List of Scottish football clubs in the FA Cup

Queen's Park reached two FA Cup finals, the only Scottish team ever to do so.

The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout competition in English association football. It is the oldest football competition in the world, having commenced in 1871.[1] Although the Cup is organised by The Football Association, the governing body of the sport in England, and is open only to clubs playing in FA-affiliated leagues in the modern era, all of which are based in England,[2] a number of teams from Scotland have also entered, primarily in the competition's early years.

The first Scottish club to enter was Queen's Park, who accepted an invitation to take part in the very first competition after a number of the clubs which had originally entered withdrew.[3] The Glasgow team were by far the dominant force in Scottish football, and no other team had even managed to score a goal against them.[4] Because of a combination of byes and the withdrawal of opponents, "Queen's" reached the semi-finals without playing a match, but after holding Wanderers to a draw the Scottish club was forced to withdraw as the funds could not be raised to return for a replay.[3] The following season Queen's entered the competition again and, to ease the travelling expenses required to take part in a competition in which virtually every other team was based in the home counties, were afforded byes all the way to the semi-finals.[3] At this stage the club was drawn against Oxford University, whereupon the Scots withdrew from the competition,[5] although one account states that Queen's in fact beat Oxford only to then withdraw as the team could not afford to travel to London for the final.[3] In 1873, the newly formed Scottish Football Association launched the Scottish Cup,[6] but Queen's Park continued to enter the FA Cup draw, although for unknown reasons the club withdrew each time without playing.[7][8][9][10][11]

In 1883, Queen's returned to the FA Cup and reached the final, scoring resounding wins over Crewe Alexandra (100) and Manchester F.C. (150) en route, only to be defeated by Blackburn Rovers.[12] The match against Manchester was the first FA Cup tie to be staged in Scotland, hosted at Titwood, the home of Clydesdale CC.[13] A year later Queens met Blackburn Rovers in the final once again, with the English team again emerging victorious.[14] The 188586 competition saw the first participation by other Scottish clubs, as Queen's were joined by Partick Thistle, Third Lanark, Rangers and Heart of Midlothian, although the latter two withdrew without playing a match.[15] These clubs all returned for the 188687 competition, along with newcomers Renton and Cowlairs.[16]

In 1887, the Scottish Football Association banned its members from taking any further part in the FA Cup.[17] No more Scottish clubs participated until Gretna F.C. entered the competition in the 1980s. Because the town of Gretna is located extremely close to the border, the local football club had opted to play in the English football league system and by the 1980s had reached the Northern Premier League,[18] making the team eligible to enter the FA Cup. Gretna played in the qualifying rounds of the FA Cup for nineteen seasons, making the first round proper twice, until the club joined the Scottish Football League in 2002.[18]

Performance of Scottish clubs by season

SeasonClubRound reachedNotesRef
187172 Queen's Park Semi-finals Reached the semi-finals without playing a match, held Wanderers to a draw, but withdrew rather than play a replay [19]
187273 Queen's Park Semi-finals Received byes to the semi-finals but either withdrew immediately or beat Oxford University and then withdrew [3][5]
187677 Queen's Park 3rd round Received byes to 3rd round but then withdrew [7]
187980 Queen's Park 1st round Withdrew without playing a match [8]
188081 Queen's Park 1st round Withdrew without playing a match [9]
188182 Queen's Park 1st round Withdrew without playing a match [10]
188283 Queen's Park 1st round Withdrew without playing a match [11]
188384 Queen's Park Final Defeated in the final by Blackburn Rovers [12]
188485 Queen's Park Final Defeated in the final by Blackburn Rovers [14]
188586 Queen's Park 2nd round Reached 2nd round but withdrew [15]
188586 Third Lanark 2nd round Reached 2nd round but then withdrew [15]
188586 Partick Thistle 1st round [15]
188586 Heart of Midlothian 1st round Withdrew without playing a match [15]
188586 Rangers 1st round Withdrew without playing a match [15]
188687 Rangers Semi-finals [16]
188687 Partick Thistle 5th round [16]
188687 Cowlairs 3rd round [16]
188687 Renton 3rd round Defeated holders Blackburn Rovers in 2nd round [16]
188687 Third Lanark 2nd round [16]
188687 Heart of Midlothian 1st round [16]
188687 Queen's Park 1st round [16]
198384 Gretna 2nd qualifying round [18]
198485 Gretna 3rd qualifying round [18]
198586 Gretna 3rd qualifying round [18]
198687 Gretna 4th qualifying round [18]
198788 Gretna 2nd qualifying round [18]
198889 Gretna 2nd qualifying round [18]
198990 Gretna 1st qualifying round [18]
199091 Gretna 3rd qualifying round [18]
199192 Gretna 1st round [18]
199293 Gretna 1st qualifying round [18]
199394 Gretna 1st round The most recent appearance of a Scottish team in the FA Cup proper [18]
199495 Gretna 1st qualifying round [18]
199596 Gretna Preliminary round [18]
199697 Gretna 1st qualifying round [18]
199798 Gretna 3rd qualifying round [18]
199899 Gretna 1st qualifying round [18]
199900 Gretna 2nd qualifying round [18]
200001 Gretna Preliminary round [18]
200102 Gretna 2nd qualifying round [18]
200203 Gretna 1st qualifying round Withdrew without playing a match after being granted entry into the Scottish League (allowing them to compete in the Scottish Cup) [18]

See also

References

  1. Greg Lalas (2008-05-15). "Open up and say ... Ahhhh!". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2007-09-04.
  2. "Rules of the FA Challenge Cup Competition" (PDF). The Football Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-06-25. Retrieved 2008-05-15.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Soar, Phil; Martin Tyler. Encyclopedia of British Football. p. 154.
  4. Soar, Phil; Martin Tyler (1983). Encyclopedia of British Football. Willow Books. p. 64. ISBN 0-0021-8049-9.
  5. 1 2 "FA Cup 187273". The Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  6. "Scottish Cup 187374". The Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 8 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
  7. 1 2 "FA Cup 187677". The Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  8. 1 2 "FA Cup 187980". The Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  9. 1 2 "FA Cup 188081". The Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  10. 1 2 "FA Cup 188182". The Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  11. 1 2 "FA Cup 188283". The Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  12. 1 2 "FA Cup 188384". The Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  13. James, Gary (2008). Manchester – A Football History. Halifax: James Ward. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-9558127-0-5.
  14. 1 2 "FA Cup 188485". The Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "FA Cup 188586". The Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "FA Cup 188687". The Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  17. "Ask Albert Number 5". BBC Sport. 2001-02-19. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 "Gretna". The Football Club History Database. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  19. "FA Cup 187172". The Football Club History Database. Retrieved 2008-05-13.

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