English football league system immediately below the level of the Premier League and The Football League. It contains 91 league competitions and more than 1,600 clubs. It comes under the jurisdiction of The Football Association...
mean that now just over 250 teams take part. In 1978 the FA moved the final of the Trophy to the Saturday immediately following the
FA Cup FinalThe FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just The Cup Final is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. With an official attendance of 89,826 at the 2007 FA Cup Final, it is the second best attended domestic club championship event in the world and the best attended...
, so as to give it a longer build-up and avoid conflict with club's league programmes, which had previously reduced the competition's prestige.
In 1979 the leading Southern and Northern Premier League teams formed the new
Alliance Premier LeagueThe Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, but most of them are semi-professional...
, and teams from this league dominated the Trophy during the 1980s, although in the
1980–81 seasonThe 1980-81 season was the 101st season of competitive football in England.-Overview:The Football League introduced a three points for a win system in place of the two points for a win system which had operated since the league's formation in 1889...
Bishop's StortfordBishop's Stortford F.C. is a football club based in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England, currently members of the Conference South ....
of the comparatively lowly
Isthmian LeagueThe Isthmian League is a regional football league covering London and South East England. It is sponsored by Ryman, and therefore officially known as the Ryman League.-History:...
First Division entered at the preliminary round and won twelve matches to reach the final, where they defeated
Sutton UnitedSutton United Football Club is an English football team currently playing in the Isthmian League Premier Division. They are based in Sutton, London, England, and play their home games at the Borough Sports Ground in Gander Green Lane...
.
Telford UnitedTelford United F.C. was an English football team based in Telford, Shropshire.The club was first formed in 1872 as Parish Church Institute. They later changed their name and were known as Wellington Town F.C. until 1969. The club born from the ashes of the old Telford United now play in the...
's win in 1989 made them the second team to win the Trophy three times. Between 1990 and 2000 three more teams claimed multiple wins. Former
Northern IrelandThe Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international football. Before 1921, all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
international
Martin O'NeillMartin Hugh Michael O'Neill, OBE, is an Irish former association footballer who captained the Northern Ireland national football team, also known for playing for Nottingham Forest and who has previously managed Wycombe Wanderers, Norwich City, Leicester City and Celtic and is currently manager of...
, in his first managerial role, led
Wycombe WanderersWycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English football team from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, currently playing in Football League One. The club's official nickname is "The Chairboys", and they play in Cambridge and Oxford blue quarters...
to two wins, and Geoff Chapple managed
KingstonianKingstonian Football Club are an English, semi-professional football club that are playing in the Isthmian League Premier Division for the 2009-10 season....
to victory twice and
WokingWoking Football Club is a football club from in Woking, Surrey, England, formed in 1889. They will be playing in the Conference South in the 2009-10 season.-Early years:...
three times, all within the space of seven years. After Chapple's period of success,
Mark StimsonMark Nicholas Stimson is an English former professional footballer and subsequently manager. He signed his first professional contract with Tottenham Hotspur in 1985, but was unable to gain a regular place in the team. In 1989, he moved on to Newcastle United, where he made over 80 appearances...
became the first man to manage the Trophy-winning team in three successive seasons, when he led
Grays AthleticGrays Athletic Football Club are a football team from the south east of England, representing the town of Grays, Thurrock, Essex. They currently play in the National division of the Football Conference.-History:...
to victory in 2005 and 2006 and repeated the feat with his new club
Stevenage BoroughStevenage Borough F.C. are an English football club based in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. The club currently participate in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. They play their home games at Broadhall Way in Stevenage. Founded in 1976 following the demise of the town's former...
in 2007.
Format
The competition is a knockout tournament with pairings drawn completely at random - there are no seeds, and a draw takes place after the majority of fixtures have been played in each round. However, the qualifying round draws are regionalised to reduce teams' travel costs. The draw also determines which team will play at home. If a match (other than the semi-final or final) is drawn, there is a replay, usually at the ground of the team which played away from home for the first game. Drawn replays are now settled with
extra timeExtra time is an additional period played in some sports codes if the score is tied at the end of normal time. In score notation, it is often denoted by the letters ET or AET, the latter of which stands for "after extra time"....
and
penalty shootoutsPenalty shootouts, properly named kicks from the penalty mark, are a method sometimes used to decide which team progresses to the next stage of a tournament following a draw in a game of association football...
, though in the past further replays were possible.
Originally the competition included as many qualifying rounds as were required to reduce the number of teams down to 32. In 1999 the format was amended to match that of the
FA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football Association. The name "FA Cup" usually refers to the English men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also held...
, with six rounds prior to the semi-final stage, albeit without qualifying rounds. Teams from the
Football ConferenceThe Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, but most of them are semi-professional...
received byes through the early rounds, in a similar manner to the way in which the leading clubs receive byes in the FA Cup. More recently the competition has been revised again and now features four qualifying rounds and four rounds proper before the semi-finals. Teams from Step 4 enter at the preliminary round stage, those from Step 3 at the first qualifying round, those from Step 2 at the third qualifying round, and those from Step 1 at the first round proper.
