The FA Cup trophy of the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, arrived in Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat airport on Friday and will be on display till the end of this month under the auspices of trademarked Big Cola.

Former English football international and Liverpool defender Steve McMahom escorted the trophy to Vietnam. He and his entourage toured Ho Chi Minh City’s streets today morning before displaying it at Hung Vuong Parkson commercial center in district 5.

It will be there till March 28 when it will be taken to Hanoi for display till March 31.

The arrival of the trophy follows an agreement signed on January 29 between the Football Association of England (FA) and the Vietnam Football Federation.

A report by the FA shows that matches of the 140-year-old league, the oldest domestic football competition in the world, have been broadcast in 160 nations and territories in the world, with over 1.4 billion spectators. Of which, Asia-Pacific plays the biggest market with over 544 viewers of the games.

The FA league

The FA Cup was first held in 1871–72. It involves clubs of all standards playing against each other, including "minnows" from lower divisions and giants from the English Premier League.

The holders of the FA Cup are Chelsea, who beat Portsmouth in the 2010 final to complete an FA Cup and League Double. But Manchester United is the biggest winner of the league with 11 titles in its history.

The number of the league’s entrants has increased greatly in recent years. In the 2004–05 season, 660 clubs entered the competition, beating the long-standing record of 656 from the 1921–22 season.

In 2005–06 this increased to 674 entrants, in 2006–07 to 687, in 2007–08 to 731 clubs, and for the 2008–09 and 2009–10 competitions it reached 762.

An eventful cup

The first FA Cup trophy, the 'little tin idol', was used from the inception of the Cup in 1871–72 until it was stolen while held by Aston Villa in 1895, and was never seen again. The FA fined Villa £25 (US$32) to pay for a replacement.

Almost 60 years later, the thief admitted that the cup had been melted down to make counterfeit half-crown coins.

The second trophy was a replica of the first, and was last used in 1910 before being presented to the FA's long-serving president Lord Kinnaird. It was sold at Christie's on 19 May 2005 for £420,000 ($675,500) to David Gold, the joint chairman of West Ham United FC.

A new, larger, trophy was bought by the FA in 1911 designed and manufactured by Fattorini's of Bradford and won by Bradford City in its first outing.

This trophy still exists but is now too fragile to be used, so an exact replica was made and has been in use since the 1992 final.

Source: Tuoi Tre