document_title: History of the New Orleans Saints

question_text: who owned the new orleans saints before tom benson

question_tokens: who owned the new orleans saints before tom benson

text: History of the New Orleans Saints

text: 1960s: Beginnings[edit]

text: The city of New Orleans was awarded an NFL franchise on November 1, 1966, thanks to a combination of local activism (most notably by David Dixon and by members of the local media, such as New Orleans States-Item sports editor Crozet Duplantier) and political force (Senator Russell Long and Congressman Hale Boggs, who made approval of the NFL-AFL merger conditional on the awarding of a franchise to New Orleans).

text: In December, oilman John W. Mecom, Jr. became the majority shareholder and thus president of the team; later that month, Tom Fears was named head coach. The team was named "Saints" due to its birthday on the Roman Catholic Church's All Saints Day—a fitting nickname for a team in the largely Catholic New Orleans area. The name was announced on January 9, 1967. The team's original stadium was Tulane Stadium, which could seat more than 80,000 fans. The team was placed in the Capitol Division of the NFL's Eastern Conference; their division foes were the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, and Washington Redskins. The team started off well, with a 5–1 preseason record; then, on the first play of the 1967 regular season, wide receiver John Gilliam returned the opening kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown. However, this was not enough for the Saints, and they lost their regular season opener to the Los Angeles Rams, 13–27. Their first win came on November 5 as they defeated the Eagles 31–24. That would be one of the Saints' only triumphs in their inaugural campaign; they ended the season 3–11, the second-worst mark in the league and 3 1/2 games behind Washington in the divisional race. At the time, however, the Saints' three wins tied for the most ever for an expansion team's inaugural season.

text: Their next few seasons continued along similar lines. They improved slightly in 1968, putting up a 4–9–1 record as they competed in the Century Division against the Cleveland Browns, St. Louis Cardinals, and Pittsburgh Steelers; in 1969, they returned to the Capitol Division (featuring the same division opponents as 1967) and managed to go 5–9.

text: The 1970 season saw yet another realignment for the Saints due to the AFL–NFL merger. The Saints were placed in the NFC West, where they would remain through 2001. Their original NFC West competitors – the Atlanta Falcons, Los Angeles (and later, St. Louis) Rams, and San Francisco 49ers – would also remain in the division through 2001 (with the Carolina Panthers joining in 1995), leading to the development of long-standing rivalries.

text: The season started off poorly for the Saints. After going 1-5-1 in the first seven games, Fears was fired and replaced by J.D. Roberts on November 3. In Roberts' first game as coach, New Orleans trailed the Detroit Lions 17-16 with time winding down, but Tom Dempsey kicked an NFL-record 63-yard field goal as time expired to win the game. The record would stand through 2013 (43 years later), when Matt Prater of the Denver Broncos broke it with a 64-yard field goal. Dempsey's achievement is made all the more remarkable by the fact that he was born without toes on his right foot (which he kicked with). This Saints victory, however, would be the last for the season; they lost their last six games to finish 2-11-1, the worst record in the young history of the franchise.

text: In the 1971 NFL Draft, the Saints owned the second overall pick behind the Boston Patriots. Deciding that a franchise quarterback was necessary, they selected Archie Manning out of Mississippi. In the season opener, Manning did not disappoint; he passed for 218 yards and a touchdown and ran in another touchdown on the final play to give the Saints a 24-20 win over the Rams. Four weeks later, Manning engineered a 24-14 upset of the Dallas Cowboys, the same team who would return to Tulane Stadium three months later and win Super Bowl VI over the Miami Dolphins. Throughout the season, Manning split the quarterbacking duties with veteran Edd Hargett. Manning ended the season with six passing touchdowns and four rushing touchdowns; he did well enough to become the team's undisputed starter the next season. Despite the promise Manning showed, the Saints' misfortunes continued as they finished 4-8-2.

text: In 1972, the Saints started 0-5 and finished 2-11-1. During the 1973 preseason, the Saints fired Roberts and hired John North, who led the Saints to consecutive 5-9 seasons in 1973 and 1974.

text: In 1975, the Saints moved from Tulane Stadium into the Louisiana Superdome. Despite the new home, they went just 2-12; North was fired after six games, and Ernie Hefferle was named interim head coach for the final eight games of the season.

text: For the 1976 season, Hank Stram was hired as head coach; he came with a proven track record (three AFL titles, one Super Bowl win) from his years with the Kansas City Chiefs (formerly the Dallas Texans). However, his talents proved ineffective in his first season, as the Saints went 4-10; Manning sat out the entire season after undergoing elbow surgery just after Stram's hiring, forcing the quarterback duties to be split by backup Bobby Scott and Chicago Bears castoff Bobby Douglass. 1977 was not much better as the Saints went 3-11, including a humiliating 33-14 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on December 11, the Buccaneers' first victory in the NFL after 26 consecutive losses.

text: In 1978, Stram was replaced by Dick Nolan. The season saw an improvement in the Saints' fortunes; Manning had the best season of his career up to that point, passing for 3,416 yards and 17 touchdowns. He was named to the NFC Pro Bowl squad for the first time and was also named the NFC's Most Valuable Player by The Sporting News and UPI. The Saints put together a record of 7-9, their best ever mark. The Saints might have made the playoffs had it not had been for a pair of losses to the Atlanta Falcons, where the Falcons used the "Big Ben" play to score the winning touchdown in the final seconds of each contest, as well as a last-minute loss to the eventual Super Bowl XIII champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

text: In 1979, the Saints built on the success of the previous year. After an 0-3 start (including a 40-34 overtime loss to the Falcons on opening day), the Saints won five of their next six games to take sole possession of the NFC West lead after nine games. The Saints were 7-6 heading into a Monday night game with the Oakland Raiders; their rivals for the NFC West title, the Rams, were 8-6. The Saints jumped out to a 35-14 lead and seemed certain to gain a share of first place with their win. But the Saints blew the lead and lost 42-35. The next week, they were blown out 35-0 at the Superdome by the San Diego Chargers, ending their playoff hopes. The Saints, however, did manage to beat the Super Bowl-bound Rams (playing their last game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum) in the final game of the regular season. This gave them an 8-8 record, the first non-losing season in team history. It was also the first time that the Saints finished higher than third place in their division.

text: In 1980, the Saints had high hopes after their two relatively successful seasons. Instead, the bottom fell out, where, despite a strong offense, their defense was almost nonexistent. The team started 0-12, and Dick Nolan was fired; he was replaced by Dick Stanfel, who lost two games (including one in San Francisco where the Saints blew a 28-point lead). They managed to win against the New York Jets, who finished with the league's second worst record at 4-12, by a point. This game was also noteworthy for an episode where Archie Manning was signing autographs after the game. A boy ran up to him and stole his (unfastened) necktie, after which he was fined for violating the NFL's dress code. The Saints then lost their last game of the season to the New England Patriots to finish 1-15, the worst mark in team history and (at the time) the worst for a 16-game schedule, since eclipsed by the 2008 Detroit Lions (0-16). A local journalist and radio/TV personality, Buddy Diliberto, wore a paper grocery bag over his head to promote the brown bag special of Sonic, the Saint's sponsor at the time. Many fans took to wearing bags over their heads when attending games. The moniker "Aints" was also born due to the ineptitude of the 1980 Saints.

text: In 1981, ex-Houston Oilers head coach Bum Phillips was put in charge. The dismal 1980 season meant that the Saints would get the first pick in the 1981 NFL Draft. They selected Heisman-winning running back George Rogers out of South Carolina. Rogers was the team's workhorse, playing in all but one game and averaging more than 25 carries a game. He ran for a total of 1,674 yards, making him the NFL rushing champion. However, his fine performances were not enough to make the Saints a winning club. They finished the season 4-12, but two of those wins came over the Rams, New Orleans' first regular-season sweep of the Rams since the two teams were placed in the NFC West by the AFL–NFL merger in 1970.

text: In 1982, the Saints signed former Oakland Raiders and Houston Oilers quarterback Ken Stabler and traded Archie Manning to the Oilers. Two games into the season, the Saints were 1-1, but a players' strike led to the cancellation of seven games. When the season resumed, the Saints won two games in a row to take their record to 3-1, but they lost four games in a row before winning their last game. They finished 4-5, but missed out on qualifying for the playoffs (expanded to 16 teams due to the strike) on a tiebreaker.

text: 1983 saw the Saints improve on the previous season once again. They hovered at or above .500 for most of the season, but lost a golden opportunity to stay one step ahead in the playoff race by giving up 17 points in the 4th quarter of a 31-28 loss to the New York Jets on Monday Night Football. Their playoff hopes came down to the final game of the season, when they hosted the Rams. Los Angeles scored two touchdowns on interception returns and another on a punt return, and Mike Lansford kicked a 42-yard field goal with six seconds remaining to give the Rams the victory and a playoff berth, and end the Saints' season. The Saints finished 8-8, tying their previous best season record.

text: Eight weeks after the conclusion of the 1983 season, the Saints traded their number one pick in the 1984 NFL Draft to the New York Jets for quarterback Richard Todd, who had worn out his welcome in the Big Apple by throwing too many interceptions, and was being phased out in favor of rookie Ken O'Brien. During the 1984 season, New Orleans traded for former Heisman Trophy winner and future Hall of Fame running back Earl Campbell, who won the NFL rushing championship in each of his first three seasons with the Oilers, when Bum Phillips coached the club. The Saints won for the first time on Monday Night Football by defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Superdome, but a three-game losing streak late in the season dropped the Saints to 7-9.

text: The biggest news of the 1984 season was that John Mecom, the owner of the team for almost 20 years, was putting them up for sale. Speculation was rife that a new owner might move the Saints out of New Orleans, namely Jacksonville, Florida. But on May 31, 1985, negotiations were finalized to sell the team to Tom Benson, a native New Orleanian who owned numerous car dealerships throughout the New Orleans area. The team's future in New Orleans was safe for the time being.

