| Founded | 1970 |
|---|---|
| Region | England |
| Number of teams | 306 |
| Current champions | Arsenal |
| Most successful club | Arsenal (11 times) |
| 2011-12 FA Women's Cup | |
The Football Association Women’s Challenge Cup Competition, commonly referred to as the FA Women's Cup, is the top cup competition for women's football clubs in England – designed as an exact equivalent to the FA Cup created 99 years earlier. Its current sponsored name is the FA Women's Cup sponsored by E.ON.
The competition began in 1970–71 as the Mitre Challenge Trophy, organised by the Women's Football Association.[1] There were 71 entrants, including teams from Scotland and Wales.[2]
Since the FA took over direct control of English women's football in 1993, the semi-professional teams affiliated with male FA Premier League and Football League counterparts have dominated the re-branded competition. Arsenal won in 2004, beating Charlton Athletic 3–0 in the final on May 3. On May 2, 2005, Charlton Athletic made amends for the disappointment of the two previous years, by beating Everton 1–0. Arsenal regained the trophy on May 1, 2006, beating Leeds United 5–0. Wins in 2007, 2008 and 2009 gave Arsenal a record ten titles.[3]
The FA Women's Cup shares sponsorship with its men's equivalent (for 2006 to 2011, E.ON). The current cup holders are Arsenal. They beat Bristol Academy 2–0 at the final at the Ricoh Arena on May 21, 2011.[4]
Contents |
As with the men's tournament, clubs from higher leagues do not have to enter the qualifying rounds or first rounds proper. [5]
All other clubs have to go through the preliminary round, first and second rounds qualifying, which are played on a geographical basis.
The finals so far:[6]
| Year | Winners | Score | Runners up | Scorers | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Southampton | 4–1 | Stewarton & Thistle (Scottish) | Crystal Palace National Sports Centre | |
| 1972 | Southampton | 3–2 | Lee's Ladies (Scottish) | Eton Park | |
| 1973 | Southampton | 2–0 | Westhorn United | Bedford Town FC | |
| 1974 | Fodens | 2–1 | Southampton | Bedford Town FC | |
| 1975 | Southampton | 4–2 | Warminster | Dunstable Town FC | |
| 1976 | Southampton | 2–1 a.e.t. | QPR | Bedford Town FC | |
| 1977 | QPR | 1–0 | Southampton | Champion Hill | |
| 1978 | Southampton | 8–2 | QPR | ||
| 1979 | Southampton | 1–0 | Lowestoft | Waterlooville FC | |
| 1980 | St Helens | 1–0 | Preston North End | ||
| 1981 | Southampton | 4–2 | St Helens | ||
| 1982 | Lowestoft | 2–0 | Cleveland Spartans | Loftus Road | |
| 1983 | Doncaster Belles | 3–2 | St Helens | Sincil Bank | |
| 1984 | Howbury Grange | 4–2 | Doncaster Belles | Sincil Bank | |
| 1985 | Friends of Fulham | 2–0 | Doncaster Belles | ||
| 1986 | Norwich | 4–3 | Doncaster Belles | ||
| 1987 | Doncaster Belles | 2–0 | St Helens | City Ground | |
| 1988 | Doncaster Belles | 3–1 | Leasowe Pacific | ||
| 1989 | Leasowe Pacific | 3–2 | Friends of Fulham | Old Trafford Attendance: 941 |
|
| 1990 | Doncaster Belles | 1–0 | Friends of Fulham | Coultard 61' | Baseball Ground Attendance: 3,000 |
| 1991 | Millwall | 1–0 | Doncaster Belles | Baldeo 65' | Prenton Park Attendance:4,000 |
| 1992 | Doncaster Belles | 4–0 | Red Star Southampton | Prenton Park | |
| 1993 | Arsenal | 3–0 | Doncaster Belles | Curley 45', Ball 45', Bampton 80' | Manor Ground, Oxford Attendance: 3,547 |
| 1994 | Doncaster Belles | 1–0 | Knowsley United | Walker 38' | Glanford Park Attendance: 1,674 |
| 1995 | Arsenal | 3–2 | Liverpool | Prenton Park | |
| 1996 | Croydon | 1–1 a.e.t. (4–2 pen.) | Liverpool | Liverpool: Burke 22' Croydon: Powell 38' |
The New Den Attendance: 2,110 |
| 1997 | Millwall | 1–0 | Wembley | Waller 51' | Upton Park Attendance: 3,015 |
