| FA Cup | |
| Year: | 2022–23 |
| Other Titles: | Football Association Challenge Cup |
| Country: | England Wales |
| Num Teams: | 732[1] (all) 640 (qualifying competition) 124 (main competition incl. 32 qualifiers) |
| Champions: | Manchester City (7th title) |
| Runner-Up: | Manchester United |
| Matches: | 144 |
| Goals: | 428 |
| Top Goal Scorer: | Paul Mullin (8 goals) |
| Prevseason: | 2021–22 |
| Nextseason: | 2023–24 |
| Defending Champions: | Liverpool |
The 2022–23 FA Cup was the 142nd edition of the oldest football tournament in the world, the Football Association Challenge Cup. It is a one-legged competition whereby teams play each other once and the winner proceeds to the next round, in contrast to a two-legged competition in which teams play each other twice (home and away) to determine which team progresses to the next round. The FA Cup was sponsored by Emirates and known as the Emirates FA Cup for sponsorship purposes.
Premier League team Liverpool were the defending champions, having defeated Chelsea to secure their eighth title in the previous year's final, but they were eliminated in the fourth round by Brighton & Hove Albion.[2]
Manchester City defeated city rivals Manchester United 2–1 in the final to win their seventh FA Cup title.[3] As winners, they would have qualified for the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League group stage; however, as they had already qualified for European competition via the league standings, the spot was passed down to the sixth-placed Premier League team.
The FA Cup was a knockout competition with 124 teams taking part all trying to reach the final at Wembley on 3 June 2023.[4] 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 (all but eleven clubs from 5–9 and eleven replacements from tier 10 of the English football league system) that started the competition in the qualifying rounds.
Qualification rounds were on a geographical basis and main competition rounds were drawn randomly usually either at the completion of the previous round or on the evening of the last televised game of a round being played depending on television broadcasting rights.
| Round | Main date | Number of fixtures | Clubs remaining | New entries this round | Winners prize money[5] | Losers prize money | Divisions entering this round | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round proper | Saturday 5 November 2022 | 40 | 124 → 84 | 48 | £41,000 | None | 24 EFL League One teams 24 EFL League Two teams | |
| Second round proper | Saturday 26 November 2022 | 20 | 84 → 64 | None | £67,000 | None | None | |
| Third round proper | Saturday 7 January 2023 | 32 | 64 → 32 | 44 | £105,000 | None | 20 Premier League teams 24 EFL Championship teams | |
| Fourth round proper | Saturday 28 January 2023 | 16 | 32 → 16 | None | £120,000 | None | None | |
| Fifth round proper | Wednesday 1 March 2023 | 8 | 16 → 8 | None | £225,000 | None | None | |
| Quarter-finals | Saturday 18 March 2023 | 4 | 8 → 4 | None | £450,000 | None | None | |
| Semi-finals | Saturday 22 April 2023 | 2 | 4 → 2 | None | £1,000,000 | £500,000 | None | |
| Final | Saturday 3 June 2023 | 1 | 2 → 1 | None | £2,000,000 | £1,000,000 | None |
See main article: 2022–23 FA Cup qualifying rounds.
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.
On 6 August 2022, Newport (IOW) teenager Finn Smith became the youngest ever FA Cup goalscorer, a day after his 16th birthday.[6]
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 17 October 2022 by Dion Dublin and Alan Smith.[7] The round included six teams from the seventh tier, the lowest-ranked teams remaining in the competition: Alvechurch, Bracknell Town, Coalville Town, Merthyr Town, Needham Market, and South Shields.
The draw for the second round was made on 7 November 2022 by Jermaine Beckford and Mickey Thomas, consisting of the 40 winners from the previous round.[8] The round contained one team from the seventh tier, Alvechurch, who defeated EFL League One club Cheltenham Town in the first round.
The draw for the third round was made on 28 November 2022, consisting of the 20 winners from the previous round, all 20 members of the Premier League and the 24 EFL Championship clubs.[9] [10] The round included three teams from the fifth tier, the lowest-ranked teams remaining in the competition: Chesterfield, Boreham Wood, and Wrexham.
The draw for the fourth round was made on 8 January 2023, consisting of the 32 winners from the previous round. The round included one team from the fifth tier, the lowest-ranked team remaining in the competition: Wrexham.[11]
The draw for the fifth round took place on 30 January 2023 on The One Show at Broadcasting House in Portland Place. The matches took place in the week commencing 27 February 2023.[12] This round included one team from the fourth tier, the lowest-ranked team remaining in the competition: Grimsby Town.
The draw for the quarter-finals took place on 1 March 2023.[13] This round included one team from the fourth tier, the lowest-ranked team remaining in the competition: Grimsby Town. Grimsby were the first fourth-tier side to reach the quarter-finals since Cambridge United in 1990.[14]
The draw for the semi-finals took place on 19 March 2023 on BBC One, after Brighton & Hove Albion's victory over Grimsby Town.[15] This round, decided in one match, which was played at Wembley Stadium, included one team from the second-tier EFL Championship: Sheffield United.
See main article: 2023 FA Cup final.
See also: Manchester derby.
