The Ultimate Guide to the 2026/27 FA Cup
🕐 Last updated: July 2026 · Written by Adrian Dane
🏆 Every Round · Every Date · Every Story
FA Cup 2026/27: The Ultimate Guide
to Every Round
From 438 grassroots clubs kicking off in August to the final at Wembley on 22 May 2027: dates, draws, results, prize money and how to watch, updated all season long.
Manchester City begin the defence of the FA Cup they won in May 2026, beating Chelsea 1-0 at Wembley through Antoine Semenyo’s 72nd-minute backheel. They enter at the third round in January 2027.
Today’s Fixtures →🛤️ Road to Wembley 2026/27: Season Hub
This page is Whatchan’s living guide to the 2026/27 Emirates FA Cup. Every one of the 14 rounds is covered below, from the extra preliminary round on 8 August 2026 to the final at Wembley on 22 May 2027 – and as each round is drawn and played, its section is updated with the results, shocks and stories that matter. Bookmark it: this is the season, in one place.
📅 All 2026/27 Round Dates
The full 2026/27 calendar, as confirmed by the FA. Qualifying ties are traditionally 3pm Saturday kick-offs; from the third round onwards, ties are spread across the weekend for TV.
| Round | Date | Who Plays | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extra Preliminary Round | Sat 8 Aug 2026 | 438 clubs enter | 219 ties |
| Preliminary Round | Sat 22 Aug 2026 | 53 clubs join | 136 ties |
| First Round Qualifying | Sat 5 Sep 2026 | 88 clubs join | 112 ties |
| Second Round Qualifying | Sat 19 Sep 2026 | 48 clubs join | 80 ties |
| Third Round Qualifying | Sat 3 Oct 2026 | No new entrants | 40 ties |
| Fourth Round Qualifying | Sat 17 Oct 2026 | 24 clubs join | 32 ties |
| First Round Proper | Sat 7 Nov 2026 | 48 EFL clubs join | 40 ties |
| Second Round Proper | Sat 5 Dec 2026 | No new entrants | 20 ties |
| Third Round Proper | Sat 9 Jan 2027 | 44 clubs join: all 20 Premier League and 24 Championship sides | 32 ties |
| Fourth Round | Sat 13 Feb 2027 | Last 32 | 16 ties |
| Fifth Round | Sat 6 Mar 2027 | Last 16 | 8 ties |
| Quarter-Finals | Sat 3 Apr 2027 | Last 8 | 4 ties |
| Semi-Finals | Sat 24 Apr 2027 (weekend) | Last 4 – both ties at Wembley Stadium | 2 ties |
| The Final | Sat 22 May 2027 | Wembley Stadium, London | 1 tie |
🌱 The Qualifying Rounds: August to October 2026
Six qualifying rounds run from August to October, whittling 651 non-league clubs down to the 32 that reach the first round proper. This is the soul of the FA Cup: village grounds, part-time players, and prize money that genuinely changes a club’s season.
The 2026/27 FA Cup begins here: 438 clubs from the lower steps of the National League System, all starting the longest road in football. Win six rounds and a place in the first round proper – and a possible tie against an EFL club – awaits. The draw was made on 3 July 2026.
- One tie has already been decided: Marske United advance via walkover after Boro Rangers withdrew from the competition.
The 219 extra preliminary winners are joined by 53 higher-ranked non-league clubs. The prize ladder starts to climb: winners bank 1,444 pounds, meaningful money at this level. The draw was made on 3 July 2026, alongside the extra preliminary round.
Clubs from the seventh and eighth tiers – the Southern, Isthmian and Northern Premier leagues – enter the competition, and the field tightens to 224.
National League North and South clubs join the fray. From here, full-time non-league outfits start to appear in the draw and the giant-killing seeds are planted.
No new clubs enter: the 80 second qualifying round winners fight for 40 places in the final qualifying round, one step from the competition proper.
