The most famous football competition in English football is the Premier League. We all know how it works, it’s quite straightforward compared to the other domestic competition; the FA Cup. Here we demystify the FA cup competition format so you can better understand and appreciate the game. You’re welcome. Now, let’s dive in.
First of all, what exactly is the FA Cup?
The FA Cup; the Football Association Challenge Cup is an annual domestic knock-out football competition In men’s English football. It involves football teams in England and a few in Wales. It was first played in the 1871-72 season making it the oldest national football competition in the world.
Which teams can participate?
The competition is open to all clubs from in the top ten levels of the English football system, and this is why Coventry FC will be going up against Manchester United in the FA Cup semi final this season. This differs from the EFL (Carabao Cup) which is only open to clubs in the top four levels of English football.
The levels of the Premier League is the most prestigious league in English football; it is level 1. All the teams from level 1 to level 4 are automatically eligible to play in the competition. This includes teams in the;
Premier League
EFL Championship
EFL League
EFL League
Clubs in the lower six levels are also eligible provided they have played in the FA Cup, the FA Trophy, or the FA Vase the previous season. These include teams in the;
National League
National League North and South
Regional Leagues
Newly formed clubs cannot participate in the competition in their inaugural season. A total of 729 clubs compete in the FA Cup every season; yeah, it’s quite a massive competition. It’s usually a year-long event, typically starting in August and ending in May.
FA CUP FORMAT
It’s essentially a knockout competition consisting of 14 rounds but a series of byes gives teams in higher levels an advantage as they get to enter the competition at later stages. The competition is essentially divided into two stages; the Qualifying competition and the Competition Proper.
Qualifying Competition
This starts in August and consists of six rounds;
Extra Preliminary Round
Preliminary Round
First Round
Second Round
Third Round
Fourth Round
The extra preliminary round is played between teams in levels 9 and 10. The teams are randomly drawn and paired against another team which they will play for a chance to advance to the Preliminary Round. All the winners from the extra preliminary round advance to the preliminary round which is when clubs in level 8 join the fray. Another random draw and pairing is conducted this time involving the level 8 teams and the winners of the extra preliminary round.
The first round sees the level 7 clubs join the fray and randomly paired with winners of the preliminary round.
In the second round, level 6 clubs join the competition and play with the winners of the first round. No club joins in the third round but the fourth round sees the addition of level 5 clubs to the competition and this concludes the Qualifying Competition.
The winners in the Qualifying Competition enter the Competition Proper which essentially has six rounds
First Round
Second Round
Third Round
Fourth Round
Fifth Round
Quarter Finals
Semi-Finals
Final
Level 3 and 4 clubs enter the competition in the first round of the competition proper in November. Another round of knock-out is played between the winners of the first round of the competition proper; the second round but there are no new entrants here. The winners of the second round advance to the third round which is where level 1 and 2 clubs; Premier League and Championship teams join the competition. This is where your favorite clubs; Chelsea, Arsenal, Man City, and all other Premier League teams join the competition and are randomly drawn to play against the winners of the second round.
From here onward, there are no new entrants into the competition; the draw just keeps happening, and the matches are played knock-out style until only two clubs are left to play the FA Cup final in May.
All ties in the FA Cup are single elimination; no second legs. If a team loses its match, it is automatically out of the competition. This means that the team that ultimately emerges winner is is undefeated in the entire competition.
The competition up until the fifth round of the competition proper doesn’t use extra time or penalties if the initial match ends in a draw.
Instead, a replay will be scheduled for a later time, switching the location of the match to the other team’s home. If the replay also ends in a draw after 90 minutes, the match goes to extra time and penalties to decide the winner.
From the fifth round onward, any match that ends in a draw after 90 minutes is decided on the same day via extra time and penalties. There are no replays from here onward up until the final.
LOCATIONS
In the earlier round of the competition, whichever team is drawn first plays at home, and in the case of a replay, the match is played at the other team’s home.
The semifinals and finals are played at a neutral stadium; Wembley stadium.
The FA Cup winner gets £2m and an automatic qualification to the next season’s Europa League competition and the FA Community Shield match.
Currently, four teams are in the FA Cup Semi-finals
Chelsea
Manchester United
Manchester City
Coventry FC
FA Cup 2023/24 semi-final fixtures
Chelsea vs Manchester City – Saturday, April 20, 2024
Manchester United vs Coventry FC – Sunday, April 21, 2024.
The FA Cup final will be played at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, May 25, 2024. Who do you think will win this season’s FA Cup?