| Copa del Rey | |
| Year: | 2022–23 |
| Country: | Spain |
| Date: | 19 October 2022 – 6 May 2023 |
| Num Teams: | 115 |
| Champions: | Real Madrid |
| Count: | 20 |
| Runner-Up: | Osasuna |
| Matches: | 126 |
| Goals: | 359 |
| Top Goal Scorer: | Kike (5 goals) |
| Prevseason: | 2021–22 |
| Nextseason: | 2023–24 |
The 2022–23 Copa del Rey was the 121st staging of the Copa del Rey (including two seasons where two rival editions were played), the oldest official football competition in Spain. The winners of the competition would have automatically qualified for the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League group stage; however, as Real Madrid had already qualified for European competition via league standings, their place was passed down to the sixth-placed team in La Liga and the UEFA Europa Conference League spot reserved for the sixth-placed team was awarded to the team who finished seventh in the league. Both the winners and runners-up qualified for the four-team 2023–24 Supercopa de España.
Real Betis were the defending champions, having beaten Valencia on penalties in the previous edition's final, but were eliminated in the round of 16 by Osasuna. Osasuna would go on to reach the 2023 final, where they lost 2–1 to Real Madrid. For Madrid, this was their twentieth Copa del Rey title, and first since 2014.[1]
As across Spain, match times up to 30 October 2022 and from 26 March 2023 were CEST (UTC+2). Times on interim ("winter") days were CET (UTC+1). Matches played in the Canary Islands used the WET .
In the summer of 2022, the RFEF released the calendar of the competition and confirmed the format of the previous season would remain.[2]
| Round | Draw date | Date | Fixtures | Clubs | Format details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary round | 10 | New entries: Clubs qualify through the 2021–22 sixth tier. Opponents seeding: Teams faced each other according to proximity criteria. Local team seeding: Luck of the draw. Knock-out tournament type: Single match. | |||
| First round | 55 | 110 → 55 | New entries: All qualified teams except for the four participants in the Supercopa de España and champions of the 2021–22 Primera División RFEF. Opponents seeding: Teams from lowest divisions faced La Liga teams. Local team seeding: Matches were played at home stadiums of teams in lower divisions. Knock-out tournament type: Single match. | ||
| 28 | 56 → 28 | New entries: 2021–22 Primera División RFEF champions entered at this stage. Opponents seeding: Teams from lowest divisions face La Liga teams. Local team seeding: Matches were played at home stadiums of teams in lower divisions. Knock-out tournament type: Single match. | |||
| Round of 32 | 16 | 32 → 16 | New entries: Clubs participating in the Supercopa de España entered at this stage. Opponents seeding: Teams from lowest divisions faced La Liga teams. Local team seeding: Matches were played at home stadiums of teams in lower divisions. Knock-out tournament type: Single match. | ||
| Round of 16 | 8 | 16 → 8 | Opponents seeding: Teams from lowest divisions faced La Liga teams. Local team seeding: Matches were played at home stadiums of teams in lower divisions. Knock-out tournament type: Single match. | ||
| Quarter-finals | 4 | 8 → 4 | Opponents seeding: Luck of the draw. Local team seeding: Matches were played at home stadiums of teams in lower divisions. Knock-out tournament type: Single match. | ||
| Semi-finals | 2 | 4 → 2 | Opponents seeding: Luck of the draw. Local team seeding: Luck of the draw. Knock-out tournament type: Double match. | ||
| Final | 6 May 2023 | 1 | 2 → 1 | Single match at Estadio de La Cartuja, Seville. Both teams qualified for the 2023–24 Supercopa de España. UEFA Europa League qualification: winners qualified for the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League group stage. |
The following teams qualified for the competition. Reserve teams were not allowed to enter.[3] [4]
| La Liga All 20 teams of the 2021–22 season | Segunda División All 21 non-reserve teams of the 2021–22 season | Primera División RFEF Top five non-reserve teams of each group of the 2021–22 season | Segunda División RFEF Top five non-reserve teams of the five groups of the 2021–22 season | Tercera División RFEF The best non-reserve teams plus the best seven non-reserve runners-up of each one of the eighteen groups of the 2021–22 season | Copa Federación The four semi-finalists of the 2022 Copa Federación de España | Regional leagues The best non-promoted teams of the twenty groups of the sixth tier in the 2021–22 season | |||||||
| --ASTURIAS--> | --BALEARIC ISLANDS-->[9] | --BASQUE COUNTRY-->[12] | --COMMUNITY OF MADRID-->[15] | --ANDALUCIA-->[17] | --CASTILE AND LEÓN-->[19] |
|---|
Teams were divided into four groups according to geographical criteria.[21]
The first round was played by 110 of the 115 qualified teams, with the exceptions being the four participants of the 2022–23 Supercopa de España and Primera RFEF champions. The ten winners from the previous preliminary round were paired with ten teams from La Liga. The four Copa Federación semi-finalists were drawn with the other four teams from La Liga, and the last two La Liga teams were drawn with the teams from the Tercera RFEF. The last five teams from the Tercera RFEF were paired with five teams from the Segunda División. The last fifteen teams from Segunda División were paired with fifteen teams from the Segunda RFEF. Finally, the nineteen teams from the Segunda RFEF were paired with the nineteen teams from the Primera RFEF.
A total of 55 games were played on 12 and 13 November 2022.
The draw was held on 24 October 2022. Teams were divided into seven pots.[22]
| width=15% | Pot 1 | width=15% | Pot 2 | width=15% | Pot 3 | width=15% | Pot 4 | width=15% | Pot 5 | width=15% | Pot 6 | width=15% | Pot 7 |
|
The draw was held on 16 November 2022 in the RFEF headquarters in Las Rozas. The Primera RFEF champions entered in this round. Teams were divided into five pots according to their division in the 2022–23 season. Matches were played at the stadiums of lower-ranked teams. A total of 28 games were played from 20 to 22 December 2022.
The draw was held on 23 December 2022 in the RFEF headquarters in Las Rozas. The four participant teams of the 2022–23 Supercopa de España were drawn with the teams from the lowest category. The remaining teams from the lowest categories faced the rest of La Liga teams. Matches were played at stadiums of lower-ranked teams. A total of 16 games were played from 3 to 5 January 2023.
The draw was held on 7 January 2023 in the RFEF headquarters in Las Rozas. The qualified teams were split up into three groups based on their division in the 2022–23 season. When possible, matches were played at the stadiums of the lower-ranked teams, otherwise the first team drawn played at home. A total of eight games were played from 17 to 19 January 2023.
| width=15% | Pot 1 | width=15% | Pot 2 | width=15% | Pot 3 |
| Athletic Bilbao Atlético Madrid Barcelona Espanyol Mallorca Osasuna Real Betis Real Madrid Real Sociedad Sevilla Valencia Villarreal | Alavés Levante Sporting Gijón | Ceuta |
The draw was held on 20 January 2023 in the RFEF headquarters in Las Rozas. As there were no teams from the lower divisions, home teams were determined by luck of the draw.
| Qualified teams | |
| Athletic Bilbao Atlético Madrid Barcelona Osasuna Real Madrid Real Sociedad Sevilla Valencia |
The draw for the semi-finals was held on 30 January 2023 in the RFEF headquarters in Las Rozas.
| Qualified teams | |
| Athletic Bilbao Barcelona Osasuna Real Madrid |
|}
Osasuna won 2–1 on aggregate.----Real Madrid won 4–1 on aggregate.
See main article: 2023 Copa del Rey final.
