The FA Cup is the oldest club knockout competition in world football and offers teams from across the English league pyramid a route to Wembley Stadium.
As well as the potential of a date in the capital, an FA Cup final victory also provides a huge cash injection and the possibility of a European adventure.
Find out everything you need to know about the FA Cup as a tournament below.
Do FA Cup winners qualify for the Europa League?
FA Cup winners automatically secure a place in the group stage of the following season’s Europa League. However, their Premier League finish could also affect qualification scenarios.
If the winners of the FA Cup finish in the top four, thus qualifying for the UEFA Champions League (or fifth, which qualifies them for the Europa League), then the Europa League qualification place offered to the winner of The FA Cup will be reallocated to the next highest qualifier. Qualified Premier League team.
An FA Cup win has provided a backstop for teams that have finished outside the Premier League’s European places in recent seasons.
What is the FA Cup prize money?
Success in the FA Cup final also offers a financial boost with the FA confirming The 2024 winners will receive £2 million/$2.42 million.
Runners-up will receive £1 million/$1.21 million for their efforts, with prize money awarded in decreasing steps until further preliminary rounds at the start of the competition.
A “cup race” is routinely valued in English football as a source of nostalgia and much-needed funds. Marine, a non-league team, faced Tottenham in 2021, a match that saved the club from financial ruin as it allowed them to win around. £500,000/$685,000.
Worst ranked teams will win the FA Cup
The Premier League’s best teams have dominated the FA Cup in recent seasons, with Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal winning 12 of the last 14 finals.
Wigan Athletic’s victory over Man City in 2013 was the last major upset in the final, as Roberto Martínez’s side were relegated from the Premier League that season despite their Wembley glory.
Cardiff City are the last non-top flight team to reach the final, with the Welsh giants losing to Portsmouth in 2008.
However, the last team to win the FA Cup outside the top flight predates the Premier League, with Trevor Brooking’s famous goal securing the 1980 trophy for Second Division side West Ham against defending champions Arsenal .
