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Irish Football Association

Irish Football Association

The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the organising body for the sport of football (soccer) in Northern Ireland. It should not be confused with the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), which is the organising body in the Republic of Ireland. The IFA was formed in 1880 by football clubs in the Belfast area. A meeting was called by Cliftonville FC of other football clubs who followed the rules set out by the Scottish Football Association (SFA) on November 18 of that year to form the IFA. The first decision they took was to form an annual challenge cup competition similar to the FA Cup and Scottish Cup competitions called the Irish Cup. Two years later the Irish national side played their first international against England, getting beaten 13-0. At this stage the IFA was the organising body for the sport across all of Ireland, but upon partition in 1921 the FAI was set up to regulate the game in the Irish Free State (now the Republic). Those behind the FAI believed that soccer should be regulated by a federation based in Ireland's capital Dublin. The IFA's supporters argued that the federation should be based where the game was mainly played - Ulster and its principal city Belfast. Both federations claimed to represent the whole of the island and both competed as Ireland and both picked players from the two rival leagues - which also split at this time. Interventions by FIFA effectively favoured the FAI by giving them de jure organising rights over the 26 counties of the Republic. From the 1950s onwards the IFA was no longer to claim it was the federation for the whole of Ireland. The IFA regulated the game in the North, and all results obtained by the Irish national side and records in the Irish Football League and the cup competition stood as Northern Irish records. Therefore in essence the IFA as Northern Ireland's organising body is a direct continuation of the IFA as the organising body across all of Ireland. Along with the other "home nations" associations (the FA, the SFA and the Football Association of Wales) the IFA sits on the International Football Association Board which is responsible for the laws of the game. The IFA continues to have responsibility for the running of the Northern Ireland national football team. In 1986, a second cup competition was introduced, the Irish Football League Cup.

External link


- [http://www.irishfa.com/ Irish FA Website]
- [http://www.niskins.com/ IFA Fans Website] Category:Football (soccer) governing bodies Football, Northern Ireland Category:Football in Northern Ireland

Football (soccer)

:Soccer redirects here. For other senses, see soccer (disambiguation). soccer (disambiguation) Association football, soccer, or simply football (see below) is a ball game played between two teams of eleven players, each attempting to win by scoring more goals than their opponent. Football is played predominantly with the feet, but players may use any part of their body except their hands and arms to propel the ball; the exceptions to this are throw-ins (ie: when the ball goes out of bounds, field players throw the ball into play from the sidelines) and the two players acting as goalkeepers, who are the only ones allowed to handle the ball on the field of play, albeit with restrictions. The sport is known by a variety of names in different parts of the English-speaking world, usually association football and its contraction, soccer. These names are often used to distinguish the game from other codes of football, since the word "football" may be used to refer to several quite different games. Football is played at a professional level all over the world, and millions of people regularly go to a football stadium to follow their favourite team, whilst millions more avidly watch the game on television. A very large number of people also play football at an amateur level. According to a survey conducted by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), football's governing body, published in the spring of 2001, over 240 million people regularly play football in more than 200 countries in every part of the world. Its simple rules and minimal equipment requirements have no doubt aided its spread and growth in popularity. In many parts of the world football evokes great passions and plays an important role in the life of individual fans, local communities, and even nations; it is therefore often claimed to be the most popular sport in the world.

Nature of the game

Two teams of eleven players each compete to get a spherical ball (itself known as a football) into the other team's goal, thereby scoring a goal. The team which has scored the most goals at the conclusion of the game is the winner; if both teams have an equal number of goals then the game is a draw. The primary rule for this objective is that players, other than the goalkeepers, may not intentionally touch the ball with their hands or arms during play (though they do use their hands during a throw-in restart). Although players mainly use their feet to move the ball around, they may use any part of their bodies other than their hands or arms. throw-in In typical game play, players attempt to move towards a goal through individual control of the ball, such as by dribbling (running with the ball close to their feet); by passing the ball from team-mate to team-mate; and by taking shots at the goal. Opposition players may try to regain control of the ball by intercepting a pass or through tackling the opponent who controls the ball. Football is generally a free-flowing game with the ball in play at all times except when the ball has left the field of play by wholly crossing over a boundary line (either on the ground or in the air), or play has been stopped by the referee. When play has been stopped, it recommences with a specified restart (see below). The game is played in accordance with a set of rules known as the Laws of the Game, which are summarised below.

The Laws of the Game

History and development

The Laws of the Game are based on efforts made in the mid-19th century to standardise the rules of the widely varying games of football played at the public schools of England. The first set of rules resembling the modern game were produced at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1848, at a meeting attended by representatives from Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Winchester and Shrewsbury, but they were far from universally adopted. During the 1850s, many clubs were formed, thoughout the English-speaking world, independent of schools or universities, to play various forms of football. Some came up with their own distinct codes of rules, most notably the Sheffield Football Club (formed by former pupils from Harrow) in 1857, which led to formation of a Sheffield FA in 1867. In 1862, J.C. Thring of Uppingham School also devised an influential set of rules. These efforts contribute to the formation of The Football Association (The FA) in 1863 which first met on the evening of 26 October 1863 at the Freemason's Tavern in Great Queen Street, London. The only school to be represented on this occasion was Charterhouse. The Freemason's Tavern was the setting for five more meetings between October and December, which eventually produced the first comprehensive set of rules. At the final meeting, the first FA treasurer, who was the representative from Blackheath, withdrew his club from the FA over the removal of two draft rules at the previous meeting, the first which allowed for the running with the ball in hand and the second, obstructing such a run by hacking (kicking an opponent in the shins), tripping and holding. Other English rugby clubs followed this lead and did not join the FA but instead in 1871 formed the Rugby Football Union. The eleven remaining clubs, under the charge of Ebenezer Cobb Morley, went on to ratify the original fourteen rules of the game. Despite this, the Sheffield FA played by its own rules until the 1870s. Today the laws of the game are determined by the International Football Association Board (IFAB). The Board was formed in 1882 after a meeting in Manchester of The Football Association, the Scottish Football Association, the Football Association of Wales, and the Irish Football Association. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association FIFA, the international football body, was formed in Paris in 1904 and declared that they would adhere to the rules laid down by the IFAB. The growing popularity of the international game led to the admittance of FIFA representatives to the IFAB in 1913. Today the board is made up of four representatives from FIFA and one representative from each of the four British associations. 1913

Overview of the Laws

There are seventeen Laws in the official Laws of the Game. The same laws are designed to apply to all levels of football, although the preface to the Laws does grant national associations the ability to authorise certain modifications for juniors, seniors, women, etc. The Laws are often framed in broad terms, which allows flexibility in their application depending on the nature of the game. In addition to the seventeen Laws, numerous IFAB decisions and other directives contribute to the regulation of football. The Laws can be found on the [http://www.fifa.com/en/regulations/regulation/0,3527,3,00.html official FIFA website].

