| Country | England | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 73 | ||
| Defending champions | Old Carthusians | ||
| Champions | Old Etonians | ||
| Runners-up | Blackburn Rovers | ||
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The Football Association Challenge Cup 1881–82 was the eleventh staging of the FA Cup, England's oldest football tournament. Seventy-three teams entered, eleven more than the previous season, although five of the seventy-three never played a match.