| Football Association Challenge Cup | |
|---|---|
Wembley Stadium will host the final on 17 May 2025 | |
| Tournament details | |
| Country | 
England 
Wales |
| Dates | 2 November 2024 β 17 May 2025 [2] |
| Teams | 745
[1] 653 (qualifying competition) 124 (main competition incl. 32 qualifiers) |
| Defending champions | Manchester United |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 148 |
The 2024β25 FA Cup is the 144th season of the Football Association Challenge Cup, the oldest football tournament in the world. It is sponsored by Emirates and known as the Emirates FA Cup for sponsorship purposes. The FA Cup is the main domestic cup competition for men's football teams in England.
The qualifying competition will begin on 3rd August 2024, with the tournament proper starting on 2nd November 2024. The final will be played at Wembley Stadium, London, on the 17th May 2025.
Teams
The FA Cup is a knockout competition with 124 teams taking part from the first round proper, and all trying to reach the final at Wembley Stadium on 25 May 2024. [1] The competition consists of the 92 teams from the Football League system (20 teams from the Premier League and the 72 in total from the EFL Championship, EFL League One and EFL League Two) plus the 32 surviving teams out of 653 teams from the National League System that will start the competition in the qualifying rounds. The total 745 entrants was an increase on 13 from the previous season, [1] and the most since 758 entrants were accepted in 2012β13.
All rounds will be drawn randomly, usually either at the completion of the previous round discounting any replays or on the evening of the last televised game of a round being played, depending on television broadcasting rights.
| Round | Main date [2] | Number of fixtures | Clubs remaining | New entries this round | Winner prize money | Loser prize money | Divisions entering this round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round | Saturday 2 November 2024 | 40 | 124 β 84 | 48 | None | 24
EFL League One teams 24 EFL League Two teams | |
| Second round | Saturday 30 November 2024 | 20 | 84 β 64 | None | None | None | |
| Third round | Saturday 11 January 2025 | 32 | 64 β 32 | 44 | None | 20
Premier League teams 24 EFL Championship teams | |
| Fourth round | Saturday 8 February 2025 | 16 | 32 β 16 | None | None | None | |
| Fifth round | Saturday 1 March 2025 | 8 | 16 β 8 | None | None | None | |
| Quarter-finals | Saturday 29 March 2025 | 4 | 8 β 4 | None | None | None | |
| Semi-finals | Saturday 26 April 2025 | 2 | 4 β 2 | None | None | ||
| Final | Saturday 17 May 2025 | 1 | 2 β 1 | None | None |
Qualifying
Teams that are not members of either the Premier League or English Football League will compete in the qualifying rounds to secure one of 32 available places in the first round. The six-round qualifying competition will began with the extra preliminary round on 3 August 2024.
Rule Changes
This is the first edition of the tournament to be played without replays in the non-qualifying rounds, as well as the last one to have the final played after the end of the Premier League season. [3] The changes were made as part of a six-year agreement between the Football Association and the Premier League due to pressure on the domestic calendar from expanded UEFA competitions, but were criticised since replays were cited as an important source of revenue for lower league clubs. [4] [5] The agreement saw all round dates return to weekends, [2] with previous editions having had some dates in midweek.
Television rights
Both BBC Sport and ITV Sport air FA Cup matches until the 2025β26 season.
| Broadcaster | Summary |
|---|---|
| BBC Sport | 18 live matches per season, with highlights of the FA Community Shield. [6] BBC Sport has second and third picks of matches in the second round, fourth round and the quarter-finals, as well as first and fourth pick of matches in the first, third and fifth rounds, and first pick of the semi-finals. |
| ITV Sport | At least 20 live matches per season, plus live coverage of the FA Community Shield. [7] ITV has first pick and fourth pick of matches in the second round, fourth round and the quarter-finals, as well as second and third picks for the first, third and fifth rounds and second pick of the semi-finals. |
References
- ^ a b c "The Clubs Entered in Four FA Competitions in 2024-25". The FA. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ a b c "The Emirates FA Cup Round Dates for the 2024-25 Season". The FA. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ MacInnes, Paul (18 April 2024). "FA Cup replays and Premier League winter break scrapped from next season". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ "FA Cup replays to be scrapped from the first round onwards in 2024β25". BBC Sport. London. 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ "FA Cup replay changes 'a total lack of respect for football pyramid'". BBC Sport. London. 18 April 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "BBC and FA agree new four-year FA Cup deal" (Press release). London: BBC Sport. 19 March 2019. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023.
- ^ "ITV signs four-year deal to make FA Cup games free-to-air from 2021". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 23 May 2019.