text: In 1985, the Saints started off 3-2, but then lost six games in a row. Bum Phillips resigned twelve games into the season, and his son Wade Phillips, the Saints' defensive coordinator, was named interim coach. The Saints ended the season 5-11. A bright spot of the campaign was the emergence of quarterback and Louisiana native Bobby Hebert, who led the Saints to victories over the Vikings and Rams late in the season. Hebert previously spent three seasons in the United States Football League with the Michigan Panthers and Oakland Invaders, leading the Panthers to the first USFL championship in 1983.

text: Jim Mora era (1986–1996)[edit]

text: Before the 1986 season, Saints owner Tom Benson put his stamp on the team by making two important hires: first, he named Jim Finks president and general manager; then, he named Jim Mora head coach. The Saints' offense struggled throughout the year after Bobby Hebert went down with a knee injury in the third game of the season, but behind a revitalized defense and NFC Rookie of the Year Rueben Mayes, New Orleans improved to 7-9.

text: The 1987 Saints started 1-1; then, another player strike followed. This time, however, replacement players were used until the regular players ended their strike. As a result, the season was only one game shorter than usual. The Saints went 2-1 with replacement players as they were led by their quarterback, New Orleans native John Fourcade. When the regular players returned, their first game was against the San Francisco 49ers. The Saints lost 24-22, but that would be the last time they would taste defeat that year. They ran off a nine-game winning streak to close out the season — a remarkable feat considering that the Saints had never before won nine games in a season, let alone nine games in a row. The loss against San Francisco, however, would keep the Saints from being NFC West Champions; instead, the Saints finished 12-3, behind the 13-2 49ers, and had to settle for a wild-card spot in the playoffs despite having a better record than either of the other division champions that year. The Saints hosted the Minnesota Vikings on January 3, 1988; after twenty years, the Saints finally took part in the NFL playoffs. The game started well for the Saints as they took a 7-0 lead, but Minnesota answered by taking a 31-10 lead into halftime. The Vikings added 13 more points in the second half to make the final score 44-10. Despite the loss, the Saints were recognized for their accomplishments; six players were selected for the Pro Bowl, and Mora and Finks were named NFL Coach and Executive of the Year, respectively.

text: The 1988 Saints looked to return to the playoffs. After starting the season with a loss to their nemesis, the 49ers, the Saints bounced back with a seven-game win streak. After the streak, though, the Saints lost five of their next seven games. They won their last game of the season, against Atlanta, but they missed out on the playoffs due to tiebreakers.

text: The 1989 Saints managed to finish 9-7, but thanks to other strong performances in the NFC, they missed the playoffs by two games.

text: In 1990, the Saints started off poorly, going 2-5 in their first seven games. However, they turned their season around and close wins in their final two games of the season were enough to give them an 8-8 record and a playoff berth in the newly expanded NFL playoffs, which now included six teams from each conference. They traveled to Soldier Field to take on the Chicago Bears, but lost 16-6.

text: In 1991, the Saints started with a seven-game win streak, a team-record best start, and an overall impressive start, considering the Saints had never started better than 2-0. With the 7-0 start, the Saints opened up a four-game lead over the rest of the division. But then the Saints lost five of their next seven games, giving Atlanta and San Francisco a shot at claiming the division title. However, the Saints regrouped in the final two games of the season, and they finished 11-5 as the Falcons and 49ers finished 10-6 to give the Saints their first-ever division title. The Saints' first-round playoff game would be at the Superdome against Atlanta. The Falcons came from behind to defeat the Saints 27-20.

text: In 1992, the Saints attempted to defend their division title, but their hated rivals, the 49ers, swept the season series and finished 14-2 to the Saints' 12-4, meaning that the Saints would once again have to settle for a wild card berth to the NFC playoffs. They hosted the Philadelphia Eagles but once again could not put their home field advantage to good use, losing 36-20 for their fourth playoff loss in as many games.

text: The 1993 season would see the Saints start their decline from regular playoff contender to league doormat once again. They started off 5-0, but lost eight of their last eleven games to finish 8-8, one game out of the playoffs.

text: After seven straight years without a losing record, the team returned to the losing ways of the pre-Mora era in 1994. The Saints started 4-8 on their way to a 7-9 record.

text: In 1995, the Saints again finished 7-9 in the NFC West, which was newly expanded to include the Carolina Panthers. Due to tiebreakers, the Saints had the disgrace of finishing in last place in the division behind even the expansion team.

text: In 1996, after the Saints started 2-6, Mora resigned after more than ten years with the franchise. He finished his Saints tenure with 93 wins and 78 losses, making him far and away the most successful Saints coach ever. In fact, Mora was (up to then) the only coach ever to have a winning record during his Saints tenure, and his 93 wins were three more than the team had won in its entire history prior to his arrival. Rick Venturi was named interim head coach, but he had even less success than Mora did that season, going 1-7 to bring the Saints' final record to 3-13, their worst record since 1980.

text: Mike Ditka era (1997–1999)[edit]

text: Before the 1997 season, Tom Benson named legendary Chicago Bears head coach Mike Ditka as the Saints coach, leading to optimism that he would be able to win a Super Bowl with the Saints as he had done with the Bears. However, the Ditka era would be a tumultuous time for the organization.

text: In 1997, Ditka led the team to a 6-10 record, a three-game improvement from the previous season; the team was marked by strong defense (anchored by defensive end Joe Johnson, middle linebacker Winfred Tubbs, and veteran cornerback Eric Allen, among others) and inconsistent offense.

text: The 1998 season was even more chaotic. Starting quarterback Billy Joe Hobert was lost for the year in the season-opening win against the St. Louis Rams. Later in the season, the team claimed quarterback Kerry Collins off the waiver wire; Collins had been released by the Carolina Panthers earlier in the season after he informed the team his heart wasn't in the game anymore. Collins was inconsistent as a starter, including a 31-17 loss to a previously winless Panthers team, but he was also at the helm for a 22-3 upset of the Dallas Cowboys, the high point of the season, before being benched against the Buffalo Bills in Week 17. His lackluster performance, coupled with a highly publicized DUI arrest, led Ditka to state that the team would not seek to re-sign Collins. The Saints finished 6-10 once again.

text: In the months before the 1999 NFL Draft, Ditka became enamored with Texas running back Ricky Williams, the Heisman Trophy winner who'd set an NCAA record for career rushing yards with the Longhorns. Ditka's remarks that he'd "trade his entire draft" for the standout runner were well-publicized; holding the #13 overall pick, the Saints needed to trade up to have a chance at selecting Williams.

text: They got their chance to do so when the Indianapolis Colts selected Miami running back Edgerrin James with the #4 overall pick. The Saints orchestrated a three-way trade with the Washington Redskins and the Chicago Bears that involved the Saints taking Washington's #5 overall pick – and therefore, Williams – in exchange for all the Saints' remaining 1999 draft picks and their 1st- and 3rd-rounders in 2000.

text: The trade drew mixed reactions from Saints fans. In the days after the draft, Ditka boldly predicted that the Saints would go to the Super Bowl.

text: Fan opinion began to solidify against Ditka when it became clear that his prediction would not come true. The Saints' 1999 season was marked by yet more inconsistency at quarterback, a porous defense, and a hobbled Williams, who struggled with a high ankle sprain and an elbow injury in his rookie year. The Saints finished 3-13. Owner Tom Benson had had enough; soon after the season ended, he fired Ditka, the entire coaching staff, and general manager Bill Kuharich.

text: The Ditka era in New Orleans saw seven different starters at quarterback in three seasons (Heath Shuler, Danny Wuerffel, Doug Nussmeier, Billy Joe Hobert, Billy Joe Tolliver, Kerry Collins, and Jake Delhomme) and a defense which went from top-ten to near the bottom of the league in nearly every statistical category.

text: To replace Ditka and Kuharich, Tom Benson settled on Randy Mueller, formerly of the Seattle Seahawks, as general manager, and Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Jim Haslett as head coach. Mueller shook up the roster, bringing in a squad of fresh talent via free agency: wide receivers Jake Reed and Joe Horn, quarterback Jeff Blake, tight end Andrew Glover, defensive tackle Norman Hand, cornerback Fred Thomas, safety Chris Oldham, and linebacker Darrin Smith, among others. Lacking their top draft pick because of the Williams trade (a pick the Redskins would use to draft linebacker LaVar Arrington), New Orleans selected defensive end Darren Howard early in the 2nd round.

text: Inspired by Terrell Davis and the Denver Broncos' offense, new offensive coordinator Mike McCarthy implemented a form of the West Coast Offense with Ricky Williams as the focal point: a run-first attack designed to open up passing lanes and create opportunities for the occasional deep ball.

text: After a sputtering 1-3 start, the Saints found their groove, winning six straight games behind Williams and an opportunistic defense. The 2000 season marked the surprising emergence of Joe Horn, who'd previously been a backup receiver with the Kansas City Chiefs but was flourishing as Blake's main target.

text: Adversity struck, however, with injuries in consecutive games to Williams and Blake, forcing the team to rely on backups at both positions for the remainder of the season. Blake's injury presented an opportunity for quarterback Aaron Brooks, who led the team to two critical road wins: an upset over the defending champion St. Louis Rams and a late comeback against the San Francisco 49ers, keeping the Saints atop the NFC West. A Week 16 victory over the Atlanta Falcons, coupled with a St. Louis loss the following night, gave the Saints a 10-5 record, a playoff berth, and their first division title since 1991.

text: In the regular season finale, the Saints lost to the Rams, setting up a rematch between the two teams in the wild card playoff round. Though they lost Horn to an injury early in the game, the Saints managed to surge ahead to a 31-7 lead early in the 4th quarter behind three touchdowns from Brooks to backup wide receiver Willie Jackson. A late comeback by the Rams was halted in dramatic fashion when St. Louis wide receiver Az-Zahir Hakim fumbled a punt late in the game. Saints fullback Brian Milne fell on the ball, and New Orleans able to run out the clock to secure its first-ever playoff win. The final score was 31-28.

