The 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" refers to the English men's tournament.
The FA Cup is the oldest football competition in the world, commencing in 1871-72. Because it involves clubs of all standards playing against each other there is the possibility for "minnows" from the lower divisions to become "giant-killers" by eliminating top clubs from the tournament, although lower division teams rarely reach the final. A record 731 teams were accepted into the FA Cup in 2007-08. In comparison, the League Cup can involve only the 72 members of The Football League (which organises the competition) and the 20 teams in the Premier League for a total of 92 eligible teams.
The current holders of the FA Cup are Chelsea who beat Manchester United 1-0 in extra time in the 2007 final, on 19 May 2007.
As well as being presented with the cup, the winning team also qualifies by right for the first round of the UEFA Cup, unless they have already qualified for Europe when the spot goes to the runners-up or to the highest placed Premier League side without European qualification.