Players and equipment

Each team consists of a maximum of eleven players (excluding substitutes), one of whom must be the goalkeeper. Competition rules may state a minimum of seven players are required to constitute a team. There are a variety of positions in which the outfield players are strategically placed by a manager/coach, though these positions are not defined or required by the Laws. One player on each team must be designated as that team's goalkeeper. The goalkeeper is the only player allowed to handle the ball with his hands or arms, but is restricted to doing so within the penalty area (also known as the "box" or "18 yard box") in front of his own goal. The basic equipment players are required to wear includes a shirt (or jersey), shorts, socks (or stockings), footwear and adequate shin guards. Players are forbidden to wear or use anything that is dangerous to themselves or another player (including jewellery or watches). A number of players may be replaced by substitutes during the course of the game. The maximum substitutions permitted in international games and in national level leagues is three, though substitution numbers may be varied in other leagues. The usual reasons for a player's replacement include injury, tiredness, ineffectiveness, a tactical switch, or to waste a little time at the end of a finely poised game. In standard adult matches, a player who has been substituted may not take further part in the match.

Officials

A game is presided over by a referee, who has "full authority to enforce the Laws of the Game in connection with the match to which he has been appointed" (Law 5), and whose decisions regarding facts connected with play are final. The referee is assisted by two assistant referees (formerly called linesmen). In many high-level games there is also a fourth official, who assists the referee and may replace another official should the need arise.

Playing field

fourth official)]] The length of the field (pitch) for international adult matches should be in the range 100-130 yards (90-120m) and the width should be in the range 50-100 yards (45-90m).The pitch must be rectangular, with the length of the touch line longer than the width of the goal line. The longer boundary lines are touch lines, while the shorter boundaries (on which the goals are placed) are goal lines. On the goal line at each end of the field is a goal. The inner edges of the goal posts must be 8 yards (7.32m) apart, and the lower edge of the crossbar must be 8 feet (2.44m) above the ground. Nets are usually placed behind the goal, though are not required by the Laws. In front of each goal is an area of the field known as the penalty area (colloquially "penalty box", "18 yard box" or simply "the box"). This area consists of the area formed by the goal-line, two lines starting on the goal-line 18 yards (16.5m) from the goalposts and extending 18 yards into the pitch from the goal-line, and a line joining these. This area has a number of important functions, the most prominent being to denote where the goalkeeper may handle the ball and where a foul by a defender which would usually punished by a direct free kick becomes punishable by a penalty kick. The field has other field markings and defined areas; these are described in the main article above.

Duration

Standard durations

A standard adult football match consists of two periods (known as halves) of 45 minutes each. There is usually a 15-minute break between halves, known as half time. The end of the match is known as full-time. At the end of each half the referee adds time to account for interruptions during play, such as substitutions, treatment of injuries and time wasting. This addition is traditionally known as injury time.

Extra time and shootouts

If tied at the end of regulation time, in some competitions the game may go into extra time, which consists of two further 15-minute periods. If the score is still tied after extra time, some competitions allow the use of penalty shootouts (known officially in the Laws of the Game as "kicks from the penalty mark") to determine which team will progress to the next stage of the tournament. Note that goals scored during extra time periods count towards the final score of the game, unlike kicks from the penalty mark which are only used to decide the team that progresses to the next part of the tournament (with goals scored not making up part of the final score). Competitions utilising two-leg stages (i.e. where each round involves the two teams playing each other twice) may utilise the so-called away goals rule to attempt to determine which team progresses in the event of the teams being equal on wins; however, should results still be equal following this calculation kicks from the penalty mark are usually required. Other competitions may require a tied game to be replayed.

Golden and silver goal experiments

In the late 1990s, the IFAB experimented with ways of making matches more likely to end without requiring kicks from the penalty mark, which were often seen as an undesirable way to end a match. These involved rules ending a game in extra time early, either when the first goal in extra time was scored (golden goal), or at the end of the first period of extra time if one team was by then leading (silver goal). Both these experiments have been discontinued by IFAB.

Referee as official timekeeper

The referee is the official timekeeper for the match, and it is part of his duties to make allowance for time lost through substitutions, injured players requiring attention, cautions and dismissals, sundry time wasting, etc. When making such an allowance for time lost, the referee is often said to be "adding time on". The amount of time is at the sole discretion of the referee, and the referee alone signals when the match has been completed. There are no other timekeepers, although assistant referees carry a watch and may provide a second opinion if requested by the referee. In matches where a fourth official is appointed, towards the end of the half the referee will signal how many minutes remain to be played, and the fourth official then signals this to players and spectators by holding up a board showing this number. Note that there is often semantic debate as to whether the referee is "adding on" time to the end of a half, or rather treating time during stoppages as though it never existed as part of the match time; this distinction has little bearing on the practical conduct of a game, however it may be noted that the pre-1997 wording of the laws stated that the referee "shall ... allow the full or agreed time adding thereto all time lost through injury or accident" (Law V), and later FIFA guidelines regarding the annotation of goal scoring times suggested that time is indeed "added-on" to the end of the agreed half period.

Starts and re-starts

Each playing period in football commences with a kick-off, which is a set kick from the centre-spot by one team. At kick-off all players are required to be in their half of the field, and all players of the non-kicking team must also remain outside the centre-circle, until the ball is kicked and moved. Kick-offs are also used to restart play following a goal. From the initial kick-off of a period until the end of that period, the ball is "in play" at all times until the end of the playing period, except when the ball leaves the field of play or play is stopped by the referee; in these cases play is re-started by one of the following eight methods: kick-off
- Kick-off: following a goal by the opposing team, or to begin each period of play. ([http://www.fifa.com/en/laws/Laws8_01.htm Law 8]).
- Throw-in: when the ball has wholly crossed the touchline; awarded to opposing team to that which last touched the ball. ([http://www.fifa.com/en/laws/Laws15_01.htm Law 15]).
- Goal kick: when the ball has wholly crossed the goal line without a goal having been scored and having last been touched by an attacker; awarded to defending team. ([http://www.fifa.com/en/laws/Laws16_01.htm Law 16]).
- Corner kick: when the ball has wholly crossed the goal line without a goal having been scored and having last been touched by a defender; awarded to attacking team. ([http://www.fifa.com/en/laws/Laws17_01.htm Law 17]).
- Indirect free kick: awarded to the opposing team following "non-penal" fouls, certain technical infringements, or when play is stopped to caution/send-off an opponent without a specific foul having occurred. ([http://www.fifa.com/en/laws/Laws13_01.htm Law 13]).
- Direct free kick: awarded to fouled team following certain listed "penal" fouls. ([http://www.fifa.com/en/laws/Laws13_01.htm Law 13]).
- Penalty kick: awarded to fouled team following "penal" foul having occurred in their opponent's penalty area. ([http://www.fifa.com/en/laws/Laws14_01.htm Law 14]).
- Dropped-ball: occurs when the referee has stopped play for any other reason (e.g. a serious injury to a player, interference by an external party, or a ball becoming defective). ([http://www.fifa.com/en/laws/Laws8_03.htm Law 8]).