text: The return of Ricky Williams the next week could not prevent the injury-hobbled Saints from losing to the Minnesota Vikings. Despite the 34-16 loss, the 2000 season was viewed as an overwhelming success by the fans and the media. Haslett and Mueller were recognized by the NFL as Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year, respectively. Five Saints were selected to the Pro Bowl: Horn, left tackle Willie Roaf, defensive linemen Joe Johnson and La'Roi Glover, and linebacker Keith Mitchell. Horn set a franchise record with 1,340 receiving yards and emerged as a playmaker and tenacious possession receiver. Despite his injury, Williams rushed for 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns in 10 games.

text: The next five seasons failed to meet the raised expectations of fans and media. The 2001 season established a trend of team inconsistency from week to week; though the Saints engineered a stirring comeback from several touchdowns down to beat the Rams on the road, they also collapsed at the end of the season, losing their last four games by embarrassing margins to finish 7-9. New Orleans was outscored 160-40 in its final four games and shut out 38-0 by San Francisco in the finale at home in the Saints' final game as a member of the NFC West.

text: The season was notable for the curious behavior of Albert Connell, a wide receiver acquired in the offseason and intended to be the long-term starter opposite Joe Horn. Connell was accused of, and subsequently admitted to, stealing over $4,000 from teammate Deuce McAllister, though he claimed the theft was just a prank. Connell caught only 12 passes in 11 games with the Saints; the team suspended him for the last four games of the season and later terminated his contract.

text: In the offseason, the Saints – having drafted running back Deuce McAllister in the first round of the 2001 NFL Draft – traded starter Ricky Williams to the Miami Dolphins. The trade ended up giving the Saints two 1st-round picks.

text: The 2002 season started with promise (in the brand new NFC South division) but finished in familiar fashion. The Saints began the year with impressive wins over three 2001 playoff teams – an overtime win over new division rival Tampa Bay, a 15-point trouncing of Green Bay, and a come-from-behind win over Chicago on the road. But the season would include a loss to bottom-dweller Detroit, as well as another late-season collapse that included three straight losses to Minnesota, Cincinnati, and Carolina, when a victory in any one of these three games would have all but guaranteed a playoff berth. The Saints, after starting 6-1, finished at 9-7 and missed the playoffs once again.

text: Jim Haslett and his coaching staff drew criticism for not benching starting quarterback Aaron Brooks in any of the season's final games. Brooks had been hobbled by a shoulder injury, and though both he and Haslett insisted the injury would not affect his play, Brooks' performance suggested otherwise. Over the last six games of the season, Brooks completed only 47% of his passes, throwing for six touchdowns and five interceptions and losing six fumbles. His passer rating over those six games was 66.7, far less than his 80.1 rating over the entire season.

text: Backing up Brooks in 2002 was fan-favorite Jake Delhomme, who'd played at nearby UL-Lafayette and had come off the bench to cement a victory over Tampa Bay several weeks earlier. Brooks' poor performance late in the 2002 season prompted fans to chant "We Want Jake!" at games, but Haslett ignored these chants. In the offseason, Delhomme signed with Carolina, in part because he'd be able to compete for the starting job. Delhomme would lead the Panthers to Super Bowl XXXVIII in his first season in Carolina, further rubbing salt in the wounds of Saints fans.

text: The 2003 season started off poorly for the Saints, going 1-4 in their first five games, including a 55-21 blowout loss at home against the Indianapolis Colts, as Colts quarterback and New Orleans native Peyton Manning threw six touchdown passes to hand the Saints a humiliating loss on national television. The Saints, however, would rebound somewhat from their poor start and finish the season 8-8. McAllister ran for a career-high 1,641 yards.

text: The 2004 season saw the Saints struggle out of the gate. They compiled a 4-8 record in their first twelve games, and Haslett's job appeared to be in jeopardy. Then the Saints put together three straight wins (two of them on the road) to give them a shot at an 8-8 record and a playoff berth. The Saints faced Carolina (also 7-8) in Week 17. The Saints needed to beat the Panthers; they also needed one of two things to happen: a St. Louis tie or loss, or a Seattle win or tie and a Minnesota win or tie. The New Orleans, St. Louis, and Minnesota games were all played at 1:00 PM EST that Sunday. The Saints defeated the Panthers 21-18, but Minnesota lost to Washington (also by a 21-18 score), meaning that the Saints' playoff chances came down to the game between the Rams and the New York Jets. The game went to overtime with the score tied 29-29. The teams battled back and forth for most of the overtime period. The crucial moment occurred when Jets kicker Doug Brien (formerly of the Saints) missed a 53-yard field goal. The Rams capitalized on the good field position and kicked a field goal of their own to win with a little over 3 minutes left in overtime, sending the Saints out of the playoffs on the tiebreaker scenarios. Though the Saints had beaten the Rams earlier in the season, their loss to the Vikings and the fact that the Rams did not play the Vikings that season meant that the tiebreaker had to go to the best conference record, where the Rams finished ahead of the Saints and Vikings to claim one of the NFC's wild card spots. The Vikings then got the final wild card spot thanks to their win over the Saints. While the season finished in heartbreaking fashion, many thought that Haslett would have been fired if not for his team's four-game win streak to end the season.

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text: Going into the 2005 season, the Saints were optimistic that they could build on their good results at the end of 2004. But when Hurricane Katrina struck, the Saints were thrown into chaos with the rest of their city. The Saints relocated their headquarters to San Antonio, Texas. The Saints managed to provide an emotional lift for their hometown when they defeated the Panthers 23-20 in Week 1. The NFL decreed that the Saints' first home game would be played in Giants Stadium, adding insult to injury as the Saints were forced to play a "home" game against the New York Giants in front of a hostile crowd. The Saints struggled and lost 27-10, feeling aggrieved at the situation. The rest of the Saints' home games would be played either in San Antonio's Alamodome or Baton Rouge's Tiger Stadium. The Saints lost to Minnesota in Week 3, but won in the Alamodome the next week over Buffalo to bring their record to 2-2. They then proceeded to be blown out 52-3 in Green Bay by a team which came into the game 0-4. The loss to the Packers was even worse for the Saints due to a season-ending injury suffered by star running back Deuce McAllister. The Saints would eventually finish the season with a 3-13 record; the last few games of the season saw quarterback Aaron Brooks being benched (and later traded to the Oakland Raiders), giving playing time for backup quarterback Todd Bouman and even third-stringer Adrian McPherson and, eventually, the season ended with head coach Jim Haslett losing his job.

text: Sean Payton/Drew Brees Era (2006–present)[edit]

text: The 2006 Saints orchestrated one of the more remarkable turnarounds in NFL history, as they were the first team to go from 3-13 to a conference title game the next season. First-year head coach Sean Payton, who came from Dallas as a Bill Parcells pupil, was hired for a daunting task at hand. In his first move as coach, he released almost half of the roster, most notably inconsistent quarterback Aaron Brooks.

text: The Saints were aggressive in free agency, signing former San Diego Chargers quarterback Drew Brees, who had been released after suffering a career-threatening injury to his throwing shoulder during the last game of the 2005 season and was still recovering from surgery at that time. Brees was also being pursued by Nick Saban and the Miami Dolphins but their doctors gave Brees a 25% chance of making a comeback. The Saints gambled on his ability to recover in time for the season and signed him to a major long-term contract. His signing would become a major turning point for the Saints.[1][2][3] Then came April, and the 2006 NFL Draft.

text: On the eve before the draft on April 29, news broke that the Houston Texans could not reach an agreement with Reggie Bush and instead reached a deal with defensive end Mario Williams as the #1 pick. When the team found out that Bush would be available, they selected the USC running back with their #2 pick. In that draft, the Saints also picked an unknown player in the 7th-round who would become a standout: wide receiver Marques Colston from Hofstra as the 252nd pick.

text: When preseason got underway, the Saints started out strong in a victory over the Tennessee Titans, which featured a dazzling run by Reggie Bush where he reversed his direction for a big run. That was the only highlight for the Saints' preseason as they finished just 1–3, losing their other three preseason games.

text: The 2006 regular season officially began for the Saints with a road win against the Cleveland Browns, with Bush accounting for 129 yards from scrimmage, while Colston caught a touchdown pass from Brees. The next week, the Saints went to Green Bay, where the Saints lost 52-3 the previous year, to face the Packers. The start of the game looked bleak for the Saints as they quickly went down 0–13, but Brees led a comeback, throwing for 353 yards and two touchdowns as the Saints came back to win a shootout, 34–27. The Saints then headed back for the first game in the Superdome since the 2005 preseason, a Monday Night date with the Atlanta Falcons on September 25.

text: The Saints entered the game 2–0 against the 2–0 Falcons with many expecting the Falcons' powerful running game to overwhelm the team. The game kicked off to fanfare of the Saints' official return to New Orleans. The game also featured pregame festivities featuring Green Day and U2 performing a song that would become the team's unofficial anthem, "The Saints Are Coming". New Orleans dominated the game right from the start when Steve Gleason blocked a punt that was recovered for a touchdown by Curtis Deloatch. The Saints went on to win 23–3.

text: The next week, the Saints lost their first game of the season to division rival Carolina, 18–21. The Saints bounced back in their second game in New Orleans facing division rival Tampa Bay. With time winding down and the Saints down by four, they were set to receive a punt. Reggie Bush returned the punt 65 yards, untouched, for the winning touchdown, and the first of his career. The Saints were 4–1 and in control of the NFC South. A week later, the Saints upset the favored Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans, 27–24, and the Saints were taken seriously heading into their bye week.

text: New Orleans entered a midseason slump, losing three of four by Week 10 before going on a three-game win streak. They defeated Atlanta, San Francisco, and Dallas in convincing fashion.

text: The Saints concluded the regular season at 10–6, winning the NFC South title and, for the first time in the team's history, securing a first-round bye in the playoffs.

text: The Saints' divisional playoff game would be a Week 6 rematch with the Eagles, who were led by backup quarterback Jeff Garcia this time and riding a six-game winning streak. The game featured several lead changes and a most inspired effort by Deuce McAllister, who rushed for almost 150 yards and two touchdowns, one receiving and one rushing. New Orleans won its first divisional playoff game in team history, 27–24, and only the second playoff win in franchise history. The Saints then traveled to Chicago to face the Bears in the team's first ever NFC Championship appearance, where they ended up falling short in the title game, 14–39.

