From 1981 to 1986 it was known as The Milk Cup, for the next four years (1987 to 1990) the trophy was The Littlewoods Challenge Cup. Rumbelows took over sponsorship for two years, with Coca Cola and the The Coca Cola Cup running from 1993 to 1998. Another drinks firm took over in 1999 to 2003 with the Worthinghton Cup. From 2004 the football league cup has been known as The Carling Cup.

This was 43rd League cup final and it was also the final year of Worthington's sponsorship, the final was contested between Liverpool and Manchester United, Liverpool won 2-0 with goals from Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen, the final was played at the Millenium Stadium Cardiff as Wembley Stadium was still undergoing reconstruction.

This article refers to the ultra-rare football programme from the final of 2003.

The Programme was printed for the final possibly about 35,000 and were all ready for the big day when somebody spotted a spelling mistake on the front cover, at the very top of the Football programme it had printed OFFICAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME, notice the 1st word is incorrectly spelt.

So rather than destroy all of them and do a new print-run, the Football Authorities decided to keep the ones printed and sell them in usual manner to the General Public, but for the VIPs and dignitaries they had a small print run of  2,000 done but this time at the top of the Football Programme OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME was printed.

Most dealers and adverts for this cup final football programme is for the one with the incorrect spelling  and can easily be picked up for around a fiver, but the programmes with the correct spelling are a rarity and rarely appear anywhere, including eBay.

02/03/2003 Football League Cup Final: Liverpool v Manchester United [At Millenni £5.99

02/03/2003 Football League Cup Final: Liverpool v Manchester United [At Milleniu £4.99

LIVERPOOL v. MANCHESTER UNITED FLC Final 2003 £3.00 (0 Bids) 5h 7m

League Cup Worthington Cup Final 2003 Liverpool Manchester United MINT £4.40 (0 Bids) 7h 33m

* 2003 WORTHINGTON CUP FINAL - LIVERPOOL v MAN UTD * £4.99

2003 League Cup Final Liverpool v Manchester Utd £8.00

LIVERPOOL V MAN UTD (2003 LEAGUE CUP FINAL) @ CARDIFF £5.99 (0 Bids) 2d 5h 46m

LEAGUE CUP FINAL PROGRAMME 2003: Liverpool v Man Utd £4.89

2003 LEAGUE CUP FINAL PROGRAMME, LIVERPOOL V MAN UNITED £6.99

2003 LEAGUE CUP FINAL LIVERPOOL V MANCHESTER UNITED £4.75

2003 LIVERPOOL MANCHESTER WORTHINGTON FINAL PROGRAMME £4.99

WORTHINGTON CUP 2003 (LIVERPOOL VS MAN UTD) CUP FINAL PROGRAMME & WALLET - NEW £2.75

02/03/2003 Football League Cup Final: Liverpool v Manch £4.99

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Facts and Figures surrounding the FA Cup Final

