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
1903–04 FA Cup the following midweek fixture. The semi-final matches were played on Saturday, 19 March 1904. The Final, the first all-Lancashire final since the start of the competition, took place at Crystal Palace on Saturday 23 April 1904. The 32nd FA Cup final was contested between Manchester City and Bolton Wanderers. Manchester City won 1–0. The goal was scored by Billy Meredith. 1903–04 FA Cup The 1903–04 FA Cup was the 33rd season of the world's oldest association football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (more usually known as the FA Cup). Manchester City won the competition for the first time, beating