FA Cup – The demand to win continues

Last year’s FA Cup final between Chelsea and Everton at the Wembley was a memorable game. Louis Saha scored the fastest goal in an FA Cup final, only to see Didier Drogba equalize in the 21st minute and then Frank Lampard net the winner for the London club in the 72nd minute. It was heartbreaking for Everton who had last won the cup in 1995 but pure joy for Chelsea who repeated their feat of 2007.

FA Cup, as we all know is the world’s oldest cup competition and started way back in 1872. This year, it will be 129th edition of the tournament. As a result, the demand to win the Cup is immense. Every team wants to have their hands on the iconic trophy. Manchester United have won the FA Cup the maximum number of times. They have 11 wins to their credit, followed by Arsenal with 10 wins and Tottenham Hotspur with 8 wins.

The best thing about the FA Cup is that teams from all the divisions get to compete with each other. The last few editions of the cup have seen some barely known clubs take on the might of the big teams and even defeat them eventually. The beauty of the competition is that the draws are not made before the previous round is over. So, there is always a scope for speculation and that drives clubs and fans crazy. The Extra Preliminary Round is already over and the FA Cup Preliminary Round is on at the moment. The first round qualifying will start from 12th September. The Premier League teams will start participating from Third Round Proper that is scheduled to start from 2nd January 2010.

Over the years, the prize money for the FA Cup has increased step by step. This season’s FA Cup champions stand win a massive £ 2 million and the runners up will go home richer by a million pounds. So, there is big money at stake and no club can choose to ignore this trophy, due to the amount of money involved, apart from the glory of winning the FA Cup. A total of 762 clubs entered their names for this year’s FA Cup and at the end of the Preliminary round, 392 of them will be left. The final is scheduled to be held on 15th May 2010 and the winner will qualify for the 2010-2011 UEFA Europa League play off round.

The latest news about the FA Cup is that the Football Association is looking for a new sponsor after E.ON decided not to renew their sponsorship after the current season. E.ON has been sponsoring the FA Cup since 2006 and the FA has earned £ 32 million from the 4 year deal. The FA top bosses are confident of attracting some big names as the sponsors of the tournament as the glory and market value of the FA Cup remains high. However, FA is still looking for a deal for its TV rights after Setanta collapsed.

It is still very early to predict who is going to win the current season of the FA Cup. Chelsea have shown in the past few seasons that they are quite a force in English domestic cup finals and they will be a force to reckon with this year and will be expected to defend their title. Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal will be the other top challengers. Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur could also provide a solid challenge.

The FA Cup will warm over come 2nd January 2010 and let us wait and watch what happens then.

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