The 24 National League clubs – the highest-ranked non-league sides in England – enter as the last new arrivals before the EFL joins. The 32 winners reach the first round proper and a guaranteed national spotlight in November.
🏟️ First Round to the Final: November 2026 to May 2027
The competition proper runs from November to May. League One and League Two enter at the first round; the Premier League and Championship join at the third. There are no replays from the first round onwards: every tie is settled on the day, with extra time and penalties if needed.
The competition proper begins. All 48 League One and League Two clubs enter alongside the 32 qualifiers, and from this round onwards there are no replays: level ties are settled by extra time and penalties on the day. For a non-league survivor, a home tie against an EFL club is the payday that can fund a season.
Forty clubs, twenty ties, and one prize on everyone’s mind: a place in the third round draw and the chance to pull a Premier League giant out of the hat.
The most famous weekend in the domestic calendar. All 20 Premier League clubs and all 24 Championship clubs enter, holders Manchester City begin their defence, and 64 clubs go into the hat together. Last season this round produced Macclesfield 2-1 Crystal Palace, the biggest upset in FA Cup history – anything can happen here.
The last 32. By mid-February the pretenders are gone and every surviving lower-league club is dreaming of the quarter-finals.
The last 16, played across a March weekend. From here, Wembley is genuinely in sight: win two ties and you are in the semi-finals under the arch.
Eight clubs, four ties, and nearly half a million pounds for each winner. The quarter-finals are where cup runs become history.
Both semi-finals are played at Wembley Stadium across the weekend of 24-25 April 2027, shown live on TV. Ninety minutes (or penalties) from the biggest day in domestic football.
The 146th FA Cup final, at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 22 May 2027, live and free on BBC One and on TNT Sports. Manchester City lifted the trophy in 2026 – who takes it home in 2027?
💰 FA Cup 2026/27 Prize Money
Figures are the official Emirates FA Cup 2026/27 prize fund, paid per club per round. Clubs whose ties are chosen for live broadcast also receive a separate TV facility fee: from the third round onwards this is worth around 125,000 pounds per club for a televised tie, with smaller fees for streamed matches.
| Round | Winners (per club) | Losers (per club) |
|---|---|---|
| Extra Preliminary Round | £1,125 | £375 |
| Preliminary Round | £1,444 | £481 |
| First Round Qualifying | £2,250 | £750 |
| Second Round Qualifying | £3,375 | £1,125 |
| Third Round Qualifying | £5,625 | £1,875 |
| Fourth Round Qualifying | £9,375 | £3,125 |
| First Round Proper | £47,750 | £15,800 |
| Second Round Proper | £79,500 | £21,200 |
| Third Round Proper | £121,500 | £26,500 |
| Fourth Round | £127,000 | – |
| Fifth Round | £238,500 | – |
| Quarter-Finals | £477,000 | – |
| Semi-Finals | £1,060,000 | £530,000 |
| The Final | £2,120,000 | £1,060,000 (runners-up) |
📺 How to Watch the FA Cup on TV
FA Cup broadcasting rights in the UK are split between TNT Sports / Discovery+ and the BBC. ITV holds no FA Cup rights. The competition is sponsored by Emirates through 2028.
⚽ What Is the FA Cup?
The FA Cup, officially the Football Association Challenge Cup, is the oldest football competition in the world. First held in the 1871-72 season, it predates the Football League by 17 years and remains, over 150 years later, the most romantic cup competition on the planet.
Organised by the Football Association, the competition is open to every eligible club in England’s football pyramid, from Premier League giants to part-time sides playing in front of a few hundred supporters. For 2026/27, 743 clubs entered, all dreaming of a day at Wembley in May.
What makes the FA Cup truly special is its knockout format and the possibility of a “giant-killing”: a lower-league side defeating a much bigger club. These upsets are part of the competition’s DNA, and each January when Premier League clubs enter at the third round, the nation holds its breath waiting for the shock results.
The competition is also a vital financial lifeline for smaller clubs. A non-league side winning through to the first round proper banks £47,750 for a first-round win alone, on top of every qualifying-round cheque along the way. The winners’ prize is £2,120,000, and even the runners-up take home £1,060,000.
