| 1981–82 FA Cup | |
| Country: | |
| Defending Champions: | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Winners: | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Second: | Queens Park Rangers |
| Prev Season: | 1980–81 |
| Next Season: | 1982–83 |
The 1981–82 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 1–0 victory in a replay after a 1–1 draw in the first game.
For information on the matches played from the preliminary round to the fourth round qualifying, see the FA website.
Teams from the Football League Third and Fourth Division entered in this round plus Altrincham, Bishop's Stortford, Sutton United and Enfield were given byes. The first round of games were played over the weekend 20–21 November 1981. Replays were played mainly on 23–25 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.
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 4–6 January, while others took place as late as 23 January. Most replays took place over 18–21 January.
The Fourth Round was mainly played on 23 January 1982. Matches were played or replayed either on 26 January, or on 1 February.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blackpool | 0–0 | Queens Park Rangers | 23 January 1982 | |
| Replay | Queens Park Rangers | 5–1 | Blackpool | 26 January 1982 | |
| 2 | Bristol City | 0–1 | Aston Villa | 23 January 1982 | |
| 3 | Watford | 2–0 | West Ham United | 23 January 1982 | |
| 4 | Gillingham | 0–1 | West Bromwich Albion | 23 January 1982 | |
| 5 | Sunderland | 0–3 | Liverpool | 23 January 1982 | |
| 6 | Luton Town | 0–3 | Ipswich Town | 23 January 1982 | |
| 7 | Shrewsbury Town | 1–0 | Burnley | 23 January 1982 | |
| 8 | Newcastle United | 1–2 | Grimsby Town | 23 January 1982 | |
| 9 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1–0 | Leeds United | 23 January 1982 | |
| 10 | Manchester City | 1–3 | Coventry City | 23 January 1982 | |
| 11 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0–3 | Oxford United | 23 January 1982 | |
| 12 | Norwich City | 2–1 | Doncaster Rovers | 23 January 1982 | |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 1–0 | Bolton Wanderers | 23 January 1982 | |
| 14 | Chelsea | 0–0 | Wrexham | 23 January 1982 | |
| Replay | Wrexham | 1–1 | Chelsea | 26 January 1982 | |
| Replay | Wrexham | 1–2 | Chelsea | 1 February 1982 | |
| 15 | Huddersfield Town | 1–1 | Orient | 26 January 1982 | |
| Replay | Orient | 2–0 | Huddersfield Town | 1 February 1982 | |
| 16 | Hereford United | 0–1 | Leicester City | 23 January 1982 |
The Fifth Round matches were all played on 13 February 1982. The only replay was played on 16 February.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leicester City | 2–0 | Watford | 13 February 1982 | |
| 2 | West Bromwich Albion | 1–0 | Norwich City | 13 February 1982 | |
| 3 | Shrewsbury Town | 2–1 | Ipswich Town | 13 February 1982 | |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1–0 | Aston Villa | 13 February 1982 | |
| 5 | Queens Park Rangers | 3–1 | Grimsby Town | 13 February 1982 | |
| 6 | Coventry City | 4–0 | Oxford United | 13 February 1982 | |
| 7 | Crystal Palace | 0–0 | Orient | 13 February 1982 | |
| Replay | Orient | 0–1 | Crystal Palace | 16 February 1982 | |
| 8 | Chelsea | 2–0 | Liverpool | 13 February 1982 |
The sixth-round games were played on 6 March 1982. There were no replays.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leicester City | 5–2 | Shrewsbury Town | 6 March 1982 | |
| 2 | West Bromwich Albion | 2–0 | Coventry City | 6 March 1982 | |
| 3 | Queens Park Rangers | 1–0 | Crystal Palace | 6 March 1982 | |
| 4 | Chelsea | 2–3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 6 March 1982 |
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