FA CUP

The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world.^[1] The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also held. Its current sponsored name is The FA Cup with Budweiser^[2].
The FA Cup was first held in 1871–72. Entry is open to all teams who compete in the Premier League, the Football League and in steps one to five of the FA National League System, as well as selected teams in step 6.^[3] This means that clubs of all standards compete, from the largest clubs in England and Wales down to amateur village teams. The tournament has become known for the possibility for "minnows" from the lower divisions to become "giant-killers" by eliminating top clubs from the tournament and even theoretically win the Cup, although lower division teams rarely progress beyond the early stages. The qualification rounds and a system of byes mean that the very smallest and very biggest teams almost never meet.
The holders of the FA Cup are Manchester City, who beat Stoke City 1–0 in the 2011 final for their fifth Cup triumph and first since 1969.

The Champions League

The UEFA Champions League is a cup competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It is widely considered to be the most prestigious football club competition in the world.^[1][2] The final of the competition has been the most watched annual sporting event worldwide, drawing 109 million television viewers in 2010, narrowly eclipsing the Super Bowl for the first time.^[3]
Prior to 1992, the tournament was officially called the European Champion Clubs' Cup but was usually referred to as simply the European Cup. The competition was initially a straight knockout competition open only to the champion club of each country. During the 1990s the tournament began to be expanded, incorporating a round-robin group phase and more teams. Europe's strongest national leagues now provide up to four teams each for the competition. The UEFA Champions League should not be confused with the UEFA Europa League, formerly known as the UEFA Cup.
The tournament consists of several stages. In the present format it begins in mid-July with three knockout qualifying rounds and a play-off round. The 10 surviving teams join 22 seeded teams in the group stage, in which there are eight groups consisting of four teams each. The eight group winners and eight runners-up enter the final knockout phase, which ends with the final match in May. Since the tournament changed name and structure in 1992, no club has managed consecutive wins, with Milan being the last club to successfully defend their title, in 1990. The winner of the UEFA Champions League qualifies for the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.
The title has been won by 21 different clubs, 12 of which have won the title more than once. The all-time record-holders are Real Madrid, who have won the competition nine times, including the first five seasons it was contested. Spain's La Liga is marginally the most successful league, having amassed 13 wins (9 with Real Madrid and 4 with Barcelona). Italy's Serie A is the league with most appearances in the final (26). England has produced the highest number of winning clubs (4), although English teams were banned from the competition for five years following the events at Heysel in 1985.^[4]
Barcelona of Spain are the current champions, having beaten English side Manchester United in the 2011 final on 28 May 2011.

English Premier League

The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier League is a corporation in which the 20 member clubs act as shareholders. Seasons run from August to May, with teams playing 38 matches each, totalling 380 matches in the season. Most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games played during weekday evenings. It was known as the Premiership from 1993 to 2007. It is currently sponsored by Barclays Bank and therefore officially known as the Barclays Premier League.
The competition formed as the FA Premier League on 20 February 1992 following the decision of clubs in the Football League First Division to break away from The Football League, which was originally founded in 1888, and take advantage of a lucrative television rights deal. The Premier League has since become the world's most watched association football league.^[1] It is the world's most lucrative football league in terms of revenue, with combined club revenues of over £2 billion in 2008–09.^[2] It is ranked first in the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) coefficients of leagues based on performances in European competitions over the last five years, ahead of Spain's La Liga and Germany's Bundesliga.^[3]
Since 1888, a total of 23 clubs have been crowned champions of the English football system. Of the 44 clubs to have competed since the inception of the Premier League in 1992, four have won the title: Manchester United (12 titles) Arsenal (3), Chelsea (3) and Blackburn Rovers (1). The current champions are Manchester United, who won the title in the 2010–11 season.

Barcelona

Futbol Club Barcelona (Catalan pronunciation: [fubˈbɔɫ ˈkɫub bərsəˈɫonə]), also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça,^[2] is a Spanish professional football club, based in Barcelona, Spain. They play in La Liga, and are one of the only three clubs to have never been relegated, along with Athletic Bilbao and rival Real Madrid. They are the current Spanish and European football champions.
Founded as Foot-Ball Club Barcelona in 1899 by a group of Swiss, English and Spanish footballers led by Joan Gamper, the club has become a symbol of Catalan culture and Catalanism, hence the motto "Més que un club" (English: More than a club). The official Barça anthem is the "Cant del Barça" written by Jaume Picas and Josep Maria Espinàs. Unlike many other football clubs, the supporters own and operate Barcelona. It is the world's second richest football club in terms of revenue, with an annual turn-over of €398 million. The club holds a long-standing rivalry with Real Madrid, and matches between the two teams are referred to as "El Clásico".
FC Barcelona is the second most successful club in Spanish football in terms of overall trophies, having won 21 La Liga titles, a record 25 Spanish Cups, ten Spanish Super Cups and two League Cups. It is also one of most successful clubs in European football, having won 4 UEFA Champions League, 4 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, 3 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, 3 UEFA Super Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup.^[3] It is the only European club to have played continental football every season since 1955. In 2009, Barcelona became the first club in Spain to win the treble consisting of La Liga, Copa del Rey, and the Champions League. That same year, it also became the first football club ever to win six out of six competitions in a single year, thus completing the sextuple, comprising the aforementioned treble and the Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.

Manchester United

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.
In 1968, under the management of Matt Busby, Manchester United was the first English football club to win the European Cup, ten years after the Munich air disaster that claimed the lives of eight players. The current manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, is the most successful manager in English football history, having won 27 major honours since he took over in November 1986.^[3][4]
Manchester United is the most successful club in English football, having won a record 19 league titles, a record 11 FA Cups^[5] and four League Cups. The club has also won three European Cups and has twice been club world champions: in 1999 and 2008.
Manchester United is one of the wealthiest and most widely supported football teams in the world.^[6][7][8][9] The club is said to be worth £1.13 billion, making it the world's most valuable football club.^[10] After being floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1991, the club was purchased by Malcolm Glazer in May 2005 in a deal valuing the club at almost £800 million.^[11]