1970–71 WFA Cup
The 1970–71 Women's Football Association Cup was the first edition of the WFA Cup (Women's FA Cup), the national women's football knockout competition in England, which at the time was open to clubs from the rest of Great Britain. It was organised by the Women's Football Association (WFA).
Crystal Palace National Sports Centre hosted the Final | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | England Scotland Wales |
| Dates | November 1970 – May 1971 |
| Teams | 71 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Southampton Women's F.C. |
| Runner-up | Stewarton Thistle |
| Third place | Nuneaton Wanderers |
| Fourth place | EMGALS |
Seventy-one teams entered the Cup, which was sponsored by sports equipment company Mitre and was thus named the Mitre Challenge Trophy.
The inaugural Cup-winners were the English club Southampton Women's F.C., who beat Scotland's Stewarton Thistle in the Final on 9 May 1971 at Crystal Palace Park; Stewarton won the first edition of the Scottish Women's Cup Final in the same year.
The WFA tournament followed the rescindment of the English Football Association's 1921 ban on women's teams' use of FA member clubs' pitches. However, the English Football League partially continued this ban for more than a decade after 1970.