Portsmouth v Cardiff record stays intact amid historic Crystal Palace celebrations at Wembley

Crystal Palace made history at Wembley on Saturday as they celebrated FA Cup success for the very first time.

Oliver Glasner’s side were the ones celebrating at the final whistle under the famous arch as Eberechi Eze’s 16th-minute strike was enough to see off the challenge of Manchester City, who will end the season trophyless for the first time since the 2016-17 season.

The Eagles’ famous victory sparked wild scenes of celebration inside the ground and across the country as Palace fans enjoyed seeing their heroes lift their first piece of major silverware in their 120-year history.

That honour fell to former Pompey defender Joel Ward, who, despite being an unused substitute for the game, took centre stage as club captain when the famous, old trophy was handed over.

Its fair to assume airll 30,000-plus Palace fans lucky to be present inside Wembley will have stayed behind to watch that most precious of moments in the club’s history.

Yet it’s Pompey and Cardiff supporters whose presence remains in the latest rewrite of the new Wembley history books.

Indeed, while 84,163 Crystal Palace and Manchester City fans - Saturday’s official attendance - enjoyed the latest FA Cup final spectacle, that number still falls short of the record crowd registered by both Blues and Bluebirds supporters for the same game on May 17, 2008.

Back then, a huge crowd of 89,874 found themselves packed inside the stadium to witness Kanu score the only goal of the game in the 37th minute as Harry Redknapp’s side secured an unforgettable 1-0 win.

Seventeen finals and a whole host of other sporting occasions have been held at the 2007-rebuilt structure since. But the crowd that witnessed Pompey secure the FA Cup for a second time remains the stadium’s highest-ever attendance for a sporting event other than boxing, where spectators can also be seated on the field of play, close to the ring.

The 2016-17 FA Cup final contested by Arsenal and Chelsea ran the 2008 attendance close, with 89,427 fans seated inside Wembley to see the Gunners run out 2-1 winners.

But even that falls someway short of the 89,826 crowd present to witness Chelsea beat Manchester United 1-0 in the 2006-07 final - the previous record held the year before Pompey’s special moment at Wembley.

Incidentally, the record number of sports fans recorded inside the new Wembley stadium for an event is 96,000, when Anthony Joshua took on Daniel Dubois in their all-British IBF World Heavyweight title fight in 2024.

Wembley’s biggest ever crowds - by event/sport

Concert – 98,000: Adele, 2017

Boxing – 96,000: Daniel Dubois vs Anthony Joshua, 2024

Football – 89,874: FA Cup Final – Cardiff City v Pompey, 2008

Rugby Union – 89,267: Rugby World Cup - Ireland v Romania, 2015

NFL – 86,651: Jacksonville Jaguars vs New England Patriots, 2024

Rugby League – 85,217: Challenge Cup final - Warrington Wolves v Leeds Rhinos, 2010.

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