FA Cup 2008-09
| Country |
 England Wales
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|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 762 | ||
| Defending champions | Portsmouth | ||
| Champions | Chelsea (5th title) | ||
| Runners-up | Everton | ||
| Top goal scorer(s) |
Nicolas Anelka Robin van Persie (4 goals each) |
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The 2008–09 FA Cup was the 128th season of the world's oldest football knockout competition; The Football Association Challenge Cup, or FA Cup for short. A record 762 clubs were accepted for the competition; one club, South Normanton Athletic, folded before the fixtures were released, leaving 761 clubs to appear in the draw. Two more clubs, Brierley Hill & Withymoor and Stapenhill, folded after the draws for the early rounds were made, giving their opponents a walk-over.
The competition started on 16 August 2008 with the Extra Preliminary Round and concluded on 30 May 2009 with the Final, held at Wembley Stadium. Because winners Chelsea qualified for the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League by finishing 3rd in the 2008–09 Premier League, losing finalists Everton qualified for the play-off round of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League. Because Everton also happened to qualify for a Europa League berth by finishing 5th in the Premier League, that berth was awarded to the 6th place team (Aston Villa), whose berth (which was available because 2009–10 Football League Cup winners Manchester United qualified for the Champions League as Premier League winners) was in turn awarded to the 7th place team (Fulham).
This season's competition saw the beginning of a new television contract for the tournament, with ITV and Setanta Sports taking over the domestic rights from the BBC and Sky Sports.
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