1892 : 1st FA Cup Final when goal nets were used.
1901 : First time the final was filmed by Pathe News.
1903 : Bury 6 Derby County 0 Highest Scoreline in a final.
1922 : James Mitchell (Preston) first and only player to wear spectacles in a final, he was the Preston Goalkeeper.
1924 : Billy Jonathan Hyde Hampson (Newcastle United) is the oldest player in a FA Cup Final.
1927 : First broadcast by BBC radio
1933 : The first cup final where players wore numbers for identification.
1937 : First televised Cup Final.
1946 and 1947 : The ball burst during the game, Charlton Athletic was involved in both games, the reason given was the poor quality of leather that was available after the end of the Second World War.
1952 : Newcastle became the first club to win the FA Cup in consecutive years (1951 + 1952)
1953 : The first football match that was attended by a reigning monarch.
1965 : The first FA Cup Final to feature a black player Albert Johanneson (Leeds United)
1965 : Albert Johanneson (leeds United) was the first black football player to play in a FA Cup Final.
1966 : Mike Trebilcock (Everton) was the first black player to score in an FA Cup final
1968 : The first substitute to be used in an FA Cup final was Dennis Clarke for West Bromwich Albion.
1968 : First time the FA Cup Final was televised in colour.
1985 : Norman Whiteside (Manchester United) was the youngest player to score in an FA Cup final at 17 years 265 days.
1985 : The first player to be sent off in an FA Cup final was Manchester United's Kevin Moran.
1988 : Dave Beasant was the first goalkeeper to captain an FA Cup winning side.(Wimbledon)
1990 : Crystal Palace team was the last all-English team to play in an FA Cup final.
1993 : Last time a FA Cup Final went to a replay from 1999 all FA Cup finals would be decided on the day, extra-time then if still level a penalty shoot-out.
1993 : Sheffield Wednesday’s Viv Anderson became first black player to captain an FA Cup Final side.
1993 : The first time both managers collected their medals at the same time as the players.
2010 : David James (Portsmouth) become the oldest goalkeeper and oldest Captain to play in a FA Cup Final.
2010 : First time both teams missed a penalty.
2010 : Ashley Cole wins the FA Cup for a record sixth time. (Arsenal 2002,2003,2005) (Chelsea 2007,2009,2010)
2012 : It will be the first FA Cup Final under floodlights at Wembley Stadium in almost 20 years – the last being Arsenal’s replay win over Sheffield Wednesday in 1993, It is the first time the final has been moved away from its traditional 3pm slot since the new Wembley opened its doors in 2007.

Quickest Goal

2009 Louis Saha (Everton) Vs Chelsea 25 Seconds
1997 Roberto Di Matteo (Chelsea) Vs Middlesbrough 42 Seconds
1955 Jackie Milburn (Newcastle United) Vs Manchester City

Youngest Player

2004 - Curtis Weston (Millwall) became the youngest player at 17 years 119 days : came on at the 89th minute mark.
2008 - Aaron Ramsey (Cardiff City) became the second youngest player, at 17 years and 143 days : Came on at the 60th minute.
1879 - James F. M. Prinsep (Clapham Rovers) held the record for 125 years as the youngest ever player to play ina FA Cup at the age of 17 years and 245 days.

Penalties in the FA Cup Finals

Saved or Missed : Excluding Penalty Shoot-outs

Depending how you see this, some will say the goalie saved it or others will say the penalty taker missed it, We list it as a Saved when stopped by the Goalkeeper and as a miss when the ball is sent too high or too wide.

1913 : Penalty Taker - Charlie Wallace (Aston Villa) Goalkeeper - Joe Butler (Sunderland) - Missed

1988 : Penalty Taker - John Aldridge (Liverpool) Goalkeeper - Dave Beasant (Wimbledon) - Saved

1991 : Penalty Taker - Gary Lineker (Tottenham) Goalkeeper - Gary Crossley (Nottingham Forest) - Saved

2010 Penalty Taker - Kevin-Prince Boateng (Portsmouth) Goalkeeper - Petr ?ech - Saved

2010 Penalty Taker - Frank Lampard Goalkeeper David James (Portsmouth) - Missed

Penalties Scored

2004 Penalty Taker - Ruud Van Nistleroy (Manchester United) Goalkeeper - Andy Marshall (Millwall)
1994 Penalty Taker - Eric Cantona (Manchester United) Goalkeeper - Dmitri Kharine (Chelsea) - 60th minute
1994 Penalty Taker - Eric Cantona (Manchester United) Goalkeeper - Dmitri Kharine (Chelsea) - 66th minute
1983 Penalty Taker - Arnold Muhren (Manchester United) Goalkeeper - Graham Moseley (Brighton)
1982 Penalty Taker - Glen Hoddle (tottenham Hotsour) Goalkeeper - Peter Hucker (Queens Park Rangers)
1981 Penalty Taker - Kevin Reeves (Manchester City) Goalkeeper - Milija Aleksic (Tottenham Hotspur)
1962 Penalty Taker - Danny Blanchflower (Tottenham) Goalkeeper - Adam Blacklaw (Burnley)
1954 Penalty Taker - Ronnie Allen (West Bromwich) Goalkeeper - George Thompson (Preston)
1948 Penalty Taker - George Shimwell (Blackpool) Goalkeeper - Jack Compton (Manchester United)
1938 Penalty Taker - George Mutch (Preston) Goalkeeper - Bob Hesford (huddersfield Town)
1922 Penalty Taker - Billy Smith (Huddersfield Town) Goalkeeper - James Mitchell  (Preston)
1910 Penalty taker - Albert Shepherd (Newcastle United) Goalkeeper - Fred Mearns (Barnsley)

