Learn English Through Football Podcast: 2007 FA Cup 3rd Round

Damian and Damon look ahead to the FA Cup 3rd Round by looking back at some of the history of the FA Cup. There is also a worksheet for this report (complete with answers) which can be downloaded here.



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The FA Cup

The money is made in the Championsa€ League. The respect is gained by winning the premier league, but for rich history and romance look no further than the FA Cup. This weekend sees the third round of the English FA Cup. This is the round where the bigger teams from the Premier League and the Championship join a mixture of league and non-league teams from England and Wales who have battled through qualifying rounds and the two early rounds. This is where the minnows go up against the giants, where the amateurs and semi-pros get to share the pitch with the big names, and where shock results are certain to happen.



The FA Cup is the oldest football competition in the world. It started in 1871-72, over 130 years ago with 15 teams taking part a€“ this year over 600 have entered. That final was won by Wanderers, a team made up of ex-public school and university students. The FA Cup has inspired other competitions around the world, for example the Emperora€s Cup in Japan, won this year by Urawa Reds is a copy. The competition gets ita€s magic from the fact that any team has a chance to win and to make history. Famous upsets have included:



* Wrexham, in 1992, they defeated the league champions Arsenal in the Third Round. The previous season. Wrexham had finished bottom of the Football League.

* Another huge shock was when non-league team Sutton United in the 1988-1989 FA Cup campaign beat the 1987 winners Coventry City.

* And recently Wycombe Wanderers, from the Second Division, beat Premier league side Leicester in the quarter-finals of the 2000-01 competition.



Despite the fact that upsets do happen, it is normally the big guns that finally win through. Manchester United are currently the most successful FA Cup side, winning 11 times, followed by Arsenal on 10. Another team with a long FA Cup history, Liverpool won the trophy last year in what many people think was the most exciting FA Cup final ever a€“ overcoming West Ham on penalties after the game