text: New Orleans led the NFL in total yards gained and passing yards in the 2006 season. Drew Brees set new Saints single-season records in passes completed (356), passer rating (96.2), and passing yards (4,418). The team sent three players to the 2007 Pro Bowl: Brees, defensive end Will Smith, and offensive tackle Jammal Brown.

text: The 2007 regular season began with a primetime matchup against the defending Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts, but New Orleans suffered a 10–41 pounding. The losses continued, as Tampa Bay and Tennessee routed them, followed by a close loss to Carolina. The Saints finally managed a victory in Week 6 by defeating the Seattle Seahawks 28–17. After three more victories, they lost two more games, then beat the Carolina Panthers, and then fell to the Buccaneers again. In Week 16, the Saints lost to Philadelphia, which removed them from the playoffs. A loss to the Chicago Bears in the regular season finale ended the Saints' season with a 7–9 record.

text: In 2008, the Saints began by defeating the Buccaneers before losing three of the next four games. New Orleans was selected for that year's international series game in London, where they beat San Diego 37–32. The remainder of the season was an uneven string of games, and after being beat by Carolina on December 28, the team ended its 2008 campaign with an 8–8 record.

text: 2009: The Road to Super Bowl XLIV[edit]

text: New Orleans started off 2009 innocently enough with a rout of the hapless Detroit Lions. Afterwards, they traveled to Philadelphia and beat an Eagles team that was missing its starting quarterback, Donovan McNabb, due to an injury. They accumulated further easy wins over the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets in the next two games. After the bye week, they handily defeated the New York Giants and then beat the Miami Dolphins in a high-scoring affair at Landshark Stadium. With this impressive win, which featured a second-half rally, the Saints moved to 6–0. The next four opponents were comparatively weak ones, and the Saints soon found themselves at 10–0 along with the Colts. In Week 12, they faced the New England Patriots in the Superdome and inflicted a stunning defeat on the three-time Super Bowl champions. The Saints nearly lost their next game against the 3–8 Washington Redskins at FedEx Field. The score was tied 30–30 at the end of regulation, and in overtime, Washington almost broke the Saints' eleven-game winning streak. However, a fumble by the Redskins gave the Saints the ball. They then made a field goal and won the game, 33–30, clinching the NFC South division title. Afterwards, New Orleans faced the Dallas Cowboys at home and were finally brought down by a 17–24 score. The next week, the Saints were upset at home by the 2–12 Tampa Bay Buccaneers in overtime. They secured the #1 NFC playoff seed when the 11–3 Minnesota Vikings lost to the Chicago Bears in Week 16. The Saints rested starters during their Week 17 game against the Panthers, finishing their season at 13–3. The re-energized team came back from the first-round bye week and hosted the Arizona Cardinals, crushing them 45–14. Now in the NFC Championship, the Saints faced the Vikings. The two teams waged an epic struggle through all four quarters. Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre was hit several times by the New Orleans defensive line, and there were multiple penalties, timeouts, and booth reviews of questionable plays. Although the Vikings never trailed by more than a touchdown, they could not gain a lead, and as the 4th quarter was drawing to a close, Favre threw an ill-advised pass across the middle of the field, which was intercepted by Saints cornerback Tracy Porter. The game went into overtime, and New Orleans got possession of the ball after winning the coin toss. Kicker Garrett Hartley made a 40-yard field goal, sending the Saints to Super Bowl XLIV.

text: The Super Bowl was played in Miami against the Colts, who had won Super Bowl XLI there three years earlier. Indianapolis jumped out to a 10-0 lead by the end of the 1st quarter. The Saints were unable to score a touchdown in the first half, and instead settled for two long Hartley field goals, making the score 10-6 at halftime. The 3rd quarter opened with New Orleans executing a surprise onside kick, and both teams got into an argument over who got hold of the ball. The Saints were ultimately ruled to have recovered it. A screen pass by Drew Brees to running back Pierre Thomas was good for a touchdown, giving the Saints a 13–10 lead, their first of the game. After another Colts touchdown, Hartley kicked another field goal to make it a 17–16 game. The Saints regained the lead with 5:42 remaining in the 4th quarter; a 2-yard touchdown pass from Brees to tight end Jeremy Shockey, followed by a two-point conversion by Lance Moore, made it a 24–17 Saints lead. On the Colts' ensuing drive, quarterback Peyton Manning was intercepted by Tracy Porter, who returned it 74 yards for the game-clinching touchdown. A strong defensive effort by New Orleans halted the Colts' attempt at another scoring drive, and the game ended 31–17. The Saints had finally won a championship after decades of futility, sending the city of New Orleans, and the region, into wild celebrations.

text: The Saints did not quite live up to their 2009 level of play the following season. Hosting the Vikings in the 2010 season opener, a much-vaunted rematch of the NFC Championship resulted in a meandering 14-9 win, the lowest-scoring victory of Sean Payton's tenure as head coach. After a close win in San Francisco, the Saints went 3-3 down the stretch, as Drew Brees threw several interceptions and Garrett Hartley (the hero of the 2009 postseason) missed multiple field goals that resulted in his being temporarily benched in favor of John Carney, a former Saint who had first played in the NFL back in 1988. The last remaining active NFL player from the 1980s booted two field goals to help New Orleans beat the 0-3 Carolina Panthers in Week 3. After a loss to the Cardinals the following week, Carney quit, and the kicking position returned to Hartley.

text: Overall, the Saints looked sloppy and out of form during the early season, and they suffered their worst loss when the Cleveland Browns beat them at home in Week 7. But after the bye week, the team got back on course and won four games in a row before losing to Baltimore in Week 15. A Monday night matchup with the Atlanta Falcons saw New Orleans win 17-14. The Saints lost to Tampa Bay 23-13 to end the regular season with a record of 11-5. New Orleans reached the playoffs, but had to settle for a wild card spot as division rival Atlanta had already locked up the NFC South title and the #1 seed. The #5-seeded Saints headed to Seattle, where their season came to a spectacular end, as the 7-9 Seahawks overpowered the defending champions 41-36. The game was highlighted by a 67-yard touchdown run by Marshawn Lynch, who broke several tackles on the play.

text: In 2011, New Orleans played in the season opener for the second year in a row, but this time in Green Bay as guests of the defending champion Packers. The Saints struggled, as the Packers quickly marched out to two touchdowns, but regained their composure in a wild shootout. Green Bay never lost their lead however, and went on to win the game 42-34 after stopping Saints rookie running back Mark Ingram on the 1-yard line as time expired. Opening at home in Week 2, the Saints easily beat Chicago 30-13, then won another shootout against the Houston Texans. Although New Orleans' defense had performed poorly up to Week 3, the unit got back in sync by limiting Jacksonville to 10 points in a 23-point win the following game. After beating winless Carolina, Drew Brees threw three interceptions as the Saints lost to Tampa Bay 26-20. In Week 7, the team hosted Indianapolis in what had been expected to be a rematch of Super Bowl XLIV, but without Peyton Manning, the Colts struggled. Brees threw 5 touchdown passes as the Saints crushed the Colts, 62-7. The Saints set a franchise record for most points in a game. However, the Saints reverted to their Week 6 form the following week, as Brees threw two interceptions, and the Saints suffered an astonishing defeat against the winless St. Louis Rams. However, that would prove to be the last loss of the regular season, as the Saints went on an eight-game winning streak to close the season. They defeated division rivals Tampa Bay and Atlanta, then came out of the bye week to blow out the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants 49-24 at home. The Saints then defeated the Lions 31-17, the Titans 21-17, and the Vikings 42-20. On Monday Night Football, the Saints hosted the Atlanta Falcons and went on to blow them out, 45-16 and secure the division title. In that game, Brees broke the NFL's single-season passing yardage record set by Dan Marino 27 years earlier. The Saints would finish the regular season with a 13-3 record by defeating the Panthers 45-17. However, the Saints finished behind the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers for the 3rd seed in the NFC playoffs.

text: In the wild card round of the playoffs, the Saints hosted the Detroit Lions in the Lions' first playoff appearance since 1999. The Lions got off to a good start, ending the first half with a 14-10 lead, but couldn't keep up with the Saints, who prevailed 45-28. In the divisional round, the Saints traveled to San Francisco to face the #2-seeded 49ers. The Saints had trouble against the 49ers' defense, committed five turnovers. Despite the mishaps, the Saints remained one score behind the 49ers for most of the game. In a spectacular finish, the lead changed hands four times in the last four minutes, but the Saints lost 36-32, as 49ers quarterback Alex Smith threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Vernon Davis with nine seconds left to end the Saints' 2011 season.

text: Bountygate Scandal[edit]

text: On March 2, 2012, the NFL announced the findings of an investigation of a bounty program that former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and over two dozen defensive players maintained. The program rewarded cash to players for violent hits on opposing players that took place during the 2009–2011 seasons. Bounties were placed on four specific players: quarterbacks Brett Favre, Cam Newton, Aaron Rodgers, and Kurt Warner. The NFL hit the Saints hard with punishments. Williams, who became defensive coordinator with the St. Louis Rams, was suspended indefinitely. Head coach Sean Payton was suspended for the entire 2012 season. Although he did not participate in the bounty program, he never told anyone to stop it. General Manager Mickey Loomis was suspended for the first eight regular season games, as he ignored an order from owner Tom Benson to ensure that the program was stopped. Assistant head coach Joe Vitt (who was named interim head coach during Payton's suspension) was banned for the first six regular season games. The Saints were also fined $500,000 and stripped of their 2nd-round picks in the 2012 and 2013 NFL drafts.[4] Payton began his suspension April 15 after his appeal was rejected. Loomis and Vitt also appealed their suspensions, but they were upheld.[5] The NFL later announced punishments to four current and former Saints players. Linebacker Jonathan Vilma was suspended for the entire 2012 season; he twice offered $10,000 to anyone who knocked out Warner and Favre in the 2009 playoffs. Defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove was suspended for the first eight games of the 2012 season. Will Smith was suspended for four games, and Scott Fujita (now with the Cleveland Browns) received a three-game ban.[6] All of the suspensions were without pay. A grievance was filed on behalf of the suspended players, but it was rejected. All of the players have appealed to Commissioner Roger Goodell.[7]

text: 2012: Bountygate Punishment[edit]

text: After much negotiation, the Saints re-signed quarterback Drew Brees. Due to the Bountygate scandal, head coach Sean Payton, as well as some of the defensive players allegedly involved in the scandal, were not allowed to play.

