Chairman Steve Parish on Crystal Palace’s FA Cup roots

Following our triumphant day beneath the arch, we republish his article below, with kind permission from The Sunday Times.

On Saturday at Wembley we will try to make history, but many people won’t realise the deep connection Crystal Palace have to the FA and the cup.

Back in October 1863, in a room at the (now demolished) Freemasons’ Tavern in Great Queen Street, in the heart of London, 12 clubs gathered to establish the Football Association. The club with most delegates at that historic meeting was Crystal Palace. When the FA Cup competition was launched in the 1871-72 season, Crystal Palace reached the cup’s first semi-finals, knocked out by the Royal Engineers, who then lost to Wanderers FC at Kennington Oval.

Crystal Palace weren’t just founder members; from 1895, and for the next 20 years, thousands flocked to watch the FA Cup final being played at the original Crystal Palace football stadium, in the shadow of the stunning glass structure.

That legacy lingers in the air of Crystal Palace Park, a short walk from Selhurst Park. But the footballing journey since then has not been so smooth. Our football club did not arrive in the top division until 1969, so whatever early advantage we may have had from being “in the room where it happened” at the start did not translate into anything meaningful on the pitch for another 100 years.

FA Cup finals are huge occasions, and we’ve been here before, in 1990 and 2016. We have a rich history, including winning the Zenith Data Systems Cup in 1991, but this is a shot at our first major trophy.

This FA Cup final is a historic opportunity to elevate and inspire our community. Growing up, it was the only live football match on TV each year. It was a family ritual that made the day feel like a national holiday. We’d crowd round the TV and watch — not only the game but every movement of the teams from early in the morning. Later we would go out and try to emulate the defining moments. Charlie George’s winner for Arsenal in 1971 or the heroics of Jim Montgomery in goal for Sunderland in 1973. I wasn’t even ten, already a Palace fan and the FA Cup final was a high point of the year. But I never really imagined Palace were going to be involved, as we tumbled down the divisions.

Then along came Malcolm Allison. He’d won the cup as the assistant manager of Manchester City, and as a third division team he took us to the 1976 semi-final. I might have bawled my eyes out as we narrowly lost to Southampton, but a glimmer of something had taken hold: belief.

Big Mal showed the club what was possible, and when Terry Venables took over we made our way back up the divisions with his much-vaunted “team of the ’80s”. A brief trip to the top of Division One didn’t last but the seeds were sown. Soon, Steve Coppell brought together a fantastic team with incredible players and at the third time of asking, in more than a century, we beat Liverpool 4-3 at Villa Park to get to a final.

I was 24 years old, having lived and breathed Crystal Palace and the FA Cup, when we had made it to play at Wembley for the first time, against Manchester United. Ian Wright was already a star but announced himself on the world stage with two stunning goals. We should have held on at 3-2 but gave up an equaliser in extra time, and then lost the replay. Agony.

Fast forward to 2016, and I am no longer just a fan. I am chairman and together with one of the heroes of that run, the manager Alan Pardew, we set out to put things right. We got to the final for the second time, and again were up against United. Once again, we pushed them to the wire until a late equaliser and their winner in extra time broke the hearts of every Palace fan. Both defeats stung for months. But they taught me the FA Cup’s exhilarating power to inspire. Now, in 2025, we’re back, and I believe we can go one better.

The journey to this moment feels like a miracle. With two administrations, the future of the club has often been uncertain. It was the fans’ refusal to let their club die that pulled us through. From those desperate days to reaching our third FA Cup final, we’ve rebuilt with patience and pride, staying true to our south London roots.

Our supporters have been the backbone of this run. I’ll never forget the semi-final against Aston Villa at Wembley; 40,000 Palace fans turning the stands into a sea of red and blue. The Holmesdale Fanatics’ incredible display, “Take my hand, take my whole life too”. That day, we saw what Oliver Glasner has done: instilled a belief that unites fans and players. This team feels ready to seize the moment. As Oliver says, “We don’t know if we will win but we will show our personality”.

The FA Cup remains a beacon in a football world dominated by Super Leagues and billionaire clubs. It’s where clubs like Palace can sometimes prevail in a one-off, winner-takes-all knockout competition. As chairman, cup final day is a whirlwind. I’ll be at Wembley with my club partners — Josh [Harris], David [Blitzer], and John [Textor] — joined by family and special guests, including former managers Roy Hodgson and Steve Coppell. The Royal Box hums with chatter, often with celebrities, and the opposition directors are friendly and gracious. But my focus will be on the pitch.

This final is personal in a way I can’t fully put into words. My son will be a mascot alongside the son of our club captain, Joel Ward, a player who has been with us almost every step of the way. The boys will be walking out at Wembley in their Palace kits alongside their heroes, and to know that they will carry that memory forever is something special. It reminds me why I do this.

Owning Palace isn’t about business — it’s about stewardship, carrying the hopes of a community, building something that resonates beyond the balance sheet. Fulfilling the dreams of fans. On days like these, it feels like this football club takes their hands, and their whole lives too.

If we win, I want every fan to feel they lifted that trophy, and for every kid in south London to dream bigger. I want to take the FA Cup to Crystal Palace, a tribute to our history and a promise for what’s to come.

Can we bring the cup home? With a squad that fights for every ball, a manager who has sparked belief, and fans who can out-sing the world, I believe we can. Let’s fill Wembley with red and blue, roar until the heavens hear us, and show the world what Crystal Palace is made of. Come on, Palace!