The FA pays prize money to all teams which win at least one match in the Trophy competition. In the 2008–09 season the prize for the 51 preliminary round winners was £2,000, rising round-by-round to £50,000 for the winners of the final. The prize fund is cumulative, so a team that starts in the preliminary round and wins through several rounds would receive £2,000 for the preliminary round, £2,300 for the first qualifying round, £3,000 for the second qualifying round, and so on. The competition is sponsored by
CarlsbergThe Carlsberg Group is a Danish brewing company founded in 1847 by J. C. Jacobsen after the name of his son Carl. The headquarters are in Copenhagen, Denmark...
and accordingly billed as the FA Carlsberg Trophy. Previously it was sponsored by
UmbroUmbro is a United Kingdom sportswear and equipment supplier based in Cheadle, England. The company is now part of Nike. Umbro designs, sources, and markets sport-related apparel, footwear, and equipment...
and billed as the FA Umbro Trophy.
Venues
Matches in the FA Trophy are usually played at the home ground of one of the two teams. The team who plays at home is decided when the matches are drawn. There is no seeding system in place within rounds other than when teams enter the competition, therefore the home team is simply the first team drawn out for each fixture. Occasionally games may have to be moved to other grounds. In the event of a draw, the
replayReplay can refer to:*Replay , a replayed match in between two sport teams to decide in case of tie or conflict resulting from scoring, officiating, fouling or other factors...
is played at the ground of the team who originally played away from home. In the days when multiple replays were possible, the second replay (and any further replays) were played at neutral grounds. The clubs involved could alternatively agree to toss for home advantage in the second replay.
The final was traditionally held at the old Wembley Stadium, but was moved to
Villa ParkVilla Park may mean:United Kingdom* Villa Park, a football stadium in Birmingham, EnglandUnited States* Villa Park, California, a small city in Orange County* Villa Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago in DuPage County...
during Wembley's redevelopment. The 2005-06 final was held at
West Ham UnitedWest Ham United Football Club is an English football club based in Upton Park, London Borough of Newham, East London. They have played their home matches at the Boleyn Ground stadium since 1904....
's
Boleyn GroundThe Boleyn Ground, sometimes colloquially referred to as Upton Park, is the football stadium of West Ham United.-History:The club rented Green Street House and grounds in the Municipal Borough of East Ham from the Roman Catholic Church from around 1912...
. The highest attendance registered in the competition is 53,262, set in 2007, when
Kidderminster HarriersKidderminster Harriers F.C. are an English association football team based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire. They currently play in the Conference National.-History:...
played Stevenage Borough in the first final to be held at the new Wembley Stadium.
Trophy
At the end of the final, the winning team is presented with a trophy, also known as the "FA Trophy", which they hold until the following year's final. Traditionally, at Wembley finals, the presentation is made at the Royal Box, with players, led by the captain, mounting a staircase to a gangway in front of the box and returning by a second staircase on the other side of the box. The trophy itself was presented to the FA in 1905 by Ernest Cochrane, a barrister, to be used in an international competition between
EnglandThe English national football team represents England in international association football and is controlled by The Football Association, the governing body for football in England...
, the
USThe United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international football competitions and is controlled by U.S. Soccer. Though soccer has not traditionally had a high profile in American sporting life, the sport has steadily grown in popularity since the 1970s...
and
CanadaThe Canadian men's national soccer team represent Canada in international competitions at the senior men's level. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association....
to promote football in
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
. This competition was never instigated.
FA Trophy winners and finalists
ScarboroughScarborough Football Club were an English football club based in the seaside resort of Scarborough, North Yorkshire. They were one of the oldest football clubs in England, formed in 1879, before they were wound up on 20 June 2007, with debts of £2.5 million.In the 2006–07 season...
(1973, 1976, 1977),
Telford UnitedTelford United F.C. was an English football team based in Telford, Shropshire.The club was first formed in 1872 as Parish Church Institute. They later changed their name and were known as Wellington Town F.C. until 1969. The club born from the ashes of the old Telford United now play in the...
(1971, 1983, 1989), and
WokingWoking Football Club is a football club from in Woking, Surrey, England, formed in 1889. They will be playing in the Conference South in the 2009-10 season.-Early years:...
(1994, 1995, 1997) share the record for the most victories (three) in the final. In 1985
WealdstoneWealdstone Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in Ruislip , London Borough of Hillingdon. The club are currently members of the Isthmian League Premier Division...
became the first team to win the "Non-League Double" of FA Trophy and
Football ConferenceThe Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, but most of them are semi-professional...
championship (although in the pre-Conference era both
Macclesfield TownMacclesfield Town Football Club are an English football team. The club were formed in 1874 and are based in the small town of Macclesfield in Cheshire. The team play their home games at the 6,355-capacity Moss Rose stadium...
and
Stafford RangersStafford Rangers Football Club are a semi-professional English football team from Stafford who play in the Conference North.The team wears black and white stripes with black shorts...
had done the double of
Northern Premier LeagueThe Northern Premier League, known in recent years as the UniBond League under a title sponsorship contract, is one of the regional English football leagues which sits directly below the Football Conference. Geographically, the league covers all of Northern England, and the northern areas of the...
championship and FA Trophy in 1970 and 1972 respectively).
Media coverage
From 2004/05 season Sky Sports had a deal to show the final of the FA Trophy. This changed in 2007 when the FA agreed a new deal with
Setanta SportsSetanta Sports is an international sports broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland.Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events to Irish expatriates. The channel operates individual channels in Ireland, the United States, Canada, Africa and...
to provide coverage of FA Trophy matches with effect from the 2008–09 season.
External links