History of the FA Cup in the FA's lawbook. The 1981 final contained what many consider to be the greatest ever final goal, scored by Tottenham's Ricky Villa who beat several players in a mazy run before slotting the ball home. In 1999, Ryan Giggs of Manchester United scored in extra time to defeat Arsenal 2–1 in FA Cup semi-final replay. The goal was voted the greatest in FA Cup history in 2003. History of the FA Cup The history of the FA Cup in association football dates back to 1871–72. Aside from suspensions during the First and Second World Wars, the competition has been
FA Cup semi-finals FA Cup semi-finals The FA Cup semi-finals are played to determine which teams will contest the FA Cup Final. They are the penultimate phase of the FA Cup, the oldest football tournament in the world. The semi-finals have always been contested at neutral venues. Since 2008, all semi-finals have been held at Wembley. In the past any suitably large ground which was not the home ground of a teams in that semi-final was used. Villa Park in Birmingham, Old Trafford in Manchester, and Hillsborough in Sheffield were common hosts. All semi-finals between 1871 and 1881 were played at Kensington Oval.