text: The 2012 season began in disappointing fashion with four straight losses to the Washington Redskins, Carolina Panthers, Kansas City Chiefs, and Green Bay Packers. Then the Saints went on to win five of their next six games, including handing division rival Atlanta its first loss of the season. After three straight losses to San Francisco, Atlanta, and the defending champion New York Giants, the Saints won two of their last three games, including a 41-0 shutout against division rival Tampa Bay. The 2012 season ended with a 7-9 record for the Saints, their first losing season since 2007.

text: The Saints finished 1st in the NFL in passing yards per game and 2nd in overall offense, but they were last in the league in overall defense.

text: As the team tried to leave the Bountygate in the past, Sean Payton returned to the team as Head Coach following the 2012 season. 2013 prove to be a successful season for the Saints, going undefeated at home and going 11–5, making it into the playoffs as a 6th seed. They manage to win their first road playoff game in franchise history against the Philadelphia Eagles, 26–24. They advanced to 1st seed Seattle Seahawks, getting defeated by the eventual Super Bowl champions 15–23.

text: 2014 was not a memorable year for the Saints. Despite being 2nd in total offense, they went 7–9, with most of the reason for the disappointing season coming from the defense, who ranked 31st in defense that year, turnovers, and inconsistency. They were eliminated from playoff contention after a 14–30 loss to their divisional rival Atlanta Falcons in the second-to-last week of the regular season.

text: 2015 also proved to be a mostly forgettable year for the Saints. They finished 7–9 again mainly part to once again having one of the league's worst defenses.

text: 2016: 50th season[edit]

text: The Saints, in their 50th season, despite having the top scoring offense in the league, finished 7-9 for the third consecutive year. This put them in place for the 11th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Drew Brees threw for over 5,000 yards for the fifth time in his career. Brandin Cooks and Michael Thomas, the 47th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, both had over 1000 yards receiving. Running back Mark Ingram broke 1000 yards rushing for the first time in his career.


document_title: Religion in Africa

question_text: which religion has the highest population in africa

root

text: Religion in Africa

text: African Traditional Religion[edit]

text: Africa encompasses a wide variety of traditional beliefs. Although religious customs are sometimes shared by many local societies, they are usually unique to specific populations or geographic regions.[4]

tag: p

text: According to Dr J Omosade Awolalu, The "traditional" in this context means indigenous, that which is foundational, handed down from generation to generation, meant as to be upheld and practised today and forevermore. A heritage from the past, yet not treated as a thing of the past but that which connects the past with the present and the present with eternity.[3]

text: Often spoken of in the terms of a singularity, deliberate; yet conscious of the fact that Africa is a large continent with multitudes of nations who have complex cultures, innumerable languages and myriad dialects.[3]

text: The essence of this school of thought is based mainly on oral transmission; that which is written in people's hearts, minds, oral history, customs, temples and religious functions.[5] It has no founders or leaders like Gautama Buddha, Jesus, or Muhammed.[6] It has no missionaries or the intent to propagate or to proselytise.[7] Some of the African traditional religions are those of the Serer of Senegal, the Yoruba and Igbo of Nigeria, and the Akan of Ghana and the Ivory Coast. The religion of the Gbe peoples (mostly the Ewe and Fon) of Benin, Togo and Ghana is called Vodun and is the main source for similarly named religions in the diaspora, such as Louisiana Voodoo, Haitian Vodou, Cuban Vodú, Dominican Vudú and Brazilian Vodum

text: Abrahamic religions[edit]

text: The majority of Africans are adherents of Christianity or Islam. African people often combine the practice of their traditional belief with the practice of Abrahamic religions.[8][8][9][10][11][12] Abrahamic religions are widespread throughout Africa. They have both spread and replaced indigenous African religions, but are often adapted to African cultural contexts and belief systems. The World Book Encyclopedia has estimated that in 2002 Christians formed 40% of the continent's population, with Muslims forming 45%. It was also estimated in 2002 that Christians form 45% of Africa's population, with Muslims forming 40.6%.[13]

text: Bahá'í Faith[edit]

text: The Bahá'í Faith in Africa has a diverse history. It is the 3rd most widespread organized Abrahamic religion in Africa after Islam and Christianity[14] after its wide-scale growth in the 1950s and extend in the 1960s.[15] The Association of Religion Data Archives (relying on World Christian Encyclopedia) lists many large and smaller populations in Africa[16] with Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa and Zambia among the top ten numerical populations of Bahá'ís in the world in 2005 (each with over 200,000 adherents), and Mauritius in terms of percentage of the national population.

text: All three individual heads of the religion, Bahá'u'lláh, `Abdu'l-Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi, were in Africa at various times. More recently the roughly 2000[17] Bahá'ís of Egypt have been embroiled in the Egyptian identification card controversy from 2006[18] through 2009.[19] Since then there have been homes burned down and families driven out of towns.[20] On the other hand, Sub-Saharan Bahá'ís were able to mobilize for nine regional conferences called for by the Universal House of Justice 20 October 2008 to celebrate recent achievements in grassroots community-building and to plan their next steps in organizing in their home areas.[21]

text: Christianity[edit]

text: Christianity is now one of the most widely practiced religions in Africa along with Islam and is the largest religion in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most adherents outside Egypt, Ethiopia and Eritrea are Roman Catholic or Protestant.[citation needed] Several syncretistic and messianic sects have formed throughout much of the continent, including the Nazareth Baptist Church in South Africa and the Aladura churches in Nigeria.There is also fairly widespread populations of Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses. The oldest Christian denominations in Africa are the Coptic church in Egypt and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, all Oriental Orthodox, which rose to prominence in the fourth century AD after King Ezana the Great made Ethiopia one of the first Christian nations.[22]

text: In the first few centuries of Christianity, Africa produced many figures who had a major influence outside the continent, including St Augustine of Hippo, St Maurice, Origen, Tertullian, and three Roman Catholic popes (Victor I, Miltiades and Gelasius I), as well as the Biblical characters Simon of Cyrene and the Ethiopian eunuch baptised by Philip the Evangelist. Christianity existed in Ethiopia before the rule of King Ezana the Great of the Kingdom of Axum, but the religion took a strong foothold when it was declared a state religion in 330 AD, becoming one of the first Christian nations.[23] The earliest and best known reference to the introduction of Christianity to Africa is mentioned in the Christian Bible's Acts of the Apostles, and pertains to the evangelist Phillip's conversion of an Ethiopian traveler in the 1st century AD. Although the Bible refers to them as Ethiopians, scholars have argued that Ethiopia was a common term encompassing the area South-Southeast of Egypt.

text: Other traditions have the convert as a Jew who was a steward in the Queen’s court.[clarification needed] All accounts do agree on the fact that the traveler was a member of the royal court who successfully succeeded in converting the Queen, which in turn caused a church to be built. Tyrannius Rufinus, a noted church historian, also recorded a personal account as do other church historians such as Socrates and Sozemius.[24] Some experts predict the shift of Christianity's center from the European industrialized nations to Africa and Asia in modern times. Yale University historian Lamin Sanneh stated, that "African Christianity was not just an exotic, curious phenomenon in an obscure part of the world, but that African Christianity might be the shape of things to come."[25] The statistics from the World Christian Encyclopedia (David Barrett) illustrate the emerging trend of dramatic Christian growth on the continent and supposes, that in 2025 there will be 633 million Christians in Africa.[26]

text: A 2015 study estimates 2,161,000 Christian believers from a Muslim background in Africa, most of them belonging to some form of Protestantism.[27]

text: Islam[edit]

text: Islam is the other major religion in Africa alongside Christianity,[29] with 47% of the population being Muslim, accounting for 1/4 of the world's Muslim population.[citation needed] The faith's historic roots on the continent stem from the time of the Prophet Muhammad, whose early disciples migrated to Abyssinia (hijira) in fear of persecution from the pagan Arabs.

text: The spread of Islam in North Africa came with the expansion of Arab empire under Caliph Umar, through the Sinai Peninsula. Spread of Islam in West Africa was through Islamic traders and sailors.

text: Islam is the dominant religion in North Africa and the Horn of Africa. It has also become the predominant religion on the Swahili Coast as well as the West African seaboard and parts of the interior. There have been several Muslim empires in Western Africa which exerted considerable influence, notably the Mali Empire, which flourished for several centuries and the Songhai Empire, under the leadership of Mansa Musa, Sonni Ali and Askia Mohammed.

text: The vast majority of Muslims in Africa are Sunni, belonging to either Maliki or Shafi schools of jurisprudence. However, Hanafi school of jurisprudence is also represented, mainly in Egypt.[30] There are also sizeable minorities of Shias, Ahmadis, Ibadi and Sufis.[31]

text: Judaism[edit]

text: Adherents of Judaism can be found scattered in a number of countries across Africa; including North Africa, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Cameroon, Gabon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Southern Africa.

text: Hinduism[edit]

text: Hinduism has existed in Africa mainly since the late 19th century.It is the largest religion in Mauritius,[32] and several other countries have Hindu temples.[citation needed]

text: Buddhism and Chinese religions[edit]

text: Buddhism is a tiny religion in Africa with around 250,000 practicing adherents,[33] and up to nearly 400,000 [34] if combined with Taoism and Chinese Folk Religion as a common traditional religion of mostly new Chinese migrants (significant minority in Mauritius, Réunion, and South Africa). About half of African Buddhists are now living in South Africa, while Mauritius has the highest Buddhist percentage in the continent, between 1.5%[35] to 2%[36] of the total population.