📆 Last Season: The 2025-26 FA Cup
The 2025-26 FA Cup was one of the most extraordinary editions in the competition’s history. Sixth-tier Macclesfield knocked out holders Crystal Palace in the third round (the biggest upset ever recorded, 117 league places apart), Wrexham beat Premier League opposition for the first time in 26 years, Championship side Southampton reached the semi-finals, and Manchester City lifted their eighth FA Cup at Wembley, beating Chelsea 1-0 through Antoine Semenyo’s unforgettable 72nd-minute backheel in front of 83,337 fans.
🥇 Most Successful Teams
Arsenal remain the most decorated club in FA Cup history with 14 wins, seven of them masterminded by Arsene Wenger. Manchester City’s 2025-26 triumph took them onto eight FA Cups, level with Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur on the all-time list.
| 1 | Arsenal | 14 |
| 2 | Manchester United | 13 |
| 3= | Chelsea | 8 |
| 3= | Liverpool | 8 |
| 3= | Manchester City | 8 |
| 3= | Tottenham Hotspur | 8 |
| 7 | Aston Villa | 7 |
| 8= | Blackburn Rovers | 6 |
| 8= | Newcastle United | 6 |
| 10 | Everton | 5 |
| 2026 | Manchester City | 8th |
| 2025 | Crystal Palace | 1st title |
| 2024 | Manchester United | 13th |
| 2023 | Manchester City | 7th |
| 2022 | Liverpool | 8th |
| 2021 | Leicester City | 1st title |
| 2020 | Arsenal | 14th |
| 2019 | Manchester City | 6th |
| 2018 | Chelsea | 8th |
| 2017 | Arsenal | 13th |
⚽ All-Time Top Scorers
The FA Cup has produced some extraordinary goalscorers across its 150-year history. The all-time record belongs to Harry Cursham of Notts County, who scored an astonishing 49 goals in just 44 appearances during the Victorian era, a record that will almost certainly never be broken. In the modern era, Ian Rush is the benchmark with 44 goals for Liverpool and Newcastle United.
| # | Player | Club(s) | Goals | Apps | Era |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harry Cursham | Notts County | 49 | 44 | 1870s-80s |
| 2 | Ian Rush | Liverpool, Newcastle | 44 | 75 | 1980s-90s |
| 3 | Denis Law | Man United & others | 43* | – | 1960s-70s |
| 4 | Jimmy Greaves | Tottenham, Chelsea | 42 | 57 | 1960s-70s |
| 5 | Steve Bloomer | Derby County | 39 | – | 1890s-1910s |
| 6 | Alan Shearer | Newcastle United | 27 | 58 | 1990s-2000s |
| 6= | Frank Lampard | Chelsea & others | 27 | 72 | 2000s-2010s |
| 8 | Mark Hughes | Man United, Chelsea | 25 | 69 | 1980s-90s |
| 9 | Wayne Rooney | Everton, Man United | 23 | 49 | 2000s-2010s |
* Denis Law’s total is sometimes cited as 41; the 43-goal figure reflects his complete career total. Six more goals from an abandoned 1961 match were wiped from the records.
📖 History of the FA Cup
The FA Cup was born from a meeting of The Football Association at the Freemasons’ Tavern in London in 1871. FA secretary Charles Alcock proposed the competition, inspired by a house football tournament he had participated in at Harrow School. The first final was played at the Kennington Oval in March 1872, with Wanderers FC defeating Royal Engineers 1-0.
The early decades were dominated by wealthy amateur clubs from the south: Old Etonians, Oxford University, Royal Engineers. The shift to professionalism changed everything. By the 1890s, clubs from the industrial north and Midlands, led by Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa and Preston North End, had come to dominate, reflecting the commercial growth of the game.
