This includes all cup seasons from:
FA Cup since 2010/11
EFL Cup since 2011/12
Copa del Rey and DFB Pokal since 2005/06
Coupe de France since 1947/48
Coppa Italia since 2003/04
until 3rd of November 2023.
I could only go back as far as the Wikipedia Pages of the cup campaigns state the league tiers each club played in that very season. For some unknown but pleasant reason the Coupe de France is tracked very throughly, so we could go back extremely far there. We won’t see any Italian upsets in the further post because the Coppa Italia is constructed very elitist which barely allows any matchup of even 3rd division clubs with Serie A teams, let alone 4th or 5th division teams.
In the seasons considered as noted above there have been 17 occasions in which a team from the 1st tier was knocked out by a team from the 5th tier:
| Season, Round | Team won | Result | Team lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 49/50, 1 | SC La Bastidienne Bordeaux | 3-2 | RC Lens |
| 87/88, 1 | US Endoume Catalans Marseille | 2-1 after extra time | AS Cannes |
| 95/96, 1 | CS Blénod | 1-0 | SC Bastia |
| 98/99, 1 | Jura-Sud Foot | 8-7 after pens | FC Toulouse |
| 98/99, 2 | US Saint-Georges-les-Ancizes | 1-0 | FC Sochaux |
| 02/03, 1 | SC Schiltigheim | 3-1 | ESTAC Troyes |
| 05/06, 2 | SR Colmar | 1-0 after extra time | AS Monaco |
| 07/08, 2 | US Jeanne d’Arc Carquefou | 2-1 after extra time | AS Nancy |
| 07/08, 3 | US Jeanne d’Arc Carquefou | 1-0 | Olympique de Marseille |
| 10/11, 1 | ES Wasquehal | 2-1 | AJ Auxerre |
| 10/11, 1 | SO Chambéry | 3-2 after pens | AS Monaco |
| 10/11, 2 | SO Chambéry | 4-3 after pens | Stade Brestois |
| 10/11, 3 | SO Chambéry | 2-1 | FC Sochaux |
| 12/13, 2 | Luton Town | 1-0 | Norwich City |
| 13/14, 2 | FB Île-Rousse | 4-3 after pens | Bordeaux |
| 16/17, 3 | Lincoln City | 1-0 | Burnley |
| 21/22, 1 | ESA Linas-Montlhéry | 2-0 | SCO Angers |
And 4 more occasions in which a team from the 6th division pulled off the unlikely:
| Season, Round | Team won | Result | Team lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 59/60, 2 | AS Gardanne | 3-2 | FC Toulouse |
| 81/82, 1 | US Sanary | 7-6 after pens | Montpellier |
| 18/19, 1 | ES Viry-Châtillon | 1-0 | SCO Angers |
| 22/23, 1 | FCO Strasbourg Koenigshoffen 06 | 4-3 after pens | Clermont Foot |
The “Round” in the 1st column starts the count whenever the 1st division teams entered the competitions.
I actually also wrote down all times when a 4th division did it but I am not gonna spam you with that big list, but I would like to note a few interesting upsets. All teams from 4th division which knocked out at least two 1st division teams within one season:
| Season, Round | Team won | Result | Team lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 97/98, 2 | FC Bourg-Péronnas | 3-2 | Montpellier |
| 97/98, 2 | FC Bourg-Péronnas | 2.0 | FC Metz |
| 99/00, 4 | Calais RUFC | 2-1 | RC Strasbourg |
| 99/00, 5 | Calais RUFC | 3-1 after extra time | Bordeaux |
| 01/02, 1 | FC Libourne-Saint-Seurin | 2-0 | Lille OSC |
| 01/02, 2 | FC Libourne-Saint-Seurin | 2-1 after extra time | FC Metz |
| 03/04, 1 | Aviron Bayonne | 5-3 after pens | EA Guingamp |
| 03/04, 2 | Aviron Bayonne | 1-0 after extra time | Bordeaux |
| 05/06, 1 | AS Lyon-Duchère | 2-1 | FC Toulouse |
| 05/06, 2 | AS Lyon-Duchère | 5-4 after pens | RC Strasbourg |
| 06/07, 3 | FC Montceau | 5-4 after pens | Bordeaux |
| 06/07, 4 | FC Montceau | 1-0 | RC Lens |
| 09/10, 1 | Eintracht Trier | 3-1 | Hannover 96 |
| 09/10, 2 | Eintracht Trier | 4-2 | Arminia Bielefeld |
| 09/10, 3 | US Quevilly | 1-0 | Stade Rennais |
| 09/10, 4 | US Quevilly | 3-1 | US Boulogne |
| 12/13, 3 | Bradford City | 4-2 after pens | Wigan Athletic |
| 12/13, 4 | Bradford City | 3-2 after pens | Arsenal |
| 12/13, 5 | Bradford City | 4-3 on aggregate | Aston Villa |
| 13/14, 1 | AS Cannes | 1-0 after extra time | AS Saint-Étienne |
| 13/14, 3 | AS Cannes | 4-3 after pens | Montpellier |
| 19/20, 2 | 1. FC Saarbrücken | 3-2 | 1. FC Köln |
| 19/20, 4 | 1. FC Saarbrücken | 7-6 after pens | Fortuna Düsseldorf |
| 19/20, 1 | Colchester United | 5-4 after pens | Crystal Palace |
| 19/20, 2 | Colchester United | 4-3 after pens | Tottenham |
| 20/21, 1 | Rot-Weiss Essen | 1-0 | Arminia Bielefeld |
| 20/21, 3 | Rot-Weiss Essen | 2-1 after extra time | Bayer Leverkusen |
Add to that the 5th division teams US Jeanne d’Arc Carquefou and SO Chambéry as seen in the first table. Bradford was the only team to knock out as many as 3 1st division teams. A special shout-out to Crawley Town who knocked out a 1st division team in the 1st cup round of 3 of the last 4 seasons (Norwich, Leeds, Fulham).
What’s the format that makes it so upset-heavy?
When there is a 2 division gap, the amateur team automatically hosts.
Ligue 1 teams join with the first game post winter break - meaning their first game after a 2 week break is on a terrible half frozen pitch.
There also seems to be a favouring of smaller sides, commentators (games are on state tv) are extremely pro amateurs.
Added to that, the French cup is the largest national cup in the world with a massive amount of amateur teams participating. There are some amateur clubs who have made it a speciality of theirs to be giant killers during the cup (Quevilly and Carquefou)
That rules! Thank you
If a team has to play the league + europe, the cup is the least of concern. Also there was the french cup AND league cup before, which we finally got rid of few years ago. Too many matches