There are many trophies that clubs who compete in the English football leagues would like to win. Of all of these the one most wanted is the FA Cup also known as the Football Association Challenge Cup. The reason for this being is that teams from every English Football league is eligible to compete for it. But so that they can they must first have competed in the previous football seasons over competitions including the FA Cup, The FA Trophy or the FA Vase. 
Yet along with these clubs showing that they have competed in the tournaments we mention above their ground must be a suitable one where matches can be played. It is important to remember that many of the smaller clubs may have to compete at teams in the English Premier League such as Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United.
Yet along with English clubs being entitled to compete for the FA Cup there are a few clubs that make up the League of Wales are able to enter as well. The reason for this is that this Football League only comprises six teams, namely Merthyr Tydfil, Newport Country, Wrexham, Colwyn Bay, Cardiff City and Swansea City.
The number of clubs that now are eligible to enter this competition has increased dramatically in recent years. When the FA Cup knock out stages took place during the 2004-2005 season a total of 660 clubs were able to enter it. However, when the 2008-2009 season begun the numbers of teams eligible to compete in this particular football tournament had gone up to 762. This is the only tournament that offers all clubs in English and Welsh Football to compete. Whereas with the League Cup only a total of 92 clubs from the Premier League and other English Leagues are able to compete for this particular trophy.
Each year at the end of the season the FA Cup final is played and the winner of the game will be awarded the trophy and it is now in its fourth incarnation. The first trophy known as the “little tin idol” was stolen from the window of a Shoe Store in Birmingham, where Aston Villas the holders of it had allowed it be displayed. As a result the club was fined £25 for failing to take care of the trophy and the money was used to have a replacement made. Eventually 60 years after it disappeared the person who stole it admitted to the theft and said that it was melted down so that they could make counterfeit half crowns with it.
The trophy that was made to replace the original one was used up until 1910 when it was presented to Lord Kinnaird as a gift for his role as being the FA’s president. The family of Lord Kinnaird retained it until May 2005 when it went up for auction at Christies and David Gold of Birmingham City Football Club purchased it for £420,000. Today this particular trophy can be viewed at the National Football Museum which is located at Preston North End’s Deepdale Stadium.
After the second FA Cup was presented to Lord Kinnaird the Football Association a new one needed to be designed and manufactured. This task was given to Fattorini’s of Bradford in 1911 and the first club to receive it was Bradford City. So in fact the distance it had to travel was relatively short. This trophy is still in existence but over the years has become more fragile and is not the one that is now presented to winners of this competition.
The trophy which is now presented to the football club that wins this particular competition is an exact replica of the one made by Fattorini’s in 1911. This one along with a back up has been made by Toye, Kenning and Spencer and has been in use and presented to the winners of the FA Cup competition since 1992. The backup version is purely there to be used should the fourth one be stolen, destroyed, lost or damaged.