Crystal Palace and Chelsea get special FA Cup privilege as new feature introduced

Crystal Palace and Chelsea Women will use special commemorative Mitre footballs during their respective FA Cup campaigns this season.

Oliver Glasner’s side claimed FA Cup glory for the first time in their history in May beating Manchester City at Wembley.

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Meanwhile, Chelsea triumphed over Manchester United in the women’s version of the competition.

A nice touch

In honour of both successes, they will use a gold-trimmed Mitre Ultimax Winners’ Ball in all FA Cup fixtures.

The Ultimax will be used for all FA Cup ties however the blinged-up version will make its debut when Crystal Palace kick off their defence of the trophy at Macclesfield on Saturday – live on talkSPORT.

And Chelsea will get their turn to try out the ball when they face Crystal Palace Women next weekend at Kingsmeadow.

Fans will be able to get their hands on the new ball with two versions being made available online.

The Pro version will set fans back a whopping £130 while a training edition can be purchased at £18.

Ahead of Saturday’s clash, Glasner hopes his side’s success in the competition can be the catalyst for further silverware in the future.

“We want to win another trophy,” the Crystal Palace boss said. “This is our approach. It’s not defending something, it’s winning something.

“We can’t defend it because we already have won it. This trophy will stay forever in Crystal Palace history books. But it’s adding another trophy – that’s how we enter the FA Cup.”

The 1-0 win over Pep Guardiola’s men last May handed Palace their first ever major trophy, a moment goalkeeper Dean Henderson will never forget.

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Pure jubilation

“I can’t even put my finger on what it actually was in that moment… pure emotion,” the shot-stopper told Palace’s official website.

“Obviously, you go through the game and you feel so in control cause it’s just a game of football, and you’ve got to play it like that, ultimately… but the feeling to see the reaction in front of my goal, and everyone going up…

“When I was stepping up to take the goal kick [in injury time], I knew we’d got this! ‘If I kick this far, if I get it off the floor, we’ve won. We’ve won.

“And just to hear that atmosphere at that moment… everyone was singing louder than ever.

“I don’t think anyone will ever hear Wembley like that. It genuinely shook. It was insane.

“Obviously, the players are so thankful for all that support, because we needed them that day. Obviously, City were a phenomenal team, but it was all about Crystal Palace – and it was always going to be Crystal Palace’s day.”