| 1921–22 FA Cup | |
| Country: | England Wales |
| Defending Champions: | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Winners: | Huddersfield Town |
| Second: | Preston North End |
| Prev Season: | 1920–21 |
| Next Season: | 1922–23 |
The 1921–22 FA Cup was the 47th season of the world's oldest association football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (more usually known as the FA Cup). Huddersfield Town won the competition, beating Preston North End 1–0 in the final at Stamford Bridge, London.
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. 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 at neutral venues 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.
The format of the FA Cup for the season had two preliminary rounds, six qualifying rounds, four proper rounds, and the semi-finals and final.
| Round | Date | |
|---|---|---|
| Extra preliminary round | Saturday 10 September 1921 | |
| Preliminary round | Saturday 24 September 1921 | |
| First round qualifying | Saturday 8 October 1921 | |
| Second round qualifying | Saturday 22 October 1921 | |
| Third round qualifying | Saturday 5 November 1921 | |
| Fourth round qualifying | Saturday 19 November 1921 | |
| Fifth round qualifying | Saturday 3 December 1921 | |
| Sixth round qualifying | Saturday 17 December 1921 | |
| First round proper | Saturday 7 January 1922 | |
| Second round proper | Saturday 28 January 1922 | |
| Third round proper | Saturday 18 February 1922 | |
| Fourth round proper | Saturday 4 March 1922 | |
| Semi-finals | Saturday 25 March 1922 | |
| Final | Saturday 29 April 1922 |
As generally expected, the Football League added another 20 teams to the Third Division this season and split that competition into separate North and South components. 18 of the new clubs joined Grimsby Town and the relegated Stockport County in the northern section, while Aberdare Athletic and Charlton Athletic joined those remaining (minus the promoted Crystal Palace) in the south. This significant expansion of the Football League meant that 31 of its clubs would be entering the FA Cup in the qualifying rounds.
In the end, the 11 League sides winning through to the first round proper from the sixth qualifying round were Darlington, Walsall, Newport County, Brentford, Norwich City, Gillingham, Southport, Ashington, Northampton Town, Swansea Town and Grimsby Town. Although they had entered the Cup sporadically since 1888–89, Ashington was appearing in the main competition for the first time.
The only non-league club to progress from the qualifiers was Worksop Town.
North Eastern League side Shildon was the most successful of the 328 clubs entered in the extra preliminary round this season. Enjoying victories over traditional powerhouse outfits from their region in Tow Law Town, Crook Town, Blyth Spartans and Bishop Auckland, the Railwaymen progressed to the sixth qualifying round before being knocked out of the tournament by Brentford.
The 12 qualifiers and 41 of 44 First and Second Division League clubs joined the competition in this round. First Division side Birmingham famously had their entry rejected after they failed to submit the relevant paperwork,[1] while Coventry City and Rotherham County from the Second Division were entered in the fifth qualifying round, but drawn against each other, with Coventry emerging victorious.
Of the Third South clubs, Aberdare Athletic and Charlton Athletic were entered in the extra preliminary round (although Charlton did not play), while nine sides (Brentford, Bristol Rovers, Exeter City, Gllingham, Merthyr Town, Newport County, Northampton Town, Norwich City and Swansea Town) were entered in the fifth qualifying round. The eleven others were given byes to the first round proper. These were:
Of the Third North clubs, Halifax Town and Wigan Borough took no part in the competition. Eight sides (Accrington Stanley, Ashington, Barrow, Chesterfield, Crewe Alexandra, Tranmere Rovers, Walsall and Wrexham) were entered in the fourth qualifying round with the rest joining in the fifth qualifying round.
32 matches were scheduled to be played on Saturday, 7 January 1922. Eleven matches were drawn and went to replays in the following midweek fixture, of which one went to another replay.