text: Other religions[edit]

text: Other faiths are practiced in Africa, including Zoroastrianism and Rastafarianism among others.[37]

text: Irreligion[edit]

text: A Gallup poll shows that the irreligious comprise 20% in South Africa, 16% in Botswana, 13% in Mozambique, 13% in Togo, 12% in Libya and Côte d'Ivoire, 10% in Ethiopia and Angola, 9% in Sudan, Zimbabwe and Algeria, 8% in Namibia and 7% in Madagascar.[38]

text: Syncretism[edit]

text: Syncretism is the combining of different (often contradictory) beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. In the commonwealth of Africa syncretism with indigenous beliefs is practiced throughout the region. It is believed by some to explain religious tolerance between different groups.[39] Kwesi Yankah and John Mbiti argue that many African peoples today have a 'mixed' religious heritage to try to reconcile traditional religions with Abrahamic faiths.[40][41] Jesse Mugambi claims that the Christianity taught to Africans by missionaries had a fear of syncretism, which was carried on by current African Christian leadership in an attempt to keep Christianity "pure."[42] Syncretism in Africa is said by others to be overstated,[43] and due to a misunderstanding of the abilities of local populations to form their own orthodoxies and also confusion over what is culture and what is religion.[citation needed] Others state that the term syncretism is a vague one,[44] since it can be applied to refer to substitution or modification of the central elements of Christianity or Islam with beliefs or practices from somewhere else. The consequences under this definition, according to missiologist Keith Ferdinando, are a fatal compromise of the religion's integrity. However, communities in Africa (e.g. Afro-Asiatic) have many common practices which are also found in Abrahamic faiths, and thus these traditions do not fall under the category of some definitions of syncretism.[45]

text: Religious distribution[edit]

text:
Religion in Africa by country and region, as percentage of national populationn1

Country
Region
Christianity
Islam
Traditional religions

 Angola[46]
Central Africa
95
0.5
4.5

 Cameroon[47]
Central Africa
69.2
20.9
9.9

 Central African Republic[48]
Central Africa
80.3
10.1
9.6

 Chad[49]
Central Africa
44.1
52.1
3.8

 Democratic Republic of the Congo[50]
Central Africa
95.8
1.5
2.7

 Republic of the Congo[50]
Central Africa
85.9
1.2
12.9

 Equatorial Guinea[51]
Central Africa
93
1
6

 Gabon[52]
Central Africa
73
10
17

 São Tomé and Príncipe[53]
Central Africa
97
2
1

 Burundi[54]
East Africa
75
5
20

 Comoros[55]
East Africa
2
98
0

 Kenya[56]
East Africa
78
10
12

 Madagascar[57]
East Africa
41
7
52

 Malawi[58]
East Africa
79.9
12.8
7.3

 Mauritius[59]
East Africa
32.2
16.6
51.2

 Mayotte[60]
East Africa
3
97
0

 Mozambique[61]
East Africa
56.1
17.9
26

 Réunion[62]
East Africa
84.9
2.1
13

 Rwanda[63]
East Africa
93.6
4.6
1.8

 Seychelles[64]
East Africa
93.1
1.1
5.8

 South Sudan[50]
East Africa
60.5
6.2
32.9

 Tanzania[65]
East Africa
61.4
35.2
1.8

 Uganda[66]
East Africa
84
12
4

 Zambia[67]
East Africa
87
1
12

 Djibouti[68]
Horn of Africa
6
94
0

 Eritrea[69]
Horn of Africa
62.5
36.5
1

 Ethiopia[70]
Horn of Africa
62.8
33.9
3.3

 Somalia[71]
Horn of Africa
0.2
99.8
0

 Algeria[72]
North Africa
1
99
0

 Egypt[73]
North Africa
10
90
0

 Libya[74]
North Africa
2.7
96.6
1

 Morocco[75]
North Africa
0.9
99.0
0

 Sudan[76]
North Africa
3
97
0

 Tunisia[77]
North Africa
1
98
1

 Botswana[78]
Southern Africa
71.6
0.3
28.1

 Lesotho[79]
Southern Africa
90
0
10

 Namibia[80]
Southern Africa
90
0
10

 South Africa[81]
Southern Africa
79.7
1.5
18.9

 Swaziland[82]
Southern Africa
90
1
9

 Zimbabwe[83]
Southern Africa
84
1
15

 Benin[84]
West Africa
42.8
24.4
32.8

 Burkina Faso[85]
West Africa
29.9
61
16

 Cape Verde[86]
West Africa
85
1.8
0.2

 Côte d'Ivoire[87]
West Africa
45.7
40.2
12.8

 The Gambia[88]
West Africa
9
90
1

 Ghana[89]
West Africa
71.2
17.6
11.2

 Guinea[90]
West Africa
10
85
5

 Guinea-Bissau[91]
West Africa
30
45
20

 Liberia[92]
West Africa
85.5
12.2
2.2

 Mali[93]
West Africa
5
90
5

 Mauritania[94]
West Africa
0.1
99.9
0

 Niger[95]
West Africa
10
80
<10

 Nigeria[96]
West Africa
35
60
1.7

 Senegal[97]
West Africa
5
94
1

 Sierra Leone[98]
West Africa
10
60
30

 Togo[99]
West Africa
29
20
51

tag: table

text: ^ The most recent census data are used.

tag: ol


document_title: List of FA Cup Finals

question_text: when was the last time man united won the fa cup

text: List of FA Cup Finals

text: History[edit]

text: The winners of the first tournament were Wanderers, a team of former public schoolboys based in London, who went on to win the competition five times in its first seven seasons. The early winners of the competition were all teams of wealthy amateurs from the south of England,[5] but in 1883, Blackburn Olympic became the first team from the north to win the cup, defeating Old Etonians. Upon his team's return to Blackburn, Olympic captain Albert Warburton proclaimed: "The Cup is very welcome to Lancashire. It'll have a good home and it'll never go back to London."[6]

text: With the advent of professionalism at around the same time, the amateur teams quickly faded from prominence in the competition.[5] The leading professional clubs formed The Football League in 1888.[7] Since then, one non-league team has won the cup. Tottenham Hotspur, then of the Southern League, defeated Sheffield United of The Football League to win the 1901 final.[8] A year later Sheffield United returned to the final and won the cup, which then remained in the hands of Northern and Midland clubs until Tottenham won it again in 1921.[2] In 1927, Cardiff City, a team which plays in the English football league system despite being based in Wales, won the cup, the only non-English club to do so.[9] Scottish club Queens Park reached the final twice in the early years of the competition.[2]

text: Newcastle United enjoyed a brief spell of FA Cup dominance in the 1950s, winning the trophy three times in five years,[2] and in the 1960s, Tottenham Hotspur enjoyed a similar spell of success, with three wins in seven seasons. This marked the start of a successful period for London-based clubs, with 11 wins in 22 seasons.[10] Teams from the second tier of English football, at the time called the Second Division, experienced an unprecedented run of cup success between 1973 and 1980.[10] Sunderland won the cup in 1973, Southampton repeated the feat in 1976, and West Ham United won in 1980, the most recent victory by a team from outside the top division.[2][8]

text: Finals[edit]

text: Until 1999, a draw in the final would result in the match being replayed at a later date;[11] since then the final has always been decided on the day, with a penalty shootout as required.[12] As of 2017 a penalty shoot-out has been required on only two occasions, in the 2005 and 2006 finals. The competition did not take place during the First and Second World Wars, other than in the 1914–15 season, when it was completed, and the 1939–40 season, when it was abandoned during the qualifying rounds.[2]

text: Key[edit]

text:
Key to list of winners

(R)
Replay

*
Match went to extra time

Match decided by a penalty shootout after extra time

Winning team won the Double

Italics
Team from outside the top level of English football
(since the formation of The Football League in 1888)

text: All teams are English, except where marked  (Scottish) or  (Welsh).

text: Results[edit]

text:
FA Cup winners

Season
Winners[2]
Score[2]
Runners–up[2]
Venue[13]
Attendance[13]

1871–72 FA Cup (1) !1871–72
Wanderers
1–0
Royal Engineers
Kennington Oval
2,000

1872–73 FA Cup (1) !1872–73
Wanderers
2–0
Oxford University
Lillie Bridge
3,000

1873–74 FA Cup (1) !1873–74
Oxford University
2–0
Royal Engineers
Kennington Oval
2,000

1874–75 FA Cup (1) !1874–75
Royal Engineers
1–1 !* 1–1 *
Old Etonians
Kennington Oval
2,000

1874–75 FA Cup (2) !1874–75 (R)
Royal Engineers
2–0
Old Etonians
Kennington Oval
3,000

1875–76 FA Cup (1) !1875–76
Wanderers
1–1 !* 1–1 *
Old Etonians
Kennington Oval
3,500

1875–76 FA Cup (2) !1875–76 (R)
Wanderers
3–0
Old Etonians
Kennington Oval
1,500

1876–77 FA Cup (1) !1876–77
Wanderers
2–1 !* 2–1 *
Oxford University
Kennington Oval
3,000

1877–78 FA Cup (1) !1877–78
Wanderers
3–1
Royal Engineers
Kennington Oval
4,500

1878–79 FA Cup (1) !1878–79
Old Etonians
1–0
Clapham Rovers
Kennington Oval
5,000

1879–80 FA Cup (1) !1879–80
Clapham Rovers
1–0
Oxford University
Kennington Oval
6,000

1880–81 FA Cup (1) !1880–81
Old Carthusians
3–0
Old Etonians
Kennington Oval
4,000

1881–82 FA Cup (1) !1881–82
Old Etonians
1–0
Blackburn Rovers
Kennington Oval
6,500

1882–83 FA Cup (1) !1882–83
Blackburn Olympic
2–1 !* 2–1 *
Old Etonians
Kennington Oval
8,000

1883–84 FA Cup (1) !1883–84
Blackburn Rovers
2–1
 Queen's Park
Kennington Oval
4,000

1884–85 FA Cup (1) !1884–85
Blackburn Rovers
2–0
 Queen's Park
Kennington Oval
12,500

