The Football Association the world—in 1871. Fifteen participating clubs subscribed to purchase a trophy. The very first Cup Final was held at The Oval on 16 March 1872, fought between the Wanderers and the Royal Engineers (RE), watched by 2,000 spectators. This competition was initially contested by mostly amateur teams but by the end of the 19th century it was dominated by professional teams that were mostly members of the Football League that had been founded in 1888 and expanded during the 1890s. After many years of wrangling between the London Association and the Sheffield Football Association, the FA Cup brought the acceptance
1894–95 FA Cup 1894–95 FA Cup The 1894–1895 FA Cup was the 24th season of the world's oldest association football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (more usually known as the FA Cup). The cup was won by Aston Villa, who defeated West Bromwich Albion 1–0 in the final of the competition, played at Crystal Palace in London. This was Villa's second victory in the FA Cup. The Trophy was stolen from a display in the shop window of W. Shillcock (a football fitter) in Newton Row, Birmingham, after the Final and never recovered despite a £10 reward. According to the Police, it