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The FA Cup (The Football Association Challenge Cup)

2005/06 FA Cup Results/Draws.

The FA Cup Competition

The Football Association Challenge Cup (commonly known as the FA Cup) is the most well-known and prestigious football tournament to take place in Britain. The excitement of FA Cup attracts attention from all walks of life. The competition provides an opportunity for betting at many different levels. If you are thinking of placing a bet on the FA Cup, scroll down for FA cup betting tips.

The FA Cup is a knockout tournament, and is open to all football league clubs in England and Wales. Non-league clubs may enter the FA Cup if they competed in the previous season’s FA Vase or FA Trophy tournaments. Although Scottish teams took part in the nineteenth century, Scotland now has its own FA Cup competition.

Structure of the FA Cup Competition

The tournament has two parts, a qualifying competition and the “competition proper”. The qualifying competition consists of an extra preliminary round, a preliminary round and four qualifying rounds. The FA Cup tournament “proper” consists of six rounds, semi-finals and a final.

There is a system of exemptions, which means that Nationwide Conference, League and Premiership clubs do not need to play until later rounds. Nationwide Conference teams enter the competition at the fourth qualifying round. First and Second Division League clubs do not need to play until the “first round proper”, and Championship League and Premiership clubs don’t start to play until the “third round proper”.

The FA Cup tournament runs from August until May. If a match results in a draw, extra time of 30 minutes is played. If the result is still a draw, then there is a replay, held at the other team’s ground. If the replay also results in a draw after extra time, the winner is decided on penalty kicks.

The overall winner of the FA Cup competition qualifies for the UEFA Cup competition. However, if the winners qualify for the Champion’s League due to their position in the league, the FA Cup runners-up qualify for the UEFA Cup in their place.

The FA Cup – Previous Winners

Although talk of “giant killers” often surrounds the FA Cup competition, the winners are usually teams who have been successful in the football league. Since the FA Cup began in 1871, 42 different clubs have won the trophy, the last different club to win being Wimbledon in 1988. Manchester United have won the FA Cup most often (eleven times) with Arsenal being the second most successful club in the tournament (nine wins).

The results of the last five FA Cup Finals are:

• 2005 - Arsenal 0 – 0 Manchester United (Arsenal won 5-4 on penalties)
• 2004 - Manchester United 3 – 0 Millwall
• 2003 - Arsenal 1 – 0 Southampton
• 2002 - Arsenal 2 – 0 Chelsea
• 2001 - Liverpool 2 – 1 Arsenal

Betting on the FA Cup

The FA Cup provides numerous opportunities for anyone interested in football betting. Here are some FA Cup gambling hints for those wishing to place a bet.

As the FA Cup tends to have been won by the top league clubs, the odds are against smaller clubs winning the overall championship. League positions can help to give you a clue as to who is likely to win when it comes to the final. For example, although four clubs have reached the final in a season in which they were relegated (Manchester City in 1926, Leicester City in 1969, Brighton & Hove Albion in 1983 and Middlesbrough in 1997), all of them lost at Wembley.

However, the knockout format of the tournament means that there can often be some surprising results, particularly in earlier stages of the competition. Yeovil Town hold the record for being the biggest “giant killers”, having beaten 20 league teams when they were not in the league, including top division Sunderland in 1949. Other giant killers include Hereford United, who knocked Newcastle United out of the competition in 1972, and Sutton United who ended Coventry City’s FA Cup dreams in 1989.

Therefore although it might not be worth betting on a non-league or lower league team in the final stages of the FA Cup, there is a chance that it will pay-off in earlier rounds.

Dates For The Next FA Cup Rounds

• Date For First Round Proper - 05 November 2005
• Date For Second Round Proper - 03 December 2005
• Date For Third Round Proper - 07 January 2006
• Date For Fourth Round Proper - 28 January 2006
• Date For Fifth Round Proper - 18 February 2006
• Date For Sixth Round Proper - 22 March 2006
• Date For FA Cup Semi-Finals - 22 April 2006
• Date For FA Cup Final - 13 May 2006.

Betting on the FA Cup

If you are new to betting and want to place a bet on the FA Cup be sure to check out our Football - How To Bet section for some betting hints and tips.

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