The 16 Second Round matches were played on Saturday, 28 January 1922. Five matches were drawn, with replays taking place in the following midweek fixture. One of these, the Bradford City–Notts County match, went to a second replay.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 0–1 | West Bromwich Albion | 28 January 1922 | |
| 2 | Preston North End | 3–1 | Newcastle United | 28 January 1922 | |
| 3 | Southampton | 1–1 | Cardiff City | 28 January 1922 | |
| Replay | Cardiff City | 2–0 | Southampton | 1 February 1922 | |
| 4 | Leicester City | 2–0 | Fulham | 28 January 1922 | |
| 5 | Nottingham Forest | 3–0 | Hull City | 28 January 1922 | |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 1–0 | Luton Town | 28 January 1922 | |
| 7 | Bolton Wanderers | 1–3 | Manchester City | 28 January 1922 | |
| 8 | Swindon Town | 0–1 | Blackburn Rovers | 28 January 1922 | |
| 9 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1–0 | Watford | 28 January 1922 | |
| 10 | Barnsley | 3–1 | Oldham Athletic | 28 January 1922 | |
| 11 | Northampton Town | 2–2 | Stoke | 28 January 1922 | |
| Replay | Stoke | 3–0 | Northampton Town | 1 February 1922 | |
| 12 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0–0 | Huddersfield Town | 28 January 1922 | |
| Replay | Huddersfield Town | 2–0 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 1 February 1922 | |
| 13 | Bradford City | 1–1 | Notts County | 28 January 1922 | |
| Replay | Notts County | 0–0 | Bradford City | 1 February 1922 | |
| Replay | Notts County | 1–0 | Bradford City | 6 February 1922 | |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 0–0 | Millwall | 28 January 1922 | |
| Replay | Millwall | 2–0 | Crystal Palace | 1 February 1922 | |
| 15 | Southend United | 0–1 | Swansea Town | 28 January 1922 | |
| 16 | Bradford Park Avenue | 2–3 | Arsenal | 28 January 1922 |
The eight Third Round matches were scheduled for Saturday, 18 February 1922. Four matches were drawn and went to replays in the following midweek fixture.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stoke | 0–0 | Aston Villa | 18 February 1922 | |
| Replay | Aston Villa | 4–0 | Stoke | 22 February 1922 | |
| 2 | Blackburn Rovers | 1–1 | Huddersfield Town | 18 February 1922 | |
| Replay | Huddersfield Town | 5–0 | Blackburn Rovers | 22 February 1922 | |
| 3 | West Bromwich Albion | 1–1 | Notts County | 18 February 1922 | |
| Replay | Notts County | 2–0 | West Bromwich Albion | 22 February 1922 | |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 2–1 | Manchester City | 18 February 1922 | |
| 5 | Barnsley | 1–1 | Preston North End | 18 February 1922 | |
| Replay | Preston North End | 3–0 | Barnsley | 22 February 1922 | |
| 6 | Millwall | 4–0 | Swansea Town | 18 February 1922 | |
| 7 | Cardiff City | 4–1 | Nottingham Forest | 18 February 1922 | |
| 8 | Arsenal | 3–0 | Leicester City | 18 February 1922 |
The four Fourth round matches were scheduled for Saturday, 4 March 1922. There were three replays, each played in the following midweek fixture.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Notts County | 2–2 | Aston Villa | 4 March 1922 | |
| Replay | Aston Villa | 3–4 | Notts County | 8 March 1922 | |
| 2 | Huddersfield Town | 3–0 | Millwall | 4 March 1922 | |
| 3 | Cardiff City | 1–1 | Tottenham Hotspur | 4 March 1922 | |
| Replay | Tottenham Hotspur | 2–1 | Cardiff City | 8 March 1922 | |
| 4 | Arsenal | 1–1 | Preston North End | 4 March 1922 | |
| Replay | Preston North End | 2–1 | Arsenal | 8 March 1922 |
The semi-final matches were played on Saturday, 25 March 1922. The matches ended in victories for Preston North End and Huddersfield Town, who went on to meet in the final at Wembley.
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See main article: 1922 FA Cup Final.
The Final was contested by Huddersfield Town and Preston North End at Stamford Bridge. Huddersfield won by a single goal, a penalty scored by Billy Smith.