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Football Programmes sold at Auction

Top Prices for Football Programmes Auction

May 2012 : A new world record has been set for the sale of a Football Programme. The programme in question was for the 1909 FA Cup Final contested between Manchester United and Bristol City, it was sold on May 15th 2012 for £23,500 at Sotheby's by Graham Budd Auctions, the previous record for a football programmes stood at £21,850, the sum paid at Graham Budd Auctions in London, in May 2006, for an 1889 Wolves vs Preston single sheet FA Cup Final.

Oct 2011 : Fairs Cup 1st Round 1964 : Valerengens IF (Norway) Vs Everton Sold for £720.
Oct 2011 : Original 1938 World Cup football programmes : Sold for £1,750.
Jun 2011 : Original 1925 Charity Shield football programmes : Amateur Vs Professional Sold for £1,600.
Feb 2011 : Sold for £1,171 Manchester United v Portsmouth 1946/7 Match NO. 13 POSTPONED

Sold for £2,200 1938 World Cup Programme.

Sept 2010 : The 1927 FA Cup Final between Cardiff City and Arsenal has been in the auctions, first on eBay one copy was sold for £1321 and another just days later sold for £1350.

1938 International Football Programme between Germany and England sold for £830 at auction, one other highlight from this month was a 1937 Division 3 football programmes for the match Exeter City Versus Oldham sold for £411

May 2010 : Quite a few football programmes between foreign teams have been sold recently, an area we do usually cover here, but to give you an idea of the interest we have listed some,

Toulouse against -Spartak Moscow 1986-1987 : 25 bids : Sold £1020.
Spartacus (Norway) - ZDSA Moscow 1955: 25 bids : £870
Benfica - Dnepr USSR 1989-90 : 12 Bids : £623
PRG Club Brugge - Spartak Moscow 1985 : 21 Bids : £620
PRG CLUB BRUGGE v. SPARTAK MOSCOW UEFA 1985

Again the football programmes from a Manchester United postponed has been in great demand, this one was for their home match against Norwich City scheduled for 2nd December 1978, it sold for £253.

March 2010 : Another postponed match football programmes has fetched £696 on eBay, the game was Manchester United Vs Bristol City, which was due to be played on 11th December1976.

It is not always cup finals that attract a high number of bidders at a auction, a friendly fixture in 1975 between Rosenborg and Ipswich attracted bids to a total selling price of £296 and recently a football programme for a postponed match in 1973 for a game between Manchester City and Manchester United was that popular that it was sold for £365.

Due to the the interest for football programmes from postponed, we've now set up its own dedicated page at Postponed Football Programmes

Two copies of the 1921 FA Cup Final football programmes between Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers were sold at two different auctions in July 2009 both for a similar price. One was sold on eBay for £1,140, while the other was sold at a specialised auction by Mullock & co. for £1,000. FA Cup Final football programmes are always in demand by collectors and investors alike.

In May a 1902 Sheffield United v Southampton FA Cup final football programmes was sold for £9,400

Graham Budd Auctions recently held an auction of football and sporting memorabilia, under the football programme section some of the highlights included a 1920 England Vs Wales programme that fetched £3000 also for the same price was the programme for Wembley's first international with England contesting against Scotland in 1924. The 1902 FA Cup Final football programme between Southampton and Sheffield United, was actually a match card but nevertheless it fetched £8,000.

A single sheet football programmes, from the first season of the Football League September 22, 1888 which covered the match of Notts County (second ever league game), against Stoke( third ever league match) was sold at auction by Bonhams in February for £8.760.

