The 1895–96 FA Cup was the 25th season of the world's oldest association football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (more usually known as the FA Cup). The cup was won by The Wednesday, who defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–1 in the final of the competition, played at Crystal Palace in London. This was Wednesday's first victory in the FA Cup.
Matches were scheduled to be played at the stadium of the team named first on the date specified for each round, which was always a Saturday. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played, a replay would take place at the stadium of the second-named team later the same week. If the replayed match was drawn further replays would be held at neutral venues until a winner was determined. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played in a replay, a 30-minute period of extra time would be played.
Calendar
The format of the FA Cup for the season had a preliminary round, four qualifying rounds, three proper rounds, and the semi-finals and final.
The semi-final matches were both played on Saturday, 21 March 1896. The Wednesday and Wolverhampton Wanderers went on to meet in the final at Crystal Palace.
The final took place on Saturday, 18 April 1896 at Crystal Palace. Less than 50,000 supporters attended the match. The match finished 2–1 to The Wednesday, through two early goals from Fred Spiksley. Between the two goals, David Black had equalised for Wolves.