Fouls and misconduct

A foul occurs when a player (not a substitute) commits a specific offence listed in the Laws of the Game, against an opponent, when the ball is in play. The offences that constitute a foul are mainly listed in Law 12. "Penal fouls", for example handling the ball, tripping an opponent, pushing an opponent, etc, are punishable by a direct free kick or penalty kick depending on where the offence occurred. Other fouls are punishable by an indirect free kick. Misconduct may occur at any time, and need not be against an opponent. Substitutes may commit misconduct. Whilst the offences that constitute misconduct are listed, the definitions are broad. In particular, the offence of "unsporting behaviour" may be used to deal with most events that violate the spirit of the game, even if they are not listed as specific offences. Misconduct may be punished by a caution (yellow card) or sending-off (red card).

Offside

The offside law limits the ability of attacking players to remain forward (i.e. closer to the opponent's goal-line) of both the ball and the second last defending player. It is often assumed that the purpose of this law is to prevent "goal scrounging" or "cherry picking", but in fact the offside law has similar roots to the offside law in rugby (see full article). The details and application of this law are complex, and often result in controversy: for more information on offside please refer to the main article above.

Governing bodies

The recognised international governing body of football (and associated games, such as futsal and beach soccer) is the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). Six regional confederations are associated with FIFA; these are:
- Asia: Asian Football Confederation (AFC)
- Africa: Confederation of African Football (CAF)
- Central/North America & Caribbean: Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF; also known as The Football Confederation)
- Europe: Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)
- Oceania: Oceania Football Confederation (OFC)
- South America: Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (South American Football Confederation; CONMEBOL) The recognised various national associations (see football around the world) oversee football within their jurisdictions. These are affiliated both with FIFA directly and also with their respective continental confederations. Note that the Laws of the Game are not maintained by FIFA itself; rather they are maintained by the International Football Association Board, as discussed in the history and development section above.

Major international competitions

Worldwide international competitions

The major international competition in football is the World Cup organised by FIFA. This competition takes place over a four-year period. Over 190 national teams compete in regional qualifying tournaments for a place in the finals. The finals tournament, which is held every four years, now involves 32 national teams (increased from 24 in 1998) competing over a four-week period. There has been a football tournament at the Summer Olympic Games since 1900, except at the 1932 games in Los Angeles. Originally this was for amateurs only, however since the 1984 Summer Olympics professionals have been permitted as well, albeit with certain restrictions which effectively prevent countries from fielding their strongest sides Currently, the Olympic men's tournament is played at Under-23 level with a restricted number of over-age players per team; consequently the competition is not generally considered to carry the same international significance and prestige as the World Cup. A women's tournament was added in 1996; in contrast to the men's event, the women's Olympic tournament is played by full international sides without age restrictions. It thus carries international prestige considered comparable to that of the FIFA Women's World Cup.

Major international competitions

The major international competitions of the world and the continental confederations, followed by their major club events where appropriate, are:
- World: FIFA World Cup; FIFA Club World Championship
- Europe: European Championship; UEFA Champions League
- South America: Copa América; Copa Libertadores
- Africa: African Nations Cup; CAF Champions League
- Asia: Asian Cup; AFC Champions League
- North/Central America & Caribbean: CONCACAF Gold Cup; CONCACAF Champions Cup
- Oceania: Oceania Nations Cup; Oceania Club Championship

Names of the game

Oceania Club Championship] The rules of football were codified in England by the Football Association in 1863, and the name association football was coined to distinguish the game from the other forms of football played at the time, specifically rugby football. The term soccer first appeared in the 1880s as a slang abbreviation of Association football. Today the sport is known by a number of names throughout the English-speaking world, the most common being football and soccer; this has generated debate regarding the "correct" name for the sport. The term used depends largely on the need to differentiate the sport from other codes of football followed in a community. Football is the term used by FIFA, the sport's world governing body, and the International Olympic Committee. For more details of naming throughout the world, please refer to the main articles above.

See also

Other varieties of the game


- Indoor football: futsal, five a side football, and indoor soccer
- Informal football-style games: see street football
- Paralympic football

Teams and players


- List of club/sub-national football teams
- List of famous football players
- List of national football teams

Gameplay


- Football formations - common team formations
- Football positions - common player positions
- Football tactics and skills

Miscellaneous


- Football around the world
- Football culture
- List of football (soccer) mascots
- NF-Board
- Oldest football clubs
- Representative caps
- Women's football around the world
- Women's football (soccer)

Further reading


- Stefan Szymanski and Tim Kuypers (1999), Winners and Losers: The Business Strategy of Football, Viking

External links


- [http://www.fifa.com/ Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)]
- [http://www.the-afc.com/ Asian Football Confederation (AFC)]
- [http://www.cafonline.com/ Confederation of African Football (CAF)]
- [http://www.concacaf.com/ Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF)]
- [http://www.uefa.com/ Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)]
- [http://www.conmebol.com/ South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL)]
- [http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ Oceania Football Confederation (OFC)]
- [http://www.fifa.com/en/regulations/index.html The Current Laws of the Game (LOTG)]
- [http://www.rsssf.com/ The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF)]
- [http://www.11v11.co.uk/ Association of Football Statisticians (AFS)]
- [http://www.holycross.edu/departments/economics/vmatheso/research/soccerreview.pdf Economics of Football - Literature Review] (PDF) Category:Olympic sports Category:Team sports Category:Ball games als:Fussball zh-min-nan:Kha-kiû ko:축구 ms:Bola sepak ja:サッカー simple:Soccer football th:ฟุตบอล

Football Association of Ireland

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) is the organising body for the sport of Association football (soccer) in the Republic of Ireland. It should not be confused with the Irish Football Association (IFA), which is the organising body for the sport in Northern Ireland.

History

The FAI was formed in 1921 upon the partition of Ireland into the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland. Whereas the IRFU, the governing body for rugby union, remained a single all-Ireland organisation, the FAI was formed initially as a split by southern representatives who felt the Belfast-based IFA was too northern-oriented. Both organisations initially claimed to represent the entire island, although in practice the member clubs were divided on the same basis as the political border. A number of players played for both the FAI "Ireland" (against FIFA members from mainland Europe) and the IFA "Ireland" (in the British Home Championship, whose members had withdrawn from FIFA in 1920). When the IFA rejoined FIFA in 1946 as "Northern Ireland", the FAI team thus became the Republic of Ireland team. (Playing for both teams was not forbidden until 1950.) During the 1980s and 1990s, the FAI had an aggressive policy of recruiting talented players in the Irish diaspora who were eligible for Irish citizenship to play for the national team. Many of them became core players during the national team's rise to respectability in that period, including John Aldridge, Mick McCarthy and Ray Houghton.

Activity

At its foundation, the FAI formed a league championship, the Football League of Ireland, and extablished a FAI Cup competition along the lines of the FA Cup and Scottish Cup competitions. A second cup competition was formed in 1974 called the FAI League Cup. As a measure of the competitiveness of domestic football only one League of Ireland club (Derry City FC in 1989) has ever won the league championship, the FAI Cup, and the FAI League Cup in the same season. The Setanta Cup was inaugurated in 2005 as cross-border competition between clubs from the League of Ireland from the Republic of Ireland and the Irish League from Northern Ireland.

