England · Open Knockout
FA Cup
In US-sports termsMarch Madness for the entire country — 700+ teams, single elimination, and a village pub team can theoretically draw Manchester United.
What it is
The oldest cup competition on Earth (1871). Straight knockout, single elimination, no seeding, replays mostly gone. Final at Wembley in May.
How you get in
Radically open: 700+ clubs from ten levels of the pyramid. Village semi-pros enter in August; Premier League clubs parachute in during the January third round. This openness is where 'giant-killing' and 'the magic of the cup' come from.
What it feeds
Winner → Europa League. Winner also plays the league champion in the Community Shield. If the winner already qualified for Europe via the league, the ticket cascades down the Premier League table.
Coventry won this in 1987 — the club's crown jewel — and got zero European football for it, because English clubs were banned from Europe after Heysel (1985–90). Cruelest timing in club history.