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
Women's FA Cup Women's FA Cup The Women's FA Cup (or SSE Women's FA Cup for sponsorship reasons) is the top cup competition for women's football clubs in England – designed as an equivalent to the FA Cup. The competition began in 1970–71 as the Mitre Challenge Trophy, organised by the Women's Football Association (WFA). There were 71 entrants, including teams from Scotland and Wales. Since the Football Association (FA) began administrating English women's football in 1993, the teams affiliated with FA Premier League and Football League counterparts have dominated the re–branded competition. Arsenal currently holds the record for most titles, having won