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
1897–98 FA Cup a goal from Steve Bloomer. Capes hit his second just before half-time, and Forest preserved the lead until the 86th minute, when McPherson scored a third Forest goal, to hand them their first ever FA Cup Victory. 1897–98 FA Cup The 1897–1898 FA Cup was the 27th 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 Nottingham Forest, who defeated Derby County 3–1 in the final of the competition, played at Crystal Palace in London. Matches were scheduled to be played at the stadium