These were mainly in the industrial north of England. At first, the FA opposed professionalism but eventually had to agree. Professionalism entered English football in 1885. The Scottish team Queen's Park played in two finals in the mid 1880s before Scotland set up its own version of the FA Cup. The FA Cup is a knockout with teams drawn to play each other once at random.
Home advantage is determined by the first team of a pair to be drawn.
The semifinal and final are played on neutral grounds. A defeat puts a club out of that season's tournament. Between 1876 and 1878 Wanderers won the FA Cup three seasons running. Their 1878 win was a record 5th. Blackburn Rovers also won the FA Cup for three consecutive years between 1884 and 1886.