The 1981âÂÂ82 FA Cup was the 101st season of the world's oldest football knockout competition, The Football Association Challenge Cup, or FA Cup for short.
The competition culminated with the FA Cup Final, held at Wembley Stadium, London on 22 May 1982. The match was contested by two London clubs, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers, with Tottenham retaining the trophy with a 1âÂÂ0 victory in a replay after a 1âÂÂ1 draw in the first game.
Most participating clubs that were not members of the Football League competed in the qualifying rounds to secure one of 28 places available in the first round.
The winners from the fourth qualifying round were Blyth Spartans, Horden Colliery Welfare, Bishop Auckland, Workington, Penrith, Runcorn, Mossley, Nuneaton Borough, Stafford Rangers, Kettering Town, Willenhall Town, Harlow Town, Boston United, Wycombe Wanderers, Hendon, Bedford Town, Dagenham, Barnet, Dover, Barking, Hastings United, Leytonstone & Ilford, Weymouth, Bideford, Minehead, Taunton Town, Dorchester Town and Yeovil Town.
Penrith and Willenhall Town were the only qualifying clubs appearing in the competition proper for the first time. Of the others, Hastings United had not featured at this stage since 1960âÂÂ61, Dorchester Town since 1959-60, Horden Colliery Welfare since 1954-55 and Taunton Town since a predecessor club of the same name had successfully navigated the qualifying rounds in 1930-31.
The 48 teams from the Football League Third and Fourth Divisions entered in this round along with the 28 non-league clubs from the qualifying rounds and Altrincham, Bishop's Stortford, Sutton United and Enfield who were given byes. This round included six clubs from various competitions at Step 8 of the English football system: Blyth Spartans, Horden Colliery Welfare, Bishop Auckland and Penrith from the Northern League, Bideford from the Western League and Willenhall Town from the West Midlands (Regional) League.
The initial matches were played over the weekend of 20âÂÂ21 November 1981 with replays mainly staged on 23âÂÂ25 November.
The Second Round was intended to be played on 12 December 1981, although many were not played until 15 December or even 2 January or 9 January. Replays were played on various dates after these games. Step 8 clubs Bishop Auckland and Penrith were the lowest-ranked teams in the round.
Teams from the Football League First and Second Division entered in this round. The Third Round was intended to be played on 2 January 1982. However, some matched were played initially over the period 4âÂÂ6 January, while others took place as late as 23 January. Most replays took place over 18âÂÂ21 January. Enfield, Barnet and Altrincham from the Alliance Premier League at Step 5 of the English football system were the lowest-ranked teams in the round and the last non-league clubs left in the competition.
The Fourth Round was mainly played on 23 January 1982. Matches were played or replayed either on 26 January, or on 1 February. Fourth Division sides Blackpool and Hereford United were the lowest-ranked teams in the round.
The Fifth Round matches were all played on 13 February 1982. The only replay was played on 16 February. Third Division side Oxford United was the lowest-ranked team in the round and was the last club from the First Round left in the competition.
The sixth-round games were played on 6 March 1982. There were no replays.
The matches were both played on 3 April 1982. Tottenham and Queens Park Rangers were victorious and reached the FA Cup Final.
Referee:- Neil Midgley (Salford)
Referee:- Keith Hackett (Sheffield)
The final was held at Wembley Stadium on 22 May 1982. The replay was held on 27 May 1982.
The right to show FA Cup games were, as with Football League matches, shared between the BBC and ITV network. All games were shown in a highlights format, except the Final, which was shown live both on BBC1 & ITV. The BBC football highlights programme Match of the Day would show up to three games and the various ITV regional network stations would cover up to one game and show highlights from other games covered elsewhere on the ITV network. No games from the first or second round were covered. Highlights of replays would be shown on either the BBC or ITV.
This Season BBC Match Of The Day Highlights were back on Saturday nights while the ITV regional Highlights programmes were back on Sunday afternoons in the third season of the 4 year alternation deal