Following the conclusion of the competition, Wrexham player Paul Mullin 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 eight goals.[16]
The domestic broadcasting rights for the competition were held by the BBC, who had held them since the 2014–15 season, and ITV, who were showing matches for the second successive season. Both of these broadcasters will air the tournament until the 2024–25 season, and both were permitted to show the final live. In addition, FA Cup matches could also be streamed on ESPN+.
| Broadcaster | Summary | |
|---|---|---|
| BBC Sport | 18 live matches per season, with highlights of the 2022 FA Community Shield.[18] 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 for 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 2022 FA Community Shield.[19] ITV had 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. |
| Round | Date | Teams | Kick-off | TV Channel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round[20] | 4 November | Hereford v Portsmouth | 7:55pm | BBC Two |
| 5 November | South Shields v Forest Green Rovers | 12:00pm | BBC One | |
| 6 November | Wrexham v Oldham Athletic | 12:30pm | ITV1 | |
| Torquay United v Derby County | 3:00pm | ITV1 | ||
| 7 November | Bracknell Town v Ipswich Town | 7:45pm | ITV4 | |
| First round (Replay) | 15 November | Derby County v Torquay United | 7:45pm | BBC Three |
| 16 November | Salford City v Peterborough United | 7:45pm | ITV4 | |
| Second round[21] | 26 November | King's Lynn Town v Stevenage | 12:45pm | BBC One |
| Forest Green Rovers v Alvechurch | 3:00pm | BBC One | ||
| Wrexham v Farnborough | 3:15pm | S4C | ||
| 27 November | Ebbsfleet United v Fleetwood Town | 12:30pm | ITV1 | |
| Newport County v Derby County | 3:15pm | ITV1 | ||
| Second round (Replay) | 7 December | Stockport County v Charlton Athletic | 7:45pm | ITV4 |
| 8 December | Gillingham v Dagenham & Redbridge | 7:45pm | BBC Three | |
| Third round[22] | 6 January | Manchester United v Everton | 8:00pm | ITV1 |
| 7 January | Gillingham v Leicester City | 12:30pm | BBC One | |
| Tottenham Hotspur v Portsmouth | 12:30pm | BBC iPlayer | ||
| Coventry City v Wrexham | 5:30pm | S4C | ||
| Sheffield Wednesday v Newcastle United | 6:00pm | BBC One | ||
| Liverpool v Wolverhampton Wanderers | 8:00pm | ITV4 | ||
| 8 January | Cardiff City v Leeds United | 2:00pm | ITV1 | |
| Manchester City v Chelsea | 4:30pm | BBC One | ||
| Aston Villa v Stevenage | 4:30pm | BBC iPlayer | ||
| 9 January | Oxford United v Arsenal | 8:00pm | ITV1 | |
| Third round (Replay) | 17 January | Wolverhampton Wanderers v Liverpool | 7:45pm | BBC One |
| 18 January | Leeds United v Cardiff City | 7:45pm | ITV4 | |
| Fourth round[23] | 27 January | Manchester City v Arsenal | 8:00pm | ITV1 |
| 28 January | Accrington Stanley v Leeds United | 12:30pm | BBC One | |
| Walsall v Leicester City | 12:30pm | BBC iPlayer | ||
| Preston North End v Tottenham Hotspur | 6:00pm | BBC One | ||
| Manchester United v Reading | 8:00pm | ITV4 | ||
| 29 January | Brighton & Hove Albion v Liverpool | 1:30pm | ITV1 | |
| Wrexham v Sheffield United | 4:30pm | BBC One | ||
| 30 January | Derby County v West Ham United | 7:45pm | ITV4 | |
| Fourth round (Replay) | 7 February | Sheffield United v Wrexham | 7:45pm | ITV4 |
| 8 February | Sunderland v Fulham | 7:45pm | BBC One | |
| Fifth round[24] | 28 February | Stoke City v Brighton & Hove Albion | 7:15pm | ITV4 |
| Leicester City v Blackburn Rovers | 7:30pm | BBC iPlayer | ||
| Fulham v Leeds United | 7:45pm | BBC One | ||
| Bristol City v Manchester City | 8:00pm | ITV1 | ||
| 1 March | Southampton v Grimsby Town | 7:15pm | ITV4 | |
| Burnley v Fleetwood Town | 7:30pm | BBC iPlayer | ||
| Manchester United v West Ham United | 7:45pm | ITV1 | ||
| Sheffield United v Tottenham Hotspur | 7:55pm | BBC One | ||
| Quarter-Finals[25] | 18 March | Manchester City v Burnley | 5:45pm | BBC One |
| 19 March | Sheffield United v Blackburn Rovers | 12:00pm | ITV1 | |
| Brighton & Hove Albion v Grimsby Town | 2:15pm | BBC One | ||
| Manchester United v Fulham | 4:30pm | ITV1 | ||
| Semi-finals[26] | 22 April | Manchester City v Sheffield United | 4:45pm | ITV1 |
| 23 April | Brighton & Hove Albion v Manchester United | 4:30pm | BBC One | |
| Final | 3 June | Manchester City v Manchester United | 3:00pm | BBC One |
| ITV1 | ||||