See also


- Sport in Ireland

External links


- [http://www.fai.ie/FAI/Welcome+to+the+FAI.htm FAI Website] Ireland, Football Association of Category:Football in the Republic of Ireland

1880

1880 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar).

Events

May - August


- May 13 - In Menlo Park, New Jersey, Thomas Edison performs the first test of his electric railway.
- June 29 - France annexes Tahiti
- July 1 - First performance of O Canada, the song that would become the national anthem of Canada.
- July 16 - First woman licensed to practice medicine in Canada - Dr. Emily Howard Stowe.

September - December


- September 5 - First successful test of an electric Tram in the world takes place in St. Petersburg, Russia
- October - terrible winter storm in North America, the "Blizzard of 1880".
- October 15 - Mexican soldiers kill Victorio, one of the greatest Apache military strategists.
- November - James Garfield defeats Winfield S. Hancock in the U.S. presidential election
- November 4 - the first cash register was patented by James and John Ritty of Dayton, Ohio.
- November 11 - Australian bushranger and bank robber Ned Kelly is hanged in Melbourne.
- November 22 - Vaudeville actress Lillian Russell makes her debut at Tony Pastor's Theatre in New York City.
- December 20 - Action at Bronkhorstspruit, the first major action of the First Boer War.
- December 30 - The Transvaal becomes a republic and Paul Kruger becomes its first president.

Unknown date


- Discovery of piezoelectricity by Pierre Curie and Jacques Curie.
- Completion of Cologne cathedral.
- Founding of Science by Thomas Edison.
- Cocaine isolated
- The British recognise Abdur Rahman Khan as amir of Afghanistan
- Capuchin catacombs of Palermo are officially closed (there will be some burials afterwards)
- Department of Scientific Temperance Instruction of the Women's Christian Temperance Union established.

Births


- January 1 - Vajiravudh, King of Thailand (d. 1925)
- January 6 - Tom Mix, American actor (d. 1940)
- January 17 - Mack Sennett, Canadian director and producer (d. 1960)
- January 26 - Douglas MacArthur, American general (d. 1964)
- January 28 - Herbert Strudwick, English cricketer (d. 1970)
- January 29 - W.C. Fields, American actor (d. 1946)
- February 5 - Gabriel Voisin, French aviation pioneer (d. 1973)
- February 8 - Franz Marc, German artist (d. 1916)
- February 12 - John L. Lewis, American labor union leader (d. 1969)
- February 21 - Waldemar Bonsels, German writer (d. 1952)
- February 22 - Frigyes Riesz, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1956)
- March 1 - Giles Lytton Strachey British writer and biographer (d. 1932)
- March 10 - Bronco Billy Anderson, American actor (d. 1971)
- March 11 - Harry H. Laughlin, American eugenicist (d. 1943)
- March 22 - Kuniaki Koiso, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1950)
- March 30 - Sean O'Casey, Irish writer (d. 1964)
- April 13 - Charles Christie, Canadian-born film studio owner (d. 1955)
- April 18 - Sam Crawford, Baseball Hall of Famer (d. 1968)
- May 6 - Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, German painter (d. 1938)
- May 14 - B.C. Forbes, Scottish-born financial publisher (d. 1954)
- May 25 - Jean Alexandre Barré, French neurologist (d. 1967)
- May 25 - Alf Common, English footballer (d. 1946)
- May 29 - Oswald Spengler, German philosopher (d. 1936)
- June 6 - W.T. Cosgrave, Irish politician (d. 1965)
- June 27 - Helen Keller, American spokeswoman for the deaf and blind (d. 1968)
- July 5 - Jan Kubelík, Czech violinist (d. 1940)
- July 24 - Ernest Bloch, Swiss-born composer (d. 1959)
- August 6 - Hans Moser, Austrian actor (d. 1964)
- August 8 - Earle Page, eleventh Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1961)
- August 10 - Robert L. Thornton, American businessman, philanthropist, and mayor of Dallas, Texas (d. 1964)
- August 22 - George Herriman, American cartoonist (d. 1944)
- August 26 - Guillaume Apollinaire, French poet (d. 1918)
- August 31 - Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (d. 1962)
- September 14 - Archie Hahn, American athlete (d. 1955)
- September 22 - Christabel Pankhurst, English suffragette (d. 1958)
- September 23 - John Boyd Orr, Scottish physician and biologist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1971)
- November 6 - Robert Musil, Austrian novelist (d. 1942)
- November 10 - Jacob Epstein, American-born sculptor (d. 1959)
- December 11 - Frank Tarrant, Australian cricketer (d. 1951)
- December 31 - George Marshall, United States Secretary of State, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1959)
- Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt, American equestrian (d. 1925)
- Joseph Trumpeldor, Russian Zionist (d. 1920)
- Gar Wood, American motorboat racer (d. 1971)

Unknown Birth Dates


- William J. Simmons - Founder of the second Ku Klux Klan]
- [[D. Leigh Colvin]] - American [[temperance movement leader and Prohibition Party candidate for presidency in 1936 (d ?)

Deaths


- January 8 - Joshua A. Norton, self-anointed Emperor Norton I of the United States of America (b. 1811)
- March 31 - Henryk Wieniawski, Polish composer (b. 1835)
- May 4 - Edward Clark, Confederate Governor of Texas (b. 1815)
- May 8 - Gustave Flaubert, French novelist (b. 1821)
- July 7 - Lydia Child, American novelist and abolitionist (b. 1802)
- August 17 - Ole Bull, Norwegian violinist (b. 1810)
- October 4 - Jacques Offenbach, German-born composer (b. 1819)
- November 11 - Ned Kelly, Australian bush ranger (hanged)
- December 22 - George Eliot, English writer (b. 1819) Category:1880 ko:1880년 ms:1880 simple:1880 th:พ.ศ. 2423

Cliftonville FC

Cliftonville F.C. (the Reds) are an Irish football team playing in the Irish Football League. Founded on 20th September 1879 by John McCredy McAlery in north Belfast, Cliftonville F.C. are the oldest football team in Ireland and have celebrated their 125th anniversary in 2004. Since 1890 the club plays at Solitude, which was partly renovated in 2002. Its supporters mainly come from North and West Belfast and have strong links with various supporters clubs in continental Europe, above all from FC St. Pauli of Germany. Cliftonville F.C. have won the Premiership title 3 times, and the Irish F.A. Cup 8 times.

