The 2020-2021 FA Cup season has been a blast! We will analyze the FA Cup’s significance in football and what the Chelsea vs. Leicester City final holds for us. FA Cup final 2021 an Overview.

The 2021 FA Cup Final is just around the corner. In a couple of weeks, we will be seeing a new team lifting the FA Cup trophy, and social media will be buzzing with celebratory pictures. The final games of the previous season’s edition were scheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This also led to a delay in the current season’s schedule, which started on 31st August 2020.

On the plus side, the 2020-2021 FA Cup didn’t see much disturbance by the looming pandemic conditions, and we witnessed some pretty exciting games.

The FA Cup is also called the Football Association Challenge Cup; it is the oldest national football competition in the world. It is a knockout-style competition where more than 700 clubs from various leagues and tiers in England compete for the FA Cup.

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FA Cup: A Long History

The maiden Football Association tournament commenced in November 1871, just 9 years after the Football Association’s establishment. Wanderers F.C, now a dissolved club, won the inaugural tournament and retained the cup the following season.

However, qualifying rounds and newer system introduction began from the 1888–89 season. Following WWI in 1914 and the 1914-1915 season, the tournament was suspended till 1919. The 1923 FA Cup Final was played at the original Wembley Station; the tradition continued for 78 years, barring a few replay matches.

The FA Cup again saw suspension due to WWII and resumed in the 1945-1946 season. In 1981, Tottenham Hotspurs won the 100th edition of the FA Cup, winning 3-2 against Manchester City in a replay match.

Over the years, the tournament has seen several “upsets” where the bottom teams knock out superior teams and has also seen several champions.

Eligibility

The teams from the Premier League and the three divisions of the Football League are automatically eligible for the FA Cup. Upon meeting the eligibility criteria, clubs from the bottom 6 levels can also participate in the tournament. If you need money for the Cup Final, a loan from PaydayChampion for people with bad credit will help you build your credit history.

Clubs based outside England but playing in English leagues can also participate in the FA Cup. Historically, several Welsh and Scottish clubs have played in the FA Cup.

736 teams were a part of the 2020-2021 FA Cup.

Format

The FA Cup is divided into two major rounds:

Qualification Competitions: The teams not part of the Premier League and the Football League, meaning Level 5 and below, play in the qualifying rounds. More than 600 teams competed in this round, for one spot out of 32 in the First Round Proper.

Main Tournament: The main tournament, also called competition proper, consists of Level 4 and above teams that play through various rounds. The fixtures in these rounds are selected through a draw format. The following is an overview of various rounds in the 2020-2021 FA Cup.

• First Round Proper: 31 teams from the Fourth Qualification Round joined the First Round Proper, along with league one and league two clubs.
• Second Round Proper: 40 teams joined this round from the First Round Proper.
• Third Round Proper: This round saw 20 teams joining from the Second Round Proper along with Premier League and Championship clubs. Premier League clubs like West Brom, Newcastle United, and Leeds United saw elimination in this round.
• Fourth Round Proper: 32 winners from the Third Round Proper played in this round. Arsenal and Liverpool were eliminated on this stage.
• Fifth Round Proper: Proceeding in this round were 16 winners from the previous round. All major teams except Tottenham went past this round.

Quarter-finals

The quarter-finals featured a thrilling match between Leicester City and Man United, the former won with a 3-1 score.

Semi-finals

In the semis, Chelsea played Manchester City and Leicester City played Southampton. Chelsea and Leicester City won their games with a 1-0 score.

FA Cup 2021 Final Overview

The 2021 FA Cup Final is scheduled between Chelsea and Leicester City on 15th May 2021, 17:30 British Standard Time. Wembley Stadium is the venue, and Michael Oliver is the appointed referee.

Chelsea have appeared in the final 15 times and won 8 times. Leicester City, on the other hand, have appeared in the final 4 times and won none.

This is the first time Leicester City are appearing in the FA Cup final since 1969. On the contrary, this is Chelsea’s second consecutive FA Cup Final.

The 2019-2020 FA Cup Final featured a London derby between Arsenal and Chelsea; the former won 2-1 against Chelsea.

FA Cup: Records & Statistics

Team Records:

• Arsenal is the most successful club in the FA Cup, having won the competition 14 times and appearing 21 times in the final.
• Wanderers F.C. and Blackburn Rovers are the only clubs with a hattrick of FA Cup trophies. They achieved this feat in the 1870s and 1880s, respectively.
• Manchester United and Everton have been on the losing side in FA Cup finals more than any other team, losing 8 finals each.

Individual Records:

• Didier Drogba has scored in 4 different FA Cup finals, whereas Ian Rush of Liverpool has scored 5 goals in 3 finals.
• Ashley Cole has 7 FA Cup winners medal to his name.
• Arsene Wenger is the most successful manager in the tournament, with 7 trophies under his belt.

The Significance of the FA Cup 2021

The FA Cup winners automatically enter the UEFA Europa League group stages. The winners also qualify and can compete for the FA Community Shield with the reigning Premier League champions.

Conclusion

The FA Cup holds a special significance in English and club football because teams from the very bottom of the English football league system compete in the tournament.

Luckily for us, the 2020-2021 FA Cup season is unhindered from the COVID-19 pandemic, apart from restrictions on fans attending the game.

Let us look forward to more football action as the year unfolds. Do you want to know more about the UEFA U-19 and U-20 Euro Championships? This article might interest you. We hope we delivered all information about the fa Cup final 2021 Overview.