The FA Cup: Cambridge and Football

The FA Cup is one of the biggest events in the sports calendar, but did you know that its existence is all thanks to Cambridge?!

Saturday May 19^this a significant date in the UK calendar for a couple of big reasons. While the upcoming events will be anticipated and watched by people across the UK (and around the world!), they have particular ties to Cambridge, the historic university city our students will call home this summer. The FA Cup Final (the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup) kicks off on Saturday afternoon. After knocking out all the other clubs belonging to the Football Association in England, football teams Chelsea and Manchester United will compete to win the trophy. The FA Cup is one of the biggest events in the sports calendar, and one of the most attended domestic football matches in the world, but without Cambridge, we wouldn’t have football as we know it! The city is credited as the birthplace of the beautiful game: the first ever football match played with the Football Association rules used today took place in Cambridge in 1863. It makes our informal football matches and the Reach Cambridge World Cup event during the summer all the more exciting – with every kick and flick of the ball, our students are following in the footsteps of the university footballers who over 150 years ago came up with the rules that have been adopted across the globe. Usually, the Duke of Cambridge would attend the FA Cup Final to watch the match and present the trophy to the winning team. However, this year, his diary is already booked up – Prince William will be performing Best Man duties at his brother Prince Harry’s wedding! Here at Reach Cambridge, we’re fascinated by the tradition, pageantry and historical significance of the upcoming royal marriage. The ceremony will take place at St George’s Chapel in Windsor, host to a long line of royal weddings, and the final resting place of many monarchs, including the controversial Kings, Charles I and Henry VIII. Check back next week when we’ll have another blog all about it!