History

Cliftonville FC had its birthday on September 20 1879 with an advertisement in the Belfast Newsletter in which John McAlery, a young Belfast businessman and manager of the "Irish Tweed House", Royal Avenue, and later with premises in Rosemary Street, asked people to sign up with "Cliftonville Association Football Club". Only one week after the advertisement was launched, Cliftonville played its first recorded game on the third ground of Cliftonville Cricket Club off Oldpark Avenue against a selection of Rugby players known as Quidnunces on September 29 1879. The new formed club however was beaten 2-1. Also in their first match against Caledonians they did not much better, as it ended in a 9-1 defeat. In 1880 it was again John McAlery who was the moving spirit in the formation of the Irish Football Association. A dynamic visionary he realized the potential of the game and the fact that being one of the few football clubs had its problems, he issued an invitation to interested parties in Belfast and district for a meeting to be called. By then there was only a handful of other clubs, which played some fixtures: Balmoral Academy, Knock Lacrosse Club as well as Rugby clubs Albion and Windsor. The first meeting took place on November 18 1880 at Queen's Hotel, Belfast, presided by John Sinclair, and the Irish Football Association was formed. While Major Chichester was appointed president, McAlery became the hon. secretary of the association. This meeting also paved the way for the Irish Cup. The first Irish Cup Final played at Cliftonville on April 9 1881 saw a 1-0 defeat against Moyola Park. The opponent was well known for "rough and brutal play". In the following year Cliftonville lost again in the Irish Cup Final, this time 2-1 against Queen's Island. It was only in 1883 when Cliftonville finally won the Irish Cup for the first time with a 5-0 triumph over Ulster. In 1897 Cliftonville won the Irish Cup after a 3-1 win over Sherwood Foresters. A quite unusual protest was launched by Cliftonville after being beaten by Belfast Celtic, admitted to the League in 1896, in the 1900 Irish Cup competition. The Celtic goalposts were eventually measured and it was found out that they were much too short. after all, a replay took place, in which Cliftonville made a 4-0 victory out of the 4-0 defeat in the earlier match. Subsequently they won the Irish Cup in that year, after beating Bohemians 2-1 in the Final. The inaugural meeting of the Irish Football League was held on March 14 1890 in the Belfast Estate Office of the Marquess of Dufferin and Ava with M. McNeice (Cliftonville) as its first president and eight clubs agreed to participate: Cliftonville, Clarence, Milford, Oldpark, Distillery, Glentoran, Ulster and Linfield. It was however not until 1906 that Cliftonville won the Irish Football League for the first time, a success which was repeated in 1910. Being an all-amateur team until the early 1970's Cliftonville from then on only played a minor role in Northern Irish Football. In fact they were the joke team of Ireland with spectators as few as victories. It was only in 1976 under Manager Jackie Hutton and his assistant Jackie Patterson, that Cliftonville experienced a "revolution in fortune", a miracle which peaked on April 28 1979 in the Irish Cup Final at Windsor Park. In front of 15,000 spectators Cliftonville beat Portadown 3-2 with goals from Platt, Adair and Bell. Curiously, the Reds were playing in yellow and blue that day. In the years after this legendary triumph, Cliftonville found their way back to the lower areas of the Irish Football League, and still in the Nineties they were often closer to relegation than to the top. Yet after winning the Coca-Cola-Cup in 1996 and the County Antrim Shield in 1997, a dream came true after 88 years of waiting. Under manager Marty Quinn, a player of the legendary team of 1979, Cliftonville won the Irish Football League in 1998 for the first time in 88 years. 1998 The championship was followed by another highlight, that turned out to be a nightmare for everybody involved. For the final of the Irish Cup between Cliftonville and Portadown, set to take place in April 1999, was cancelled due to the involvement of a player in the semi-final against Linfield, who was held inelegible for his part in an earlier round, when playing for an amateur side. In the same year the Reds went back to the times, when struggling against relegation was pretty all they did, but at least here the Reds showed some spirit in beating Ards twice in the relegation matches in two consecutive years. Nevertheless, in 2003 the Reds surprised the whole league when they managed to win yet another title, the League Cup.

Honours


- League titles: 3
  - 1905/06 (with Distillery), 1909/10, 1997/98
- Irish Cups: 8
  - 1882/83, 1887/88, 1896/97, 1899/00, 1900/01, 1906/07, 1908/09, 1978/79
- League Cup: 1
  - 2003/04

Known players


- John Platt
- Michael Adair
- Bobby Carlisle
- Dr Kevin McGarry
- Marty Quinn, Manager of Coleraine F.C.
- Keith Alexander, Manager of Lincoln City F.C.
- Marty Tabb
- Joe Kerr
- Mickey Donnelly
- Michael Ingham, Goalkeeper, Wrexham A.F.C.
- Stevie Small
- Michael Collins, Midfielder, Portadown FC
- Thomas McCallion, Midfielder, Glentoran F.C.

External links


- [http://www.cliftonvillefc.net/ Cliftonville FC Website]
- [http://www.theredsgazette.tk/ The Reds Gazette, Cliftonville Fanzine]

November 18

November 18 is the 322nd day of the year (323rd in leap years), with 43 remaining.

