The proposal for a knockout competition was adopted at a Football Association committee meeting at the offices of the Sportsman newspaper on July 20th, 1871.

Charles Alcock, secretary, proposed a motion that “it is desirable that a Challenge Cup should be established in connection with the Association, for which all clubs belonging to the Association should be invited to compete”. The motion was formally adopted at a meeting three months later.

The first FA Cup competition took place in the 1871-2 season, when just 15 teams entered. Compare that to the record entry of well over 600 sides in 2004-5! A team of ex-public school and university players called the Wanderers won, beating a team from the Royal Engineers 1-0 at the Oval – now the famous cricket ground – in Kennington, London. A crowd of 2,000 turned up to watch – tickets cost one shilling each.

The goal-scorer was Morton Betts, playing under the assumed name of A H Chequer (he had once played for Chequers, the team of Harrow school). A multi-talented sportsman, Betts was also an accomplished cricketer for Kent and Middlesex. Engineers lost Lt Cresswell to a broken collar-bone only ten minutes into the match, the first officially recorded football injury.

Known affectionately as the Little Tin Idol, the original trophy was much smaller than the present one. It was made by Martin, Hall and Co. of London, and cost the FA £20. Only in use for just over 20 years, it went missing when it was stolen from the window of a football outfitters’ shop in Birmingham. It was on display to mark Aston Villa’s victory in 1895.