The 2023–24 FA Cup was the 143rd season of the Football Association Challenge Cup, the oldest football tournament in the world. It was sponsored by Emirates and known as the Emirates FA Cup for sponsorship purposes.

The final was played on 25 May 2024 between defending champions Manchester City and local rivals Manchester United, a repeat of the previous final which Manchester City won 2–1. This made the final the first to feature the same teams in consecutive editions since the 1884–85 season. Manchester United beat Manchester City to clinch their 13th title in the competition. As the winners, Manchester United qualified for the 2024–25 UEFA Europa League league stage, as well as earned the right to play against the winners of the 2023–24 Premier League, Manchester City, in the 2024 FA Community Shield.

This was the last edition of the tournament to feature 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. 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.

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. The competition consisted 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 640 teams from the National League System that started the competition in the qualifying rounds.

All rounds were 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.

The total prize fund for the competition was £5,508,000.

Qualifying

Teams that were not members of either the Premier League or English Football League competed in the qualifying rounds to secure one of 32 available places in the first round. The six-round qualifying competition began with the extra preliminary round on 4 August 2023.

First round

The first round saw the 32 winners from the fourth qualifying round joined by the 48 clubs from League One and League Two. The draw was made on 15 October 2023 by Paul Parker and Jobi McAnuff. The round included three teams from the eighth tier, Cray Valley Paper Mills, Ramsgate and Sheppey United, the lowest-ranked teams remaining in the competition.

Second round

The draw was made on 5 November 2023 by Dave Beasant and Anita Asante, consisting of the 40 winners from the previous round. The round included Ramsgate from the eighth tier, the lowest ranked team remaining in the competition.

Third round

The third round saw the 20 winners from the second round joined by the 44 clubs from the Premier League and the Championship. The draw was made on 3 December 2023 by Trevor Steven and Jen Beattie. The round included Maidstone United from the sixth tier, the lowest-ranked team remaining in the competition.

Fourth round

The draw was made on 8 January 2024 by Gary Mabbutt and Emma Byrne. The round included Maidstone United from the sixth tier, the lowest-ranked team remaining in the competition.

Fifth round

The draw was made on 28 January 2024 by Glen Johnson. The round included Maidstone United from the sixth tier, the lowest-ranked team remaining in the competition, and the first side outside of the top five divisions to reach the last 16 since Blyth Spartans in 1977–78.

Quarter-finals

The draw for the quarter-finals was made on 28 February 2024 by Seema Jaswal and David Seaman on ITV4. The round included Championship sides Coventry City and Leicester City, the lowest-ranked teams left in the competition.

Semi-finals

The draw for the semi-finals was made on 17 March 2024 by Ian Wright on ITV1, following the quarter-final match between Manchester United and Liverpool. The round included Championship club Coventry City, the only remaining non-top flight team in the competition.

Manchester United extended their English record of a 32nd overall FA Cup semi-final appearance and their second consecutive season, after advancing past Brighton & Hove Albion on penalties last season. Manchester City made a sixth consecutive FA Cup semi-final appearance, also an English record; the club had won two and lost three of the previous five encounters.

Final

Top goalscorers

Following the conclusion of the competition, Biggleswade Town player Jonathan ‘JJ’ Lacey was awarded the FA Cup Golden Ball Award, commemorating him as the top scorer of the season from the extra preliminary round through to the final with 10 goals.

Television rights

Both BBC Sport and ITV Sport air FA Cup matches until the 2025–26 season.

References