1885–86 FA Cup (1) !1885–86
Blackburn Rovers
0–0
West Bromwich Albion
Kennington Oval
15,000

1885–86 FA Cup (2) !1885–86 (R)
Blackburn Rovers
2–0
West Bromwich Albion
Racecourse Ground !Racecourse Ground
12,000

1886–87 FA Cup (1) !1886–87
Aston Villa
2–0
West Bromwich Albion
Kennington Oval
15,500

1887–88 FA Cup (1) !1887–88
West Bromwich Albion
2–1
Preston North End
Kennington Oval
19,000

1888–89 FA Cup (1) !1888–89
Preston North End
3–0
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Kennington Oval
22,000

1889–90 FA Cup (1) !1889–90
Blackburn Rovers
6–1
The Wednesday
Kennington Oval
20,000

1890–91 FA Cup (1) !1890–91
Blackburn Rovers
3–1
Notts County
Kennington Oval
23,000

1891–92 FA Cup (1) !1891–92
West Bromwich Albion
3–0
Aston Villa
Kennington Oval
32,810

1892–93 FA Cup (1) !1892–93
Wolverhampton Wanderers
1–0
Everton
Fallowfield Stadium
45,000

1893–94 FA Cup (1) !1893–94
Notts County
4–1
Bolton Wanderers
Goodison Park
37,000

1894–95 FA Cup (1) !1894–95
Aston Villa
1–0
West Bromwich Albion
Crystal Palace
42,560

1895–96 FA Cup (1) !1895–96
The Wednesday
2–1
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Crystal Palace
48,836

1896–97 FA Cup (1) !1896–97
Aston Villa
3–2
Everton
Crystal Palace
65,891

1897–98 FA Cup (1) !1897–98
Nottingham Forest
3–1
Derby County
Crystal Palace
62,017

1898–99 FA Cup (1) !1898–99
Sheffield United
4–1
Derby County
Crystal Palace
73,833

1899–1900 FA Cup (1) !1899–1900
Bury
4–0
Southampton
Crystal Palace
68,945

1900–01 FA Cup (1) !1900–01
Tottenham Hotspur
2–2
Sheffield United
Crystal Palace
110,820

1900–01 FA Cup (2) !1900–01 (R)
Tottenham Hotspur
3–1
Sheffield United
Burnden Park
20,470

1901–02 FA Cup (1) !1901–02
Sheffield United
1–1
Southampton
Crystal Palace
76,914

1901–02 FA Cup (2) !1901–02 (R)
Sheffield United
2–1
Southampton
Crystal Palace
33,068

1902–03 FA Cup (1) !1902–03
Bury
6–0
Derby County
Crystal Palace
63,102

1903–04 FA Cup (1) !1903–04
Manchester City
1–0
Bolton Wanderers
Crystal Palace
61,374

1904–05 FA Cup (1) !1904–05
Aston Villa
2–0
Newcastle United
Crystal Palace
101,117

1905–06 FA Cup (1) !1905–06
Everton
1–0
Newcastle United
Crystal Palace
75,609

1906–07 FA Cup (1) !1906–07
The Wednesday
2–1
Everton
Crystal Palace
84,594

1907–08 FA Cup (1) !1907–08
Wolverhampton Wanderers
3–1
Newcastle United
Crystal Palace
74,697

1908–09 FA Cup (1) !1908–09
Manchester United
1–0
Bristol City
Crystal Palace
71,401

1909–10 FA Cup (1) !1909–10
Newcastle United
1–1
Barnsley
Crystal Palace
77,747

1909–10 FA Cup (2) !1909–10 (R)
Newcastle United
2–0
Barnsley
Goodison Park
69,000

1910–11 FA Cup (1) !1910–11
Bradford City
0–0
Newcastle United
Crystal Palace
69,068

1910–11 FA Cup (2) !1910–11 (R)
Bradford City
1–0
Newcastle United
Old Trafford
58,000

1911–12 FA Cup (1) !1911–12
Barnsley
0–0
West Bromwich Albion
Crystal Palace
54,556

1911–12 FA Cup (2) !1911–12 (R)
Barnsley
1–0 !* 1–0 *
West Bromwich Albion
Bramall Lane
38,555

1912–13 FA Cup (1) !1912–13
Aston Villa
1–0
Sunderland
Crystal Palace
121,919

1913–14 FA Cup (1) !1913–14
Burnley
1–0
Liverpool
Crystal Palace
72,778

1914–15 FA Cup (1) !1914–15
Sheffield United
3–0
Chelsea
Old Trafford
49,557

1919–20 FA Cup (1) !1919–20
Aston Villa
1–0 !* 1–0 *
Huddersfield Town
Stamford Bridge
50,018

1920–21 FA Cup (1) !1920–21
Tottenham Hotspur
1–0
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Stamford Bridge
72,805

1921–22 FA Cup (1) !1921–22
Huddersfield Town
1–0
Preston North End
Stamford Bridge
53,000

1922–23 FA Cup (1) !1922–23
Bolton Wanderers
2–0
West Ham United
Wembley Stadium (original)
126,047[A]

1923–24 FA Cup (1) !1923–24
Newcastle United
2–0
Aston Villa
Wembley Stadium (original)
91,695

1924–25 FA Cup (1) !1924–25
Sheffield United
1–0
 Cardiff City
Wembley Stadium (original)
91,763

1925–26 FA Cup (1) !1925–26
Bolton Wanderers
1–0
Manchester City
Wembley Stadium (original)
91,447

1926–27 FA Cup (1) !1926–27
 Cardiff City
1–0
Arsenal
Wembley Stadium (original)
91,206

1927–28 FA Cup (1) !1927–28
Blackburn Rovers
3–1
Huddersfield Town
Wembley Stadium (original)
92,041

1928–29 FA Cup (1) !1928–29
Bolton Wanderers
2–0
Portsmouth
Wembley Stadium (original)
92,576

1929–30 FA Cup (1) !1929–30
Arsenal
2–0
Huddersfield Town
Wembley Stadium (original)
92,488

1930–31 FA Cup (1) !1930–31
West Bromwich Albion
2–1
Birmingham
Wembley Stadium (original)
92,406

1931–32 FA Cup (1) !1931–32
Newcastle United
2–1
Arsenal
Wembley Stadium (original)
92,298

1932–33 FA Cup (1) !1932–33
Everton
3–0
Manchester City
Wembley Stadium (original)
92,950

1933–34 FA Cup (1) !1933–34
Manchester City
2–1
Portsmouth
Wembley Stadium (original)
93,258

1934–35 FA Cup (1) !1934–35
Sheffield Wednesday
4–2
West Bromwich Albion
Wembley Stadium (original)
93,204

1935–36 FA Cup (1) !1935–36
Arsenal
1–0
Sheffield United
Wembley Stadium (original)
93,384

1936–37 FA Cup (1) !1936–37
Sunderland
3–1
Preston North End
Wembley Stadium (original)
93,495

1937–38 FA Cup (1) !1937–38
Preston North End
1–0 !* 1–0 *
Huddersfield Town
Wembley Stadium (original)
93,497

1938–39 FA Cup (1) !1938–39
Portsmouth
4–1
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wembley Stadium (original)
99,370

1945–46 FA Cup (1) !1945–46
Derby County
4–1 !* 4–1 *
Charlton Athletic
Wembley Stadium (original)
98,000

1946–47 FA Cup (1) !1946–47
Charlton Athletic
1–0 !* 1–0 *
Burnley
Wembley Stadium (original)
99,000

1947–48 FA Cup (1) !1947–48
Manchester United
4–2
Blackpool
Wembley Stadium (original)
99,000

1948–49 FA Cup (1) !1948–49
Wolverhampton Wanderers
3–1
Leicester City
Wembley Stadium (original)
99,500

1949–50 FA Cup (1) !1949–50
Arsenal
2–0
Liverpool
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1950–51 FA Cup (1) !1950–51
Newcastle United
2–0
Blackpool
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1951–52 FA Cup (1) !1951–52
Newcastle United
1–0
Arsenal
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1952–53 FA Cup (1) !1952–53
Blackpool
4–3
Bolton Wanderers
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1953–54 FA Cup (1) !1953–54
West Bromwich Albion
3–2
Preston North End
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1954–55 FA Cup (1) !1954–55
Newcastle United
3–1
Manchester City
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1955–56 FA Cup (1) !1955–56
Manchester City
3–1
Birmingham City
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1956–57 FA Cup (1) !1956–57
Aston Villa
2–1
Manchester United
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1957–58 FA Cup (1) !1957–58
Bolton Wanderers
2–0
Manchester United
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1958–59 FA Cup (1) !1958–59
Nottingham Forest
2–1
Luton Town
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1959–60 FA Cup (1) !1959–60
Wolverhampton Wanderers
3–0
Blackburn Rovers
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1960–61 FA Cup (1) !1960–61
Tottenham Hotspur
2–0
Leicester City
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1961–62 FA Cup (1) !1961–62
Tottenham Hotspur
3–1
Burnley
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1962–63 FA Cup (1) !1962–63
Manchester United
3–1
Leicester City
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1963–64 FA Cup (1) !1963–64
West Ham United
3–2
Preston North End
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1964–65 FA Cup (1) !1964–65
Liverpool
2–1 !* 2–1 *
Leeds United
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1965–66 FA Cup (1) !1965–66
Everton
3–2
Sheffield Wednesday
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1966–67 FA Cup (1) !1966–67
Tottenham Hotspur
2–1
Chelsea
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1967–68 FA Cup (1) !1967–68
West Bromwich Albion
1–0 !* 1–0 *
Everton
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1968–69 FA Cup (1) !1968–69
Manchester City
1–0
Leicester City
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1969–70 FA Cup (1) !1969–70
Chelsea
2–2 !* 2–2 *
Leeds United
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1969–70 FA Cup (2) !1969–70 (R)
Chelsea
2–1 !* 2–1 *
Leeds United
Old Trafford
62,078

