Emirates FA Cup Tickets

Emirates FA Cup Tickets give you access to the world's oldest domestic football competition. This is the 146th season of the FA's premier knock-out tournament, the 2026/27 edition. Qualifying matches kicked off in early August with local non-league teams facing each other before small crowds, leading all the way to the final at Wembley Stadium on 22 May 2027. The current champions are Manchester City, who beat Chelsea 1-0 last May and will look to defend their title for the fifth time in a row. But somewhere along the way, an unlikely team will cause a shock, and eliminate a big name. That's how the competition works. You can buy Emirates FA Cup tickets online for all fixtures with full security and buyer guarantees.

Emirates FA Cup Tournament Overview

The FA Cup is the most famous cup tournament in England. There are no restrictions on who can enter the tournament, so any football team affiliated to the FA has a chance to take part – from top-flight giants to semi-pro and amateur clubs. As a result, around 700 clubs enter the tournament. It is a straight knock-out affair. There are no group stages, there are no replays in the latter rounds, and there are no home-and-away ties in any round except the early qualifying stages. You either win or you're eliminated.

This makes Emirates FA Cup Tickets unique among all other football match tickets. In August, you might pay just a few pounds to watch a lower league club take part in a qualifying match. Then in January, you might watch the same club face Manchester United. Finally, at the end of the season, everything comes down to one game at Wembley Stadium. The winner also gets a spot in the Europa League, making the tournament even more important to non-top-four clubs.

Emirates FA Cup History

The FA Cup was first held in the 1871/72 season, when 15 teams entered the competition. Wanderers defeated Royal Engineers in front of 2,000 fans at Kennington Oval. The competition predates the formation of the English Football League by 16 years and remained largely unchanged through both World Wars.

The 1923 FA Cup Final, the first at Wembley Stadium, was nicknamed the White Horse Final after around 200,000 fans packed into a 125,000 capacity stadium and mounted police were called onto the field to control the crowd. Arsenal holds the record with 14 titles. Manchester United won the FA Cup 13 times, while Chelsea and Manchester City both have eight titles each (after City's win in 2026). The FA Cup is well known for its giant-killers: Hereford United beat Newcastle United 1-0 in 1972; Wimbledon beat Liverpool 1-0 in the 1988 final; and Bradford City beat Chelsea 4-2 away in the fourth round in 2015. Last season, the holders Crystal Palace lost 2-1 away to Macclesfield Town in the third round.

Emirates FA Cup Format

The FA Cup consists of 14 rounds from August until May, all played as single leg ties.

The competition starts with six rounds of qualifying matches, held between August and October. 651 non-league clubs compete for 32 spots in the first round proper. These teams join the 92 Professional clubs (20 from the Premier League and 72 from the English Football League) to make up the 124 teams that make it to the first round proper. Clubs from League One and League Two enter the competition at the First Round. Premier League and Championship teams join at the Third Round in January, hence the reason why that particular weekend has the most famous ties each season. The Semi-Finals and Final are held at Wembley.

Previous FA Cup Winner

In the 2026 FA Cup, Manchester City defeated Chelsea 1-0 at Wembley on 16 May. With the match seemingly destined for extra time, City substitute Antoine Semenyo converted an Erling Haaland cross in the 72nd minute with a backheeled flick. City managed to hold off a prolonged Chelsea attack in the dying stages to secure their place in history. It was their eighth FA Cup title, Pep Guardiola's third, and his 20th with City in ten years – his last trophy before departing the club.

Their path to the trophy was dominant. They thrashed Exeter City 10-1, Salford City 2-0, defeated Newcastle 3-1 away, beat Liverpool 4-0 with a Haaland treble, and saw off Southampton 2-1 in the semi-final. Chelsea progressed through games against Charlton, Hull City, and survived a thrilling 4-2 victory against Wrexham in extra time. They then demolished Port Vale 7-0 and beat Leeds United 1-0 in the semi-final.

The 2026/27 FA Cup Contenders

Manchester City will be the defending champions, albeit under new management. This will be the first FA Cup campaign at the Etihad without Guardiola for ten years. The Blues have made four consecutive finals and will look to add to that number.

Arsenal enter as Premier League champions and the competition's record holders, having won it a record 14 times. The FA Cup has traditionally been held in higher regard by Arsenal than the other 'big six' sides. Chelsea will be eager for redemption following their defeat last May. Liverpool, Aston Villa, Tottenham and Newcastle also boast sufficient depth to mount serious challenges.

However, the real intrigue lies in identifying which team will cause an upset. Last season, Wrexham forced Chelsea into extra time, while Macclesfield eliminated the defending champions. Sunderland, Nottingham Forest, and the newly-promoted Championship sides all possess passionate fanbases capable of elevating a third-round fixture into a major occasion.

Emirates FA Cup 2026/27 Fixtures

FA Cup Teams Tickets

The clubs most likely to go deep in the 2026/27 competition. Select a team and view their tickets:

• Arsenal FA Cup Tickets — Emirates Stadium, record 14-time FA Cup winners
• Manchester City FA Cup Tickets — Etihad Stadium, defending champions chasing a fifth straight final
• Manchester United FA Cup Tickets — Old Trafford, 13 titles and the competition's second most successful club
• Chelsea FA Cup Tickets — Stamford Bridge, eight-time winners and beaten finalists in May
• Liverpool FA Cup Tickets — Anfield, where a cup tie under the lights is the best night in English football
• Tottenham Hotspur FA Cup Tickets — Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, eight FA Cups and the league's most modern arena
• Aston Villa FA Cup Tickets — Villa Park, seven-time winners and a regular semi-final host before Wembley reopened
• Newcastle United FA Cup Tickets — St James' Park, six FA Cups and a fanbase desperate for a seventh
• Everton FA Cup Tickets — five-time winners with one of the longest unbroken records in the competition
• Leeds United FA Cup Tickets — Elland Road, semi-finalists last season and one of English football's great cup atmospheres
• Nottingham Forest FA Cup Tickets — City Ground, two-time winners on the banks of the Trent
• Crystal Palace FA Cup Tickets — Selhurst Park, 2025 winners looking to bounce back from a third-round exit
• Sunderland FA Cup Tickets — Stadium of Light, two-time winners including the famous 1973 upset
• Brighton & Hove Albion FA Cup Tickets — American Express Community Stadium, 1983 finalists still chasing a first trophy

Attend the FA Cup in Person

There is no other tournament like this. You could attend a qualifying match in August for a fraction of the price of a movie ticket and find yourself on a stand with 300 supporters, watching semi-professionals who earn their living in offices during the week. It's one thing playing