The FA Cup is a knockout competition in English football. It is the oldest existing football competition in the world, having commenced in the 1871–72 season. The tournament is open to all clubs in the top 10 levels of the English football league system. The competition culminates at the end of the league season with the FA Cup Final, which has traditionally been regarded as the showpiece finale of the English football season. The majority of FA Cup Final matches have been in London: most of these were played at the original Wembley Stadium. In this video, we will go through all the stadiums that hosted the FA Cup final.
Kennington Oval. Located in Kennington, London, the Oval hosted the first FA Cup final in 1872 between Wanderers and Royal Engineers. It hosted 20 finals between 1872 and 1892.
Lillie Bridge. Lillie Bridge Grounds was a sports ground on the Fulham side of West Brompton in London. It hosted just one FA Cup final and that was the 2nd final between Wanderers and Oxford University in 1873.
Racecourse Ground. The Racecourse Ground in Derby hosted a replay of the 1886 Final between Blackburn and West Brom. It staged the first-ever FA Cup Final match played outside London.
Fallowfield Stadium. Located in Manchester, the Fallowfield Stadium hosted only one final, the 1893 final between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Everton.
Goodison Park. The home of Everton hosted 2 FA Cup finals, the first in 1894 between Notts County and Bolton and the second in 1910, the replay between Newcastle United and Barnsley.
Crystal Palace. The Crystal Palace Park in Anerley hosted 20 finals from 1895 until 1914. It was the 2nd permanent FA Cup final venue after the Oval.
Burnden Park. The Burnden Park in Bolton hosted the 1901 FA Cup Final Replay between Tottenham Hotspur and Sheffield United.
Old Trafford. The home of Manchester United hosted three finals, the 1911 replay between Bradford City and Newcastle United, the 1915 final between Sheffield United and Chelsea and the 1970 replay between Chelsea and Leeds United.
Bramall Lane. The home of Sheffield United, Bramall Lane hosted one final, the 1912 replay between Barnsley and West Bromwich Albion.
Stamford Bridge. Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea hosted three FA Cup finals, 1920 between Aston Villa and Huddersfield, 1921 between Tottenham and Wolverhampton and 1922 between Huddersfield and Preston North End.
Original Wembley Stadium. Opened in 1923 as the Empire Stadium, the original Wembley hosted all the finals from 1923 until 2000, when it was demolished to make way for the new Wembley. It hosted 72 finals excluding replays. Wembley Stadium also holds the record for the highest attended FA Cup final with 126,047, in the 1923 final between Bolton and West Ham, however it is believed that there was actually between 150,000 to 300,000 people in the stadium that day.
Millennium Stadium. While the new Wembley was under construction, the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff hosted the FA Cup finals from 2001 until 2006.
New Wembley Stadium. Opened in 2007 on the site of the old stadium, the new Wembley hosted all finals from 2007 onwards.
