1871–72 FA Cup

The 1871–72 FA Cup is the modern era name of the 1871–72 Football Association Challenge Cup, the first staging of the Football Association Challenge Cup, the oldest association football competition in the world. Fifteen of the association's fifty member clubs entered this tournament, although three withdrew without contesting. Wanderers successfully pursued on 16 March 1872, at Kennington Oval, London the first FA Cup defeating the Royal Engineers by a single goal, made by Morton Betts, who was playing under the pseudonym A. H. Chequer.

Background

The Football Association, the governing body of the sport in England, had been formed in 1863, and for the first eight years of its existence, its member clubs contested each other only in friendly matches, with no prizes at stake. In 1871, however, Charles Alcock, the association's secretary, conceived the idea for a knock-out tournament open to all member clubs, with a trophy to be awarded to the winner. Alcock's inspiration came from his days at Harrow School, where the houses which comprised the school competed each year for the title of "Cock House".

Rules

The rules of the competition stipulated that each team should consist of eleven players, and that each match should last 90 minutes (at this time, the Laws of the Game did not specify these matters). They made no provision for extra time. When a match was drawn after 90 minutes, there would either be a replay, or both teams would be allowed to proceed to the next round; the choice between these alternatives was left to the organising committee's discretion in each case. Matches were officiated by two umpires, one provided by each team: following disputes over the laws in the earlier rounds of the competition, a neutral referee was added in the later rounds

At this time, changes in the laws of the game came into force immediately.