Events


- 326 - The old St. Peter's Basilica is consecrated.
- 1095 - The Council of Clermont, called by Pope Urban II to discuss sending the First Crusade to the Holy Land, begins.
- 1302 - Pope Boniface VIII issues the Papal bull Unam sanctam ("The One Holy").
- 1307 - According to legend, William Tell shoots an apple off his son's head.
- 1421 - A seawall at the Zuider Zee dike breaks, flooding 72 villages and killing about 10,000 people in the Netherlands.
- 1477 - William Caxton produces Dictes or Sayengis of the Philosophres, the first book printed on a printing press in England.
- 1493 - Christopher Columbus first sights what is now Puerto Rico.
- 1626 - St. Peter's Basilica is consecrated.
- 1686 - Charles Francois Felix operates on King Louis XIV's anal fistula after practicing the surgery on several peasants.
- 1865 - Mark Twain's story The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County is published in the New York Saturday Press.
- 1883 - American and Canadian railroads institute five standard continental time zones, ending the confusion of thousands of local times.
- 1903 - The Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty is signed by the United States and Panama, giving the Americans exclusive rights over the Panama Canal Zone.
- 1904 - General Esteban Huertas steps down after the government of Panama fears he wants to stage a coup.
- 1905 - Prince Carl of Denmark becomes King Haakon VII of Norway.
- 1909 - Two United States warships are sent to Nicaragua after 500 revolutionaries (including two Americans) are executed by order of José Santos Zelaya.
- 1916 - World War I: First Battle of the Somme ends - In France, British Expeditionary Force commander Douglas Haig calls off the battle which started on July 1, 1916.
- 1918 - Latvia declares its independence from Russia.
- 1926 - George Bernard Shaw refuses to accept the money for his Nobel Prize, saying, "I can forgive Alfred Nobel for inventing dynamite, but only a fiend in human form could have invented the Nobel Prize."
- 1928 - Release of the animated short Steamboat Willie, the first fully synchronized sound cartoon, directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, featuring the second appearances of cartoon stars Mickey and Minnie Mouse.
- 1929 - 1929 Grand Banks earthquake: Off the south coast of Newfoundland in the Atlantic Ocean, a Richter magnitude 7.2 submarine earthquake, centered on Grand Banks, breaks 12 submarine transatlantic telegraph cables and triggers a tsunami that destroys many south coast communities in the Burin Peninsula area.
- 1938 - Trade union members elect John L. Lewis as the first president of the Congress of Industrial Organizations.
- 1940 - World War II: German leader Adolf Hitler and Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano meet to discuss Benito Mussolini's disastrous invasion of Greece.
- 1943 - World War II: 440 Royal Air Force planes bomb Berlin causing only light damage and killing 131. The RAF lost nine aircraft and 53 air crew.
- 1959 - William Wyler's film Ben-Hur premieres at Loew's Theater in New York City.
- 1970 - US President Richard Nixon asks the U.S. Congress for US$155 million in supplemental aid for the Cambodian government.
- 1970 - Singer Jerry Lee Lewis divorces his third wife, Myra Gail, after 12 years.
- 1978 - Jonestown mass suicide: In Jonestown, Guyana, Jim Jones leads his People's Temple in a mass murder-suicide; 913 die, including 276 children.
- 1982 - Duk Koo Kim dies unexpectedly from injuries sustained during a 14-round match against Ray Mancini in Las Vegas, prompting reforms in the sport of boxing.
- 1985 - Calvin and Hobbes, a comic strip by Bill Watterson, is first published.
- 1985 - Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theisman breaks his leg, ending his career.
- 1987 - Iran-Contra scandal: The U.S. Congress issues its final report on the Iran-Contra affair.
- 1987 - King's Cross fire: In London, 31 people die in a fire at the city's busiest underground station at King's Cross St Pancras.
- 1988 - War on Drugs: US President Ronald Reagan signs a bill into law providing the death penalty for murderous drug traffickers.
- 1990 - Boxing: Chris Eubank defeats Nigel Benn in their WBO world middleweight championship bout.
- 1991 - Shiite Muslim kidnappers in Lebanon set Anglican Church envoys Terry Waite and Thomas Sutherland free.
- 1991 - After the 3-month siege, the Croatian city of Vukovar is invaded by Serbians
- 1993 - In South Africa, 21 political parties approve a new constitution.
- 1996 - A fire occurs in the Channel Tunnel soon after it opens.
- 1997 - Gary Glitter is arrested in the United Kingdom on child pornography charges.
- 1998 - Alice McDermott wins the National Book Award with her novel Charming Billy.
- 1999 - In College Station, Texas, 12 are killed and 28 injured at Texas A&M University when a huge bonfire under construction collapses.
- 1999 - In Jasper, Texas, 24-year old Shawn Allen Berry is sentenced to life in prison, becoming the third person convicted in the racially-motivated death of James Byrd, Jr..
- 2001 - The Nintendo GameCube is released in North America
- 2002 - Iraq disarmament crisis: United Nations weapons inspectors led by Hans Blix arrive in Iraq.
- 2003 - In the UK the Local Government Act 2003, repealing the controversial anti-gay amendment Section 28, becomes effective.
- 2003 - The congress of the Communist Party of Indian Union (Marxist-Leninist) decides to merge the party into Kanu Sanyal's CPI(ML).
- 2004 - Russia officially ratifies the Kyoto Protocol.
- 2005 - The film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is released.
- 2005 - Two policewomen in Bradford, UK are shot, one fatally, causing gridlock in and out of the city

Births


- 1522 - Lamoral, Count of Egmont, Flemish general and statesman (d. 1568)
- 1647 - Pierre Bayle, French philosopher (d. 1706)
- 1785 - David Wilkie, British artist (d. 1841)
- 1786 - Carl Maria von Weber, German composer (d. 1826)
- 1787 - Louis-Jacques Daguerre, French inventor and photographer (d. 1851)
- 1804 - Alfonso Ferrero la Marmora, Italian general and statesman (d. 1878)
- 1832 - Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld, Swedish explorer (d. 1901)
- 1836 - Sir William S. Gilbert, British dramatist (d. 1911)
- 1836 - Cesare Lombroso, Italian psychiatrist and founder of criminology (d. 1909)
- 1839 - August Kundt, German physicist (d. 1894)
- 1856 - Nikolai Nikolaevich Romanov, Grand Duke of Russia (d. 1929)
- 1861 - Dorothea Dix, American activist (d. 1887)
- 1870 - Dorothy Dix, pseudonym of US journalist, Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer (d. 1951)
- 1874 - Clarence Day, American author (d. 1935)
- 1882 - Jacques Maritain, French philosopher (d. 1973)
- 1883 - Carl Vinson, U.S. Congressman (d. 1981)
- 1897 - Patrick Blackett, British physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1974)
- 1898 - Joris Ivens, Dutch filmmaker (d. 1989)
- 1899 - Eugene Ormandy, Hungarian-born conductor (d. 1985)
- 1901 - George Gallup, American statistician and opinion pollster (d. 1984)
- 1906 - Klaus Mann, German writer (d. 1949)
- 1906 - George Wald, American scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1997)
- 1907 - Compay Segundo, Cuban musician (Buena Vista Social Club) (d. 2003)
- 1908 - Imogene Coca, American actress and comedienne (d. 2001)
- 1909 - Johnny Mercer, American lyricist (d. 1976)
- 1916 - Amelita Galli-Curci, Italian soprano (d. 1963)
- 1919 - Jocelyn Brando, American actress (d. 2005)
- 1922 - Luis Somoza Debayle, Nicaraguan president (d. 1967)
- 1923 - Alan Shepard, American astronaut (d. 1998)
- 1925 - Gene Mauch, American baseball manager (d. 2005)
- 1927 - Hank Ballard, American musician (d. 2003)
- 1935 - Rudolf Bahro, German dissident (d. 1997)
- 1939 - Margaret Atwood, Canadian writer
- 1939 - Brenda Vaccaro, American actress
- 1940 - Qaboos ibn Sa’id, Sultan of Oman
- 1941 - David Hemmings, British actor (d. 2003)
- 1942 - Linda Evans, American actress
- 1944 - Susan Sullivan, American actress
- 1946 - Alan Dean Foster, American author
- 1947 - Jameson Parker, American actor
- 1948 - Andrea Marcovicci, American singer and actress
- 1948 - Jack Tatum, American football player
- 1950 - Eric Pierpoint, American actor
- 1953 - Alan Moore, British comic book writer and novelist
- 1954 - John Parr, British pop singer
- 1956 - Warren Moon, American football player
- 1957 - Seán Mac Falls, Irish-born poet
- 1958 - Laura Miller, Mayor of Dallas, Texas
- 1960 - Kim Wilde, British singer
- 1962 - Kirk Hammett, American guitarist (Metallica)
- 1963 - Dante Bichette, baseball player
- 1963 - Peter Schmeichel, Danish footballer
- 1966 - Jorge Camacho, Spanish poet
- 1968 - Owen Wilson, American actor
- 1969 - Sam Cassell, American basketball player
- 1970 - Peta Wilson, Australian actress
- 1975 - David Ortiz, Dominican Major League Baseball player
- 1978 - Damien Johnson, Northern Irish footballer
- 1983 - Jon Johansen, Norwegian software developer