The ''Munich Air disaster'' which happened in 1957, when Manchester United were returning from Red Star Belgrade, whom they were playing in the European Cup, recently a Football Programme from the match was sold on a eBay auction (September 2008) for £2,750, though in April 2011, one wa sold for £2,300. This is extremely rare programme and is well sought after by many collectors and investors alike.

Football Programmes Prices at Auction

Away from football programmes on eBay, during November 2008 at a Northampton auction a 1924 FA Cup Final between Aston Villa and Newcastle fetched £5,750, while at the same time a 1927 FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Cardiff realised £1,712. Above on eBay a copy of the 1962 League Cup Final went for £1464 whereas at this auction it went for £1826.

A recent auction (September 2008) held in Norfolk by auctioneers Keys a 1910 FA Cup Final programmes went under the hammer for £3,000.
Keys Auctioneers, of Norfolk, said the owner did not realise he had the item until it fell out of an old book.
"Most old football programmes we see are in rather poor condition, but this one has nothing more than a slight crease - and the owner didn't even know he had it."

The ''Munich Air disaster'' happened in 1957, when Manchester United were returning from Red Star Belgrade, whom they were playing in the European Cup, recently a Football Programme from the match was sold at auction (September 2008) for £2,750 again football programmes that were for a match of some significant are quite collectable football programmes.

Use the search box below to find the exact Football Programme that you are looking for:

Click inside the box, enter the team or teams name, you can also enter the year to refine your search even more and then hit search.

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From 1981 to 1986 it was known as The Milk Cup, for the next four years (1987 to 1990) the trophy was The Littlewoods Challenge Cup. Rumbelows took over sponsorship for two years, with Coca Cola and the The Coca Cola Cup running from 1993 to 1998. Another drinks firm took over in 1999 to 2003 with the Worthinghton Cup. From 2004 the football league cup has been known as The Carling Cup.

During the late fifties, most of the top clubs had installed floodlights so this new competition was intended for ALL matches to be played mid-week under floodlights.However, some 3pm kick-offs were needed since not all clubs had floodlights in 1960. As not all clubs were in favour of this new competition only 87 teams entered in its first season.

It wasn't until the 1966/67 season that the final was played at Wembley, prior to this the final was a two-legged affair. The first final was between Aston Villa and Rotherham and was not played until the start of the following season. The 1961/62 season saw Norwich City play Rochdale. The first leg was played at Rochdale and just 11,123 spectators turned up and saw Norwich win 3-0. With such a commanding lead, in the return fixture at Norwich an attendance of 19,708 saw Norwich win 1-0 and an aggregate score of 4-0 to pick up the trophy.

The football programme for the first leg at Rochdale in June 2009 fetched £1,425 on an eBay auction. Many collectors regard this as one of the hardest to find programme from the modern era.

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Paul Hill from Lichfield, just an ordinary collector has in his collection over 40,000 football programmes, the oldest being a Sheffield United reserve programme from 1899. His collection even prompted the local paper to run an article about his collection, the full article can be found at the Express and Star website web site. It also contains a short video of Paul explaining about his huge collection. Like many of us he began his collection at a young age when he was given a box full of football programmes.

PAUL SIMONON of The Clash had a collection of Football Programmes, in the new book that will be published on October 6th with members of ''The Clash'' telling their stories of how it all started Paul Simonon wrote this extract for the book :---

My father lived just off the Portobello Road. When I arrived we sat down and went through my belongings. He pulled out all my precious football programmes, ripped them in half, threw them in the bin and said: We are not having any of that rubbish in this house!.

Paul Heaton - of The Housemartins and The Beautiful South. has a obsession with football which has manifested itself through his collection of jerseys, badges, scarves, and FA Cup football programmes from the 1950s onwards.His most unusual item in Paul's collection is a Fiorentina kit with swastikas on it, he says. That was supposed to be an accident but Fiorentina had a history of connections with fascism. Such is the size of his collection that Paul has run out of space to store everything.

Paul has just moved to a smaller house and has run out of space for his collection so he might donate it all to the football museum in Preston.

So how many other famous people share the same passion as us.

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