Country | England | ||
---|---|---|---|
Champions | Bury | ||
Runners-up | Derby County | ||
|
The 1902–03 FA Cup was the 32nd season of the world's oldest association football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (more usually known as the FA Cup). Bury won the competition for the second and (as of 2016) final time, beating Derby County 6–0 in the final at Crystal Palace. This scoreline still stands as a record victory in an FA Cup final.
Matches were scheduled to be played at the stadium of the team named first on the date specified for each round, which was always a Saturday. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played, a replay would take place at the stadium of the second-named team later the same week. If the replayed match was drawn further replays would be held at neutral venues until a winner was determined. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played in a replay, a 30-minute period of extra time would be played.
The format of the FA Cup for the season had a preliminary round, five qualifying rounds, an intermediate round, three proper rounds, and the semi-finals and final.
The Intermediate Round featured ten games, played between the ten winners of the Fifth Qualifying Round, and ten teams given byes. First Division Middlesbrough, along with Bristol City, Preston North End, Woolwich Arsenal, Burnley and Lincoln City from the Second Division were entered automatically into this round, as were non-league Reading, Bristol Rovers, West Ham United and Millwall Athletic.