| Country | England | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 62 | ||
| Defending champions | Clapham Rovers | ||
| Champions | Old Carthusians | ||
| Runners-up | Old Etonians | ||
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The Football Association Challenge Cup 1880–81 was the tenth staging of the FA Cup, England's oldest football tournament. Sixty-two teams entered, eight more than the previous season, although four of the sixty-two never played a match.