FA Cup Final | |
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![]() The new Wembley Stadium on 19 May 2007, the day it held its first FA Cup Final
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Status | Active |
Genre | Sporting event |
Date(s) | May |
Frequency | Annual |
Location(s) | London, England, UK |
Inaugurated | 1872 |
Organised by | FA |
The 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 fourth best attended domestic club championship event in the world and the second most attended domestic football event. It is the culmination of a knockout competition among clubs belonging to The Football Association in England, although Scottish and Irish teams competed in the early years and Welsh teams regularly compete, with Cardiff City winning the Cup in 1927 and reaching the final in 2008.
The latest FA Cup Final was the final of the 2016-17 FA Cup competition, which was held on 27 May 2017 at Wembley Stadium and played between Arsenal and Chelsea with Arsenal winning 2–1. Arsenal were first to score in the 4th minute through Alexis Sanchez, but Diego Costa equalized in the 76th minute, after Chelsea were reduced to 10 men when Victor Moses was sent off for a second yellow card for simulation. Soon after the restart however, in the 79th minute, Aaron Ramsey scored a header from a cross by Olivier Giroud which proved to be the eventual winner.
Early FA Cup Finals were held mainly in London at venues including Kennington Oval between 1874 and 1892 and Crystal Palace between 1895 and 1914. In the period from 1923 until 2000, the final was held at Wembley Stadium, English football's national stadium. From 2001–2005, the final was moved to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, due to the rebuilding of Wembley Stadium. The Millennium Stadium was used again in 2006 due to construction delays in opening the new Wembley Stadium.