1973–74 FA Amateur Cup

The FA Amateur Cup 1973–74 was the 71st and last staging of England's principal cup tournament for amateur teams, the FA Amateur Cup. Bishop's Stortford won the competition for the first time, beating Ilford 4–1 in the final at Wembley.

Matches were scheduled to be played at the stadium of the team named first on the date specified for each round, which was always a Saturday. Some matches, however, might be rescheduled for other days if there were clashes with games for other competitions or the weather was inclement. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played, a replay would take place at the stadium of the second-named team later the same week. If the replayed match was drawn further replays would be held until a winner was determined. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played in a replay, a 30-minute period of extra time would be played.

Calendar

First round proper

The matches were scheduled to be played on Saturday, 5 January 1974, with four ties postponed to the next Saturday. For the first time in the competition's history, matches could be played on Sunday, and three clubs applied for a permission. There were seven replayed ties, of which one needed a second replay and another a third.

FA Amateur Cup

The FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs. It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when The Football Association abolished official amateur status.

History

Following the legalisation of professionalism within football, professional teams quickly came to dominate the sport's main national knock-out tournament, the FA Cup. In response to this, the committee of the country's oldest club, Sheffield F.C., suggested in 1892 the organisation of a separate national cup solely for amateur teams, and even offered to pay for the trophy itself.The Football Association (the FA) declined the club's offer, but a year later decided to organise just such a competition. N.L. Jackson of Corinthian F.C. was appointed chairman of the Amateur Cup sub-committee and arranged for the purchase of a trophy valued at £30.00, and the first tournament took place during the 1893–94 season. The entrants included 12 clubs representing the old boys of leading public schools, and Old Carthusians, the team for former pupils of Charterhouse School, won the first final, defeating Casuals. The old boy teams competed in the Amateur Cup until 1902, when disputes with the FA led to the formation of the Arthur Dunn Cup, a dedicated competition for such teams.