Football is one of the world’s most popular sports, and its history goes back over 150 years. Some football tournaments are so old. They’ve been playing for more than a century and are still held today. In this article, we will talk about the four oldest football championships in the world.
FA Cup (1871)
The FA Cup is the oldest football championship in the world. It started in England in 1871, just eight years after the Football Association was formed. In the first tournament, 5p clubs were invited, but only 15 teams actually played. Today, the FA Cup is extremely popular and includes hundreds of teams from different levels of English football. Arsenal is the most successful team in the FA Cup with 14 wins.
Scottish Cup (1873)
The Scottish Cup began in 1873 and is the second-oldest football championship in the history of sport. The Scottish Football Association started the competition with 16 teams in the first year, where Queen’s Park, the oldest football club in Scotland, won the first trophy. It became special because the oldest national football trophy is still in use. Over the years, teams like Celtic and Rangers have won many times, with Celtic winning it 41 times.
Welsh Cup (1877)
The Welsh Cup started in 1877, and it was the third oldest football championship. It was the main cup competition in Wales, with the first tournament taking place with 18 teams. Wrexham won the first edition and is the most successful team in the tournament, winning 23 times.
Irish Cup (1881)
The Irish Cup is the oldest football championship in Northern Ireland, which began in 1881 and was open to all teams from all over Ireland initially, but now only teams in Northern Ireland can compete. The Irish Cup has a long history and is still played every year, with Linfield being the most successful team with dozens of victories.
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