| 1998 | Arsenal | 3–2 | Croydon | Arsenal: Spacey 17', Yankey 52', Few 90+3 Croydon: Broadhurst (pen) 10', Powell 55' |
The Valley |
| 1999 | Arsenal | 2–0 | Southampton Saints | Hayes (o.g) 14', Weatley 41' | The Valley Attendance: 6,450 |
| 2000 | Croydon | 2–1 | Doncaster Belles | Croydon: C.Walker 40', G.Hunt 67' Doncaster: Exley 40' |
Bramall Lane Attendance: 3,434 |
| 2001 | Arsenal | 1–0 | Fulham | Banks 52' | Selhurst Park Attendance: 13,824 |
| 2002 | Fulham | 2–1 | Doncaster Belles | Fulham: Yankey 55', Chapman 56' Doncaster: Handley 58' |
Selhurst Park Attendance: 10,124 |
| 2003 | Fulham | 3–0 | Charlton Athletic | Moore 18', Hills (o.g) 36', Williams (o.g) 61' | Selhurst Park Attendance: 10,389 |
| 2004 | Arsenal | 3–0 | Charlton Athletic | Fleeting (3) 23', 25', 83' | Loftus Road Attendance: 12,244 |
| 2005 | Charlton Athletic | 1–0 | Everton | Aluko 58' | Upton Park Attendance: 8,567 |
| 2006 | Arsenal | 5–0 | Leeds United | Ward (o.g) 3', Fleeting 34', Yankey 35', Smith (pen) 73', Sanderson 77' | The New Den Attendance: 13,452 |
| 2007 | Arsenal | 4–1 | Charlton Athletic | Charlton: Holtham 2' Arsenal: Smith 7', 80', Ludlow 15', 45' |
City Ground Attendance: 24,529 |
| 2008 | Arsenal | 4–1 | Leeds United | Arsenal: Smith 54', 83', Ludlow 58', Sanderson 60' Leeds: Clarke 68' |
City Ground Attendance: 24,582 |
| 2009 | Arsenal | 2–1 | Sunderland | Arsenal: Chapman 32', Little 90' Sunderland: McDougall 90' |
Pride Park Stadium Attendance: 23,291 |
| 2010 | Everton | 3–2 a.e.t. | Arsenal | Arsenal: Little (pen) 43', Fleeting 54' Everton: Dowie 16', 119', White (o.g.) 45'+2' |
City Ground Attendance: 17,505[7] |
| 2011 | Arsenal | 2–0 | Bristol Academy | Little 19', Fleeting 32' | Ricoh Arena Attendance: 13,885[8] |
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Winning Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal |
|
|
1992–93, 1994–95, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010-11 |
| Southampton |
|
|
1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1980–81 |
| Doncaster Belles |
|
|
1982–83, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1993–94 |
| Everton[A] |
|
|
1988-89, 2009–10 |
| Millwall |
|
|
1990–91, 1996–97 |
| Croydon |
|
|
1995–96, 1999–2000 |
| Fulham |
|
|
2001–02, 2002–03 |
| Fodens |
|
|
1973–74 |
| Q.P.R. |
|
|
1976–77 |
| St Helens |
|
|
1979–80 |
| Lowestoft |
|
|
1981–82 |
| Howbury Grange |
|
|
1983–84 |
| Friends of Fulham |
|
|
1984–85 |
| Norwich |
|
|
1985–86 |
| Charlton Athletic |
|
|
2004–05 |
| Liverpool |
|
|
– |
| Bristol Academy |
|
|
– |
| Stewarton & Thistle |
|
|
– |
| Lee's Ladies |
|
|
– |
| Westhorn United |
|
|
– |
| Warminster |
|
|
– |
| Preston North End |
|
|
– |
| Cleveland Spartans |
|
|
– |
| Red Star Southampton |
|
|
– |
| Knowsley United |
|
|
– |
| Wembley |
|
|
– |
| Southampton Saints |
|
|
– |
| Leeds United |
|
|
– |
| Sunderland |
|
|
– |
From 2000 until 2008, the Cup winner competed with the FA Women's Premier League National Division winners for the FA Women's Community Shield.
A. ^ Everton L.F.C. were previously known as Leasowe Pacific.[9]
In the late 1980s[10] and early 1990s[11] television coverage of the WFA final was provided by Channel 4.
In recent years the final of the tournament was covered by BBC TV, presented by Celina Hinchcliffe, Rebecca Lowe with commentary by Steve Lee. The final was also simulcast on BBC Radio Five Live. In 2009 the final was moved to ITV1, before Sky Sports secured a three year deal for live coverage from 2010 until 2013.[12]
Sponsors of the original WFA competition (1970–1993) included Mitre,[1] Pony and Mycil.[11]
Below is a list of sponsors of the FA competition:
From 2007, Tesco obtained additional branding and advertising rights through their partnership agreement with the FA.[15]
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||