The FA Cup Final

Football, or soccer as it is known in other parts of the world, is the most popular sport anywhere the planet. Played in Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas, football is a truly global game with plenty of dedicated fans. Football is also one of the most prominent betting sports with thousands of punters betting on each and every game.

For British and European football enthusiasts, the FA Cup is the largest and most prestigious tournament of the year, and if you want to get in on the betting action, you can find the latest odds at William Hill, 888 Sport, Winner Sports, Titan Bet, and Betway Sports.

About the FA Cup

Dating back to the 1800’s, the Football Association Challenge Cup (FA Cup) is the oldest association football competition in the world. While most punters and football fans are intimately familiar with the top-rated teams, the competition is open to all professional clubs down to Level 10 including the 92 clubs in the Premier League. In the 2011-2012 season the competition had a record entry of 763 clubs.

In total, the tournament consists of 12 randomly drawn rounds. The semi-finals, and the finals then follow this. None of the teams are seeded for the competition, although byes are given to higher-ranking teams who can enter in the later rounds. Starting in August, the first six rounds of the tournament form the qualification rounds. From these, just 32 teams progress to the first round of the main FA Cup tournament. These 32 teams meet up with the first of the 48 teams from Leagues 1 and 2. The Premier League and Championship Clubs join the draw for round 3.

The 2016-2017 Season

To date only one non-league team has ever reached a quarterfinal and no team below level 2 has ever reached the final stages. The four highest ranked teams after the preliminary rounds then progress to the semi-finals and paly for a spot in the finals. The winner receives the FA Cup trophy and is crowned season champions. The winner also qualifies for a spot in the Europa League and a place in the FA Community Shield match. 

In the 2016-2017 season, both Arsenal and Chelsea qualified for the finals. While Chelsea was the favourites to win, Arsenal won the game by 2 goals to 1. In doing so they picked up their 13^th FA Cup title, becoming the most successful club in the tournament’s history. This year, Chelsea again booked their spot in the finals when they defeated favourites Southampton 2-0 at Wembley stadium.

FA Cup Final Betting Opportunities

Chelsea will be going up against Manchester United who also booked their spot in the finals when they came back from a goal down against Tottenham Hotspur to win by 2-1. The 2018 FA Cup final will take place on the 19^th of May at Wembley Stadium in London.

For punters, the FA Cup offers the ultimate in betting opportunities. In addition to betting on the outright winner, you can place a who range of prop bets including correct score, draw no bet, 5-minute goals, highest scoring half, halftime betting and a wealth of other options too.