1970–71 FA Cup (1) !1970–71
Arsenal
2–1 !* 2–1 *
Liverpool
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1971–72 FA Cup (1) !1971–72
Leeds United
1–0
Arsenal
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1972–73 FA Cup (1) !1972–73
Sunderland
1–0
Leeds United
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1973–74 FA Cup (1) !1973–74
Liverpool
3–0
Newcastle United
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1974–75 FA Cup (1) !1974–75
West Ham United
2–0
Fulham
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1975–76 FA Cup (1) !1975–76
Southampton
1–0
Manchester United
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1976–77 FA Cup (1) !1976–77
Manchester United
2–1
Liverpool
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1977–78 FA Cup (1) !1977–78
Ipswich Town
1–0
Arsenal
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1978–79 FA Cup (1) !1978–79
Arsenal
3–2
Manchester United
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1979–80 FA Cup (1) !1979–80
West Ham United
1–0
Arsenal
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1980–81 FA Cup (1) !1980–81
Tottenham Hotspur
1–1 !* 1–1 *
Manchester City
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1980–81 FA Cup (2) !1980–81 (R)
Tottenham Hotspur
3–2
Manchester City
Wembley Stadium (original)
92,000

1981–82 FA Cup (1) !1981–82
Tottenham Hotspur
1–1 !* 1–1 *
Queens Park Rangers
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1981–82 FA Cup (2) !1981–82 (R)
Tottenham Hotspur
1–0
Queens Park Rangers
Wembley Stadium (original)
90,000

1982–83 FA Cup (1) !1982–83
Manchester United
2–2 !* 2–2 *
Brighton & Hove Albion
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1982–83 FA Cup (2) !1982–83 (R)
Manchester United
4–0
Brighton & Hove Albion
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1983–84 FA Cup (1) !1983–84
Everton
2–0
Watford
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1984–85 FA Cup (1) !1984–85
Manchester United
1–0 !* 1–0 *
Everton
Wembley Stadium (original)
100,000

1985–86 FA Cup (1) !1985–86
Liverpool
3–1
Everton
Wembley Stadium (original)
98,000

1986–87 FA Cup (1) !1986–87
Coventry City
3–2 !* 3–2 *
Tottenham Hotspur
Wembley Stadium (original)
98,000

1987–88 FA Cup (1) !1987–88
Wimbledon
1–0
Liverpool
Wembley Stadium (original)
98,203

1988–89 FA Cup (1) !1988–89
Liverpool
3–2 !* 3–2 *
Everton
Wembley Stadium (original)
82,500

1989–90 FA Cup (1) !1989–90
Manchester United
3–3 !* 3–3 *
Crystal Palace
Wembley Stadium (original)
80,000

1989–90 FA Cup (2) !1989–90 (R)
Manchester United
1–0
Crystal Palace
Wembley Stadium (original)
80,000

1990–91 FA Cup (1) !1990–91
Tottenham Hotspur
2–1 !* 2–1 *
Nottingham Forest
Wembley Stadium (original)
80,000

1991–92 FA Cup (1) !1991–92
Liverpool
2–0
Sunderland
Wembley Stadium (original)
80,000

1992–93 FA Cup (1) !1992–93
Arsenal
1–1 !* 1–1 *
Sheffield Wednesday
Wembley Stadium (original)
79,347

1992–93 FA Cup (2) !1992–93 (R)
Arsenal
2–1 !* 2–1 *
Sheffield Wednesday
Wembley Stadium (original)
62,267

1993–94 FA Cup (1) !1993–94
Manchester United
4–0
Chelsea
Wembley Stadium (original)
79,634

1994–95 FA Cup (1) !1994–95
Everton
1–0
Manchester United
Wembley Stadium (original)
79,592

1995–96 FA Cup (1) !1995–96
Manchester United
1–0
Liverpool
Wembley Stadium (original)
79,007

1996–97 FA Cup (1) !1996–97
Chelsea
2–0
Middlesbrough
Wembley Stadium (original)
79,160

1997–98 FA Cup (1) !1997–98
Arsenal
2–0
Newcastle United
Wembley Stadium (original)
79,183

1998–99 FA Cup (1) !1998–99
Manchester United
2–0
Newcastle United
Wembley Stadium (original)
79,101

1999–2000 FA Cup (1) !1999–2000
Chelsea
1–0
Aston Villa
Wembley Stadium (original)
78,217

2000–01 FA Cup (1) !2000–01
Liverpool
2–1
Arsenal
Millennium Stadium
72,500

2001–02 FA Cup (1) !2001–02
Arsenal
2–0
Chelsea
Millennium Stadium
73,963

2002–03 FA Cup (1) !2002–03
Arsenal
1–0
Southampton
Millennium Stadium
73,726

2003–04 FA Cup (1) !2003–04
Manchester United
3–0
Millwall
Millennium Stadium
71,350

2004–05 FA Cup (1) !2004–05
Arsenal
0–0 ! 0–0
Manchester United
Millennium Stadium
71,876

2005–06 FA Cup (1) !2005–06
Liverpool
3–3 ! 3–3
West Ham United
Millennium Stadium
71,140

2006–07 FA Cup (1) !2006–07
Chelsea
1–0 !* 1–0 *
Manchester United
Wembley Stadium (new)
89,826

2007–08 FA Cup (1) !2007–08
Portsmouth
1–0
 Cardiff City
Wembley Stadium (new)
89,874

2008–09 FA Cup (1) !2008–09
Chelsea
2–1
Everton
Wembley Stadium (new)
89,391

2009–10 FA Cup (1) !2009–10
Chelsea
1–0
Portsmouth
Wembley Stadium (new)
88,335

2010–11 FA Cup (1) !2010–11
Manchester City
1–0
Stoke City
Wembley Stadium (new)
88,643

2011–12 FA Cup (1) !2011–12
Chelsea
2–1
Liverpool
Wembley Stadium (new)
89,041

2012–13 FA Cup (1) !2012–13
Wigan Athletic
1–0
Manchester City
Wembley Stadium (new)
86,254

2013–14 FA Cup (1) !2013–14
Arsenal
3–2 !* 3–2 *
Hull City
Wembley Stadium (new)
89,345

2014–15 FA Cup (1) !2014–15
Arsenal
4–0
Aston Villa
Wembley Stadium (new)
89,283

2015–16 FA Cup (1) !2015–16
Manchester United
2–1 !* 2–1 *
Crystal Palace
Wembley Stadium (new)
88,619

2016–17 FA Cup (1) !2016–17
Arsenal
2–1
Chelsea
Wembley Stadium (new)
89,472

text: A. ^ The official attendance for the 1923 final was reported as 126,047, but the actual figure is believed to be anywhere between 150,000 and 300,000.[14][15]

text: Results by team[edit]

text: Teams shown in italics are no longer in existence. Additionally, Queen's Park ceased to be eligible to enter the FA Cup after a Scottish Football Association ruling in 1887.[16]

text:
Results by team

Club
Wins
First final won
Last final won
Runners-up
Last final lost
Total final appearances

Arsenal
13
1930
2017
7
2001
20

Manchester United
12
1909
2016
7
2007
19

Tottenham Hotspur
8
1901
1991
1
1987
9

Liverpool
7
1965
2006
7
2012
14

Chelsea
7
1970
2012
5
2017
12

Aston Villa
7
1887
1957
4
2015
11

Newcastle United
6
1910
1955
7
1999
13

Blackburn Rovers
6
1884
1928
2
1960
8

Everton
5
1906
1995
8
2009
13

Manchester City
5
1904
2011
5
2013
10

West Bromwich Albion
5
1888
1968
5
1935
10

Wanderers
5
1872
1878
0
–
5

Wolverhampton Wanderers
4
1893
1960
4
1939
8

Bolton Wanderers
4
1923
1958
3
1953
7

Sheffield United
4
1899
1925
2
1936
6

Sheffield Wednesday[A]
3
1896
1935
3
1993
6

West Ham United
3
1964
1980
2
2006
5

Preston North End
2
1889
1938
5
1964
7

Old Etonians
2
1879
1882
4
1883
6

Portsmouth
2
1939
2008
3
2010
5

Sunderland
2
1937
1973
2
1992
4

Nottingham Forest
2
1898
1959
1
1991
3

Bury
2
1900
1903
0
–
2

Huddersfield Town
1
1922
1922
4
1938
5

Derby County
1
1946
1946
3
1903
4

Leeds United
1
1972
1972
3
1973
4

Oxford University
1
1874
1874
3
1880
4

Royal Engineers
1
1875
1875
3
1878
4

Southampton
1
1976
1976
3
2003
4

Blackpool
1
1953
1953
2
1951
3

Burnley
1
1914
1914
2
1962
3

Cardiff City
1
1927
1927
2
2008
3

Charlton Athletic
1
1947
1947
1
1946
2

Barnsley
1
1912
1912
1
1910
2

Clapham Rovers
1
1880
1880
1
1879
2

Notts County
1
1894
1894
1
1891
2

Blackburn Olympic
1
1883
1883
0
–
1

Bradford City
1
1911
1911
0
–
1

Coventry City
1
1987
1987
0
–
1

Ipswich Town
1
1978
1978
0
–
1

Old Carthusians
1
1881
1881
0
–
1

Wigan Athletic
1
2013
2013
0
–
1

Wimbledon[B]
1
1988
1988
0
–
1

Leicester City
0

4
1969
4

Birmingham City
0

2
1956
2

Crystal Palace
0

2
2016
2

Queen's Park
0

2
1885
2

Brighton & Hove Albion
0

1
1983
1

Bristol City
0

1
1909
1

Fulham
0

1
1975
1

Hull City
0

1
2014
1

Luton Town
0

1
1959
1

Middlesbrough
0

1
1997
1

Millwall
0

1
2004
1

Queens Park Rangers
0

1
1982
1

Stoke City
0

1
2011
1

Watford
0

1
1984
1

text:
Jump up ^ Sheffield Wednesday's total includes two wins and one defeat under the earlier name of The Wednesday.
Jump up ^ Wimbledon relocated in 2004 from south London to Milton Keynes rebranding the club as Milton Keynes Dons, but the current incarnation of the club considers that it was founded in 2004 and does not lay claim to the history or honours (including the FA Cup win) of Wimbledon.[17]