The Oldest National Football Trophy in the World

Irn Bru wrote:Although there is evidence of football trophies existing prior to 1873 it is factually correct to state that the Scottish Cup is the oldest trophy within Association football and the oldest national football trophy in the world. 

Surviving trophies such as the Youdan Cup (1867) are from a different football code (Sheffield Rules) and cannot be placed within the context of the Association game. As Association football is the modern world game it can be argued that the Scottish Cup is the oldest trophy in World Football.

The FA Cup as a competition dates from 1871 making it two years older than the Scottish Cup competition but the present FA trophy dates from 1911 and the original was stolen in 1895, never to be recovered. 

The First Successful Tournament 

The FA Cup struggled in its early years to get off the ground. Most of the clubs in the formative years of the tournament were from the Metropolis of London with Glasgow’s Queen’s Park being one of the few clubs competing from out with the area. For many of England’s northern clubs, making the rail journey south was simply too expensive and time consuming and local competitions against rival teams were deemed to be more worthwhile.

And it's the Scottish Cup

http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_football.cfm?page=3132