The famous White Horse Final of 1923, Bolton Wanderers vs West Ham United at the newly opened Wembley Stadium, saw an estimated 200,000 fans pack the ground, with Police Constable George Scorey and his white horse Billy helping to clear the pitch. Wembley became the permanent home of the final from that point, hosting almost every final since.
The post-war era brought some of the most memorable finals in history: Blackpool’s 4-3 defeat of Bolton in 1953 (the “Matthews Final”), Arsenal’s 3-2 comeback win over Manchester United in 1979, and the remarkable Wimbledon upset over Liverpool in 1988. The competition has always found a way to produce the unexpected.
In recent decades, the FA Cup has faced questions about its prestige as top clubs prioritise European competition. Yet it continues to deliver iconic moments: Wigan Athletic beating Manchester City in 2013, Crystal Palace’s maiden triumph in 2025, the extraordinary 2025-26 upset where sixth-tier Macclesfield knocked out the holders, and Manchester City’s 2026 win sealed by Antoine Semenyo’s audacious backheel against Chelsea at Wembley.
💥 Famous Giant-Killings
No other competition on earth produces upsets quite like the FA Cup. The possibility of a non-league team eliminating a Premier League giant is what makes the third round one of the most anticipated weekends in the English football calendar.
National League North (tier 6) side Macclesfield eliminated Premier League holders Crystal Palace: a gap of 117 league places, the biggest shock in the competition’s modern history.
Championship-relegated Wigan beat Premier League champions Manchester City in the final, with Ben Watson’s last-minute header. Wigan were relegated from the Premier League the same week.
The “Crazy Gang” of Wimbledon defeated the mighty Liverpool side that had won the league that season. Lawrie Sanchez headed home and Dave Beasant saved a penalty, the first in an FA Cup final.
Non-league Hereford’s Ronnie Radford scored one of the most famous goals in FA Cup history to beat First Division Newcastle in extra time.
Southern League (tier 8) Chasetown eliminated League One Port Vale: 108 league places apart. The previous record for league-placing gap, beaten by Macclesfield in 2025-26.
National League North Chorley beat a Derby side fielding U23s and U18s after a COVID-19 outbreak forced the first team to self-isolate. 14 Derby players made their senior debuts.
Non-league Lincoln City became the first non-league side in over 100 years to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals, beating Premier League Burnley along the way.
🕹️ Play: Road to Wembley
Fancy writing your own giant-killing? Road to Wembley is WhatChan’s free retro arcade football game: top-down action, one-button passing, charged shots you can bend in flight, and every English club from the Premier League to the National League North and South to pick from. Play it right here.
WEMBLEY
438 clubs start the road every August. One lifts the cup in May. How far can you take yours?
▶ Play now – freeKeyboard or touch · two-minute matches · no download, no signup
Club names are used for identification only. WhatChan’s games and tools are original, unofficial fan features and are not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to The Football Association, the Emirates FA Cup or any football club. All player names in the game are fictional.
📏 The Giant-Killing-o-meter
How big would YOUR shock be? Pick an underdog and a giant from anywhere in the top six tiers of English football and see how the upset would measure against Macclesfield’s record 117-place giant-killing.
Club names are used for identification only. WhatChan’s games and tools are original, unofficial fan features and are not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to The Football Association, the Emirates FA Cup or any football club.
⭐ Iconic FA Cup Moments
With 72 minutes gone and the final still scoreless, Antoine Semenyo conjured a moment of pure improvisation. Tightly marked by Levi Colwill, he let Haaland’s low cross run through his legs, hung a deliberate right boot behind him, and steered a backheel finish into the far corner past Robert Sanchez. It won City their 8th FA Cup.
Eberechi Eze’s first-time volley on 16 minutes, from Daniel Munoz’s right-wing cross, gave Crystal Palace the lead. Dean Henderson then produced a decisive 36th-minute penalty save, diving to his right to deny Omar Marmoush (and blocking Haaland’s follow-up). Palace’s first ever major trophy.
