The Women’s Super League’s top-two sides square off on Sunday afternoon as Chelsea and Arsenal meet in the delayed 50th Women’s FA Cup final.
Due to Covid-19, last season's competition was postponed into the new campaign with the second round being delayed from January 4th to April 4th 2021 and the quarter-finals taking place after the start of the 2021/22 season.
The game marks 100 years to the day since the Football Association decided football was "quite unsuitable for females" and outlawed the women’s game - a ban that lasted for half a century, despite the fact that at the end of the First World War matches had attracted crowds of more than 50,000 spectators.
Given the historic landmark, we’ve been treated to a titanic tussle for English football’s most celebrated domestic trophy. WSL table-toppers Arsenal, who are by far the most successful side in this competition with 15 wins, have been simply scintillating this season and are currently unbeaten after eight league games, having scored 26 and conceded just three.
The Blues sit just a solitary point below Jonas Eidevall’s Gunners and their only defeat this season came at the hands of this weekend’s opponents on the opening day of the season. Should Emma Hayes’ emerge victorious, they would clinch a domestic treble from a sublime 2020/21 campaign that also saw them clench the WSL title and League Cup, as well as reach a Champion League final in May. Hayes can also become the first female manager to win three FA Cups, having led her side to glory against Notts County in 2015 and Arsenal in 2018.
Where: Wembley Stadium
When: Sunday, 2pm
How To Watch: BBC One, BT Sport 1
What They Say:
Chelsea manager Emma Hayes:
“It will be a great final with two great teams and quality on show. It’s a great venue and, of course, I want to win but this game is about something much bigger.
“This is great for those who have been involved in the women’s game from the onset. This is the showpiece event. It’s two fabulous teams vying to win, but the FA Cup is about the history and it’s about making more history.”
Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall:
“I think when we look back to where we were at before that game [season opener vs Chelsea] and during that game, I think we have developed drastically and we have much, much more maturity and have lived through a lot of experience and have learned from that.
“Both in defence and in offence I think we have developed – and so have Chelsea, though. I’m excited and looking forward to the game.”
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