Do the FA Cup winners qualify for European football?

The FA Cup has certainly lost its allure of yesteryear, but it remains England's biggest cup competition and its magic has refused to disappear.

The big boys will enter the cup at the third round stage in the new year and each will be vying to make the journey to Wembley. We're due an underdog story, too.

For England's biggest clubs, the bonuses that come with FA Cup glory are pretty insignificant, but said perks could completely alter the fortunes of another victor. The winners of the competition progress automatically into Europe, but what competition do they play in?

How many English teams qualify for Europe?

England's UEFA coefficient is currently the highest by quite some distance which means that seven European spots are open for English sides.

The Premier League's top four automatically qualify for the Champions League, fifth place and the FA Cup winners progress into the Europa League, while the Carabao Cup winners advance into the Europe Conference League qualifying round.

What European competition do the FA Cup winners qualify for?

The winners of the FA Cup qualify for the Europa League group stage proper.

Have the FA Cup winners ever won a European trophy?

The winners of the FA Cup used to qualify for the now defunct Cup Winners' Cup.

Nine English teams went on to win this competition between 1963 and 1998: Tottenham (1962/63), West Ham (1964/65), Manchester City (1969/70), Chelsea (1970/71), Everton (1984/85), Manchester United (1990/91), Arsenal (1993/94) and Chelsea (1997/98).

Maurizio Sarri's Chelsea also won the Europa League in 2018/19 after Antonio Conte led the Blues to FA Cup glory the season prior.

Do the FA Cup runners-up qualify for Europe?

The losing finalists of the FA Cup do not qualify for Europe.