Stanley Matthews finally won the FA Cup at 38, providing a barnstorming second-half display to help Blackpool overturn a 3-1 deficit. Stan Mortensen scored a hat-trick, still one of only two hat-tricks in an FA Cup final in the modern era.
Arsenal led 2-0, United came back to 2-2 in the final minutes, and then Alan Sunderland poked in a winner in injury time to complete one of the most dramatic finishes in Wembley history.
An estimated 200,000 fans stormed into the newly built Wembley for Bolton vs West Ham. PC George Scorey on his grey horse Billy famously helped clear the pitch. Bolton won 2-0.
Second Division Sunderland, managed by Bob Stokoe, beat the mighty Don Revie Leeds United in one of the biggest final upsets of the era. Ian Porterfield scored; Jim Montgomery made a miraculous double save.
The largest margin of victory in an FA Cup final remains Bury’s 6-0 demolition of Derby County in 1903, a record that has stood for over 120 years.
🧠 The FA Cup Trivia Quiz
Ten questions drawn from a rotating bank covering 150 years of FA Cup history, from the Wanderers to Semenyo’s backheel. Score 10/10 and claim your place among the Cup Final Legends.
🗳️ Fan Polls: Call the Season
Have your say and see how the WhatChan crowd is calling it. Live community tallies, one vote per question, updated all season.
📬 FA Cup Email Updates
One email when it matters: round previews, draw reactions and where to watch every tie. Email signup is warming up on the touchline – for now, drop us a line and we’ll add you the moment it kicks off.
📜 Full List of FA Cup Winners
A complete record of every FA Cup winner from 1872 to the present day. The competition was not held during the First World War (1915-1919) or the Second World War (1940-1945). The 2027 winner will be added here on 22 May 2027.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
When does the 2026-27 FA Cup start?
The 2026-27 FA Cup starts with the extra preliminary round on Saturday 8 August 2026, when 438 non-league clubs begin the road to Wembley. The draw for the first two rounds was made on 3 July 2026.
When is the 2027 FA Cup final?
The 2026-27 FA Cup final is on Saturday 22 May 2027 at Wembley Stadium. It will be shown live and free on BBC One and on TNT Sports.
Who are the current FA Cup holders?
Manchester City are the holders. They beat Chelsea 1-0 in the 2025-26 final at Wembley on 16 May 2026, with Antoine Semenyo scoring the only goal via a 72nd-minute backheel. It was City’s eighth FA Cup.
When do Premier League clubs enter the FA Cup?
All 20 Premier League clubs and all 24 Championship clubs enter at the third round proper, played on the weekend of Saturday 9 January 2027.
What channel is the FA Cup on in the UK?
FA Cup games are shown on BBC One, BBC Two and BBC iPlayer (free) and TNT Sports / Discovery+ (subscription). TNT Sports is the main broadcaster, covering matches from the third round onwards. ITV no longer holds FA Cup rights. Check today’s listings →
Are there replays in the FA Cup in 2026-27?
Replays still exist in the qualifying rounds, where drawn ties are replayed at the away club’s ground. From the first round proper onwards there are no replays: ties level after 90 minutes go to extra time and penalties on the day. This has been the format since 2024-25.
How many clubs enter the FA Cup in 2026-27?
743 clubs were accepted into the 2026-27 Emirates FA Cup, with 651 of them starting in the qualifying rounds. Every club is competing for a place in the final at Wembley on 22 May 2027.
How much prize money do FA Cup winners get?
The 2026-27 FA Cup winners receive 2,120,000 pounds, with the runners-up earning 1,060,000 pounds. Prize money is paid at every round, from 1,125 pounds for an extra preliminary round win up to the final itself.
Who has won the FA Cup the most?
Arsenal lead the all-time list with 14 wins. Manchester United are second with 13. Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur each have 8 wins.
What is the biggest upset in FA Cup history?
The biggest shock in terms of league placing is Macclesfield 2-1 Crystal Palace in the 2025-26 third round: a National League North (tier 6) side beating the Premier League holders, a gap of 117 league places.