Deaths


- 1154 - Adélaide de Maurienne, queen of Louis VI of France (b. 1092)
- 1305 - John II, Duke of Brittany (b. 1239)
- 1559 - Cuthbert Tunstall, English churchman (b. 1474)
- 1590 - George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, English statesman (b. 1528)
- 1724 - Bartolomeu de Gusmão, Portuguese naturalist (b. 1685)
- 1785 - Louis Philip I, Duke of Orléans, French soldier and writer (b. 1725)
- 1797 - Jacques-Alexandre Laffon de Ladebat, French shipbuilder and merchant (b. 1719)
- 1814 - William Jessop, British civil engineer (b. 1745)
- 1886 - Chester A. Arthur, 21st President of the United States (b. 1829)
- 1889 - William Allingham, Irish author
- 1922 - Marcel Proust, French novelist (b. 1871)
- 1941 - Walther Nernst, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1864)
- 1941 - Chris Watson, third Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1867)
- 1952 - Paul Eluard, French poet (b. 1895)
- 1953 - Frank Olson, American scientist (suicide)
- 1962 - Niels Bohr, Danish physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1885)
- 1965 - Henry A. Wallace, Vice President of the United States (b. 1888)
- 1967 - Luis Somoza Debayle, Nicaraguan president (b. 1922)
- 1969 - Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., American politician (b. 1888)
- 1976 - Man Ray, American artist (b. 1890)
- 1978 - Jim Jones, American cult leader (suicide) (b. 1931)
- 1978 - Leo Ryan, U.S. Congressman (b. 1905)
- 1982 - Duk Koo Kim, Korean boxer (b. 1959)
- 1986 - Gia Carangi, American model (AIDS) (b. 1960)
- 1987 - Jacques Anquetil, French cyclist (cancer) (b. 1934)
- 1991 - Gustáv Husák, President of Czechoslovakia (b. 1913)
- 1994 - Cab Calloway, American bandleader (b. 1907)
- 1999 - Paul Bowles, American novelist (b. 1910)
- 2002 - James Coburn, American actor (b. 1928)
- 2003 - Michael Kamen, American composer (b. 1948)

Holidays and observances


- Roman festivals - day 1 Dios dedicated to the sun god by emperor Licinius
- R.C. Saints - Dedication of the Basilicas of Saints Peter and Paul ; Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne ; also St Mawes, St Odo of Cluny, St Romanus of Antioch
- Also see November 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Latvia - Independence Day (1918)
- Oman - National Holiday
- Venezuela - Feast of the Virgen de Chiquinquirá, also known as la Chinita, in the western state of Zulia

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/18 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20051118.html The New York Times: On This Day] ---- November 17 - November 19 - October 18 - December 18 -- listing of all days ko:11월 18일 ms:18 November ja:11月18日 simple:November 18 th:18 พฤศจิกายน

FA Cup

The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is the main "knockout" cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football Association. The FA Cup is the oldest football competition in the world. As such its prestige as the sport's premier domestic cup competition is without par around the world. As it involves clubs of all standards playing against each other, there is great scope for "giant-killers" from the lower divisions to eliminate top clubs from the tournament. A record 674 teams have entered the FA Cup in 2005-2006. In comparison, the League Cup, a lower prestige English football knockout tournament, can only have the 92 members of The Football League (who organise the competition) and FA Premier League can compete. The name "FA Cup" usually refers to the English men's tournament. The equivalent competition for women's teams is the FA Women's Cup. The women's cup has a much lower public profile than the men's, in common with all women's football in England. Many nations also have similar competitions, inspired by this legendary tournament.

Format

The competition is a knockout tournament with pairings drawn completely at random - there are no seeds. The draw also determines which team will play at home. If a match is drawn, there is a replay at the ground of the other team. Drawn replays are now settled with extra time and kicks from the penalty mark (penalty shootouts), though in the past further replays were possible, and some ties took as many as six matches to settle. Traditionally the final is played at London's Wembley Stadium. However, due to extensive redevelopment of Wembley, finals have been played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff since 2001. Although early venues include Kennington Oval and Crystal Palace, this was the first time the final had been played outside of England. The FA Cup final is expected to return to Wembley on May 13, 2006; however, the FA have booked the Millennium Stadium for the final weekend, in case Wembley construction is not completed on time. The semi-finals are contested at neutral venues; in the past these have usually been the home grounds of teams not involved in that semi-final, such as Old Trafford in Manchester, Villa Park in Birmingham and Hillsborough in Sheffield. However, in 2005 both semi-finals were held at the Millennium Stadium, which may be repeated in 2006. In future years it is expected that all semi-finals will be played at the new Wembley Stadium. The competition begins with the Extra-Preliminary rounds contested by non-league clubs in August, which any FA affiliated club meeting a basic standard of ability and ground facilities may enter. 644 clubs entered the competition in the 2003/04 season, a (then) record 660 for 2004/05 (the old record was 656 in 1921/22), and new record of 674 for 2005/06. Following the Extra-Preliminary Round is a Preliminary Round, four Qualifying Rounds, and six Rounds of the competition proper, followed by the Semi-Finals and the Final. All of FA Premier League and Football League clubs may enter. Non-league clubs may also enter if they competed in the previous season's FA Trophy or FA Vase and are deemed to be playing in an "acceptable" league for the current season. All clubs entering the competition must have a suitable and safe stadium capacity. Clubs higher up the English football league system are given byes to certain rounds. For example, clubs playing in the Conference North or Conference South are given a bye to Second Qualifying Round, while those from the Conference National are given a bye to the Fourth Qualifying Round. Clubs from Football League One and Football League Two are given a bye into the First Round proper in November, and Football League Championship and Premier League teams are given a bye into the Third Round, traditionally held in the first weekend in January. The Final is played at the end of the season in May. Since the foundation of The Football League, Tottenham Hotspur F.C. in 1901 have been the only non-league winners of the FA Cup. They were then playing in the Southern League and were only elected to the Football League in 1908. At that time the Football League consisted of only two 18-team divisions; Spurs's victory then would be comparable to a team near the bottom of the second step of the English football pyramid, the Football League Championship, winning today. The winning team qualifies by right for the first round of the UEFA Cup. If the winners also qualify for the Champions League by merit of league position, the losing finalist qualifies for the UEFA Cup in their place. If both finalists qualify for the Champions League, an extra UEFA Cup place is given on the basis of Premier League position.

Trophies

Champions League At the end of the final, the winning team is presented with a trophy, also known as the "FA Cup", which they hold until the following year's final. Traditionally, at Wembley finals, the presentation was made at the Royal Box, with players, led by the captain, mounting a staircase to a gangway in front of the box and returning by a second staircase on the other side of the box. At Cardiff the presentation has been made on a podium on the pitch. The cup is decorated with ribbons in the colours of the winning team; a common riddle asks, "what is always taken to the Cup Final, but never used?" (The answer is, "the losing team's ribbons"). Individual members of the teams playing in the final are presented with winners' and losers' medals. The present FA Cup trophy is the fourth. The first, the 'little tin idol', was used from the inception of the Cup in 1871-2 until it was stolen from a shop window in Birmingham while held by Aston Villa in 1895. It was never seen again and is presumed to have been melted down. The second trophy was a replica of the first, and was last used in 1910 before being presented to the FA's long-serving president Lord Kinnaird. It was sold at Christie's on May 19 2005 for £420,000 (£478,400 including auction fees and taxes) to David Gold, the chairman of Birmingham City. A new, larger, trophy was bought by the FA in 1911 designed and manufactured by Fattorini's of Bradford and won by Bradford City in its first outing, the only time a team from Bradford has reached the final. This trophy still exists but is now too fragile to be used, so an exact replica was made and has been in use since the 1992 final. Therefore, though the FA Cup is the oldest domestic football competition in the world, its trophy is not the oldest; that title is claimed by the Scottish Cup.

Giant-Killers

The FA Cup has a long tradition of lower-division and non-league teams becoming "giant-killers" by defeating highly-ranked opponents. There are various famous giant killing feats, and every club will remember their own successes. However, the most famous results are arguably those of:
- Yeovil Town in 1948-49, who reached the fifth round while in the Southern League, and defeated League opposition many other times before winning promotion to the Football League in 2003.
- Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic who beat Wolves and Tottenham Hotspur in 1957, before losing to Manchester United in a closely fought quarter-final tie.
- Hereford United in 1972, who famously defeated Newcastle United
- Wrexham in 1992, when they defeated the league champions Arsenal in the Third Round, Wigan having finished bottom of the Football League the previous season

Famous Shock Results


- Walsall 2 Arsenal 0 (1933, Round 3)
- Yeovil Town 2 Sunderland 1 aet (1949, Round 4)
- Worcester City 2 Liverpool 1 (1951, Round 3)
- Wolverhamption Wanderers 0 Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic 1 (1957, Round 3)
- Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic 3 Tottenham Hotspur 1 (1957, Round 4)
- Colchester United 3 Leeds United 2 (1971, Round 5)
- Hereford United 2 Newcastle United 1 (1972, Round 3 replay)
- Sunderland 1 Leeds United (1973, Final)
- Burnley 0 Wimbledon 1 (1975, Round 3)
- Southampton 1 Manchester United 0 (1976, Final)
- Blyth Spartans 3 Stoke City 2 (1978, Round 3)
- Bournemouth 2 Manchester United 0 (1984, Round 3)
- Brighton & Hove Albion 2 Liverpool 0 (1984, Round 4)
- Birmingham City 1 Altrincham 2 (1986, Round 3)
- Wimbledon 1 Liverpool 0 (1988, Final)
- Middlesbrough 1 Grimsby Town 2 (1989, Round 3)
- Sutton United 2 Coventry City 1 (1989, Round 3)
- Wrexham 2 Arsenal 1 (1991, Round 3)
- Liverpool 0 Bolton Wanderers 2 (1993, Round 3 replay)
- Liverpool 0 Bristol City 1 (1994, Round 3 replay)
- Stockport County 2 Queens Park Rangers 1 (1994, Round 3)
- Barnsley 3 Manchester United 2 (1998, Round 5 replay)
- Leicester City 1 Wycombe Wanderers 2 (2001, Quarter-Final)
- Shrewsbury Town 2 Everton 1 (2003, Round 3)
- Liverpool 0 Crystal Palace 2 (2003, Round 4 replay)

Notable events in the FA Cup


- On July 20, 1871, C. W. Alcock proposed that 'a Challenge Cup should be established in connection with the Association', giving birth to the FA Cup.
- On March 16, 1872, Wanderers became the first winners of the FA Cup, beating Royal Engineers 1-0 at The Oval. Only 15 clubs enter, 12 play and there are 13 games in total.
- In 1873, for the first and only time the competition lives up to the name Challenge Cup. The Wanderers beat Oxford University in a one off challenge match to retain the Cup. The rules change for the following season.
- The record score in an FA Cup tie was set in 1887 when Preston North End defeated Hyde United 26-0.
- In 1903 Bury defeated Derby County 6-0, in what is still the highest score in an FA Cup final.
- In 1922, England amateur international Wilfred Minter scores 7 goals for St Albans City against Dulwich Hamlet. Dulwich win 8-7.
- The first final to be played at Wembley, in 1923, drew an over-capacity crowd of more than 200,000. Spectators spilled onto the field, but were moved back by mounted policemen, and the game (which came to be known as the "White Horse Final") was played with spectators lining the edge of the pitch.
- The 1927 final resulted in a Cardiff City victory over Arsenal. To the present day, Cardiff City are the only non-English based team to win the trophy.
- The 1945-1946 FA Cup was the first played since the competition was suspended during World War II. As the intermediate Football League North and Football League South were of variable quality, to boost clubs' income each tie was played over two legs (one home, one away with the scores being added together to decide who went through) to increase the number of matches in the season. Matches that were level at the end of both legs were replayed at the stadium of whichever team had played the second leg away. The semi-finals and final (both played at neutral venues) remained single match affairs.
- The final of 1953 is known as the Matthews Final. The match between Blackpool and Bolton Wanderers saw Stanley Matthews, at the age of 38, in his third attempt to win an FA cup winners medal for Blackpool. Bolton were 3-1 up with 22 minutes remaining and looked set to win the match when Blackpool's Stan Mortensen scored from a Matthews cross. With less than five minutes remaining Blackpool equalised from a Mortensen free kick and shortly after the restart, with everybody anticipating extra time, Matthews passed to Bill Perry who put the ball in the back of the net securing a 4-3 victory for Blackpool.
- The final of 1956 saw Manchester City win 3-1 against Birmingham City. Roughly 15 minutes before the end of the game, Man City's goalkeeper Bert Trautmann (a German who had been taken as a prisoner of war by the British in 1945) injured his neck when he made a save at the feet of Birmingham's Peter Murphy. Despite being in terrible pain he continued to play till the end of match and collected his winners' medal still clutching his neck. An x-ray later revealed that he had broken his neck.
- 1956-57 also the record for highest number of rounds played in set, when former League club New Brighton played in nine rounds. They started in the preliminary round, and progressed through four qualifying rounds to the fourth round proper, where they lost to Burnley. They had just one replay - for their first round tie.
- 1957 saw Leeds United beaten 2-1 at home to Cardiff City in the third round. The same event happened in 1955 and 1956.
- In 1967 the first substitutes were allowed after many years of finals proving unbalanced due to injuries which forced players into leaving the field early. Players had suffered broken bones in the 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961 and 1965 finals.
- 1971 sees the longest tie in Cup history. Oxford City and Alvechurch play 6 games for a total of 660 minutes. Alvechurch win the final game 1-0 to progress to the first round proper.
- In 1972 the FA Cup celebrated its 100th birthday (though not its 100th season, due to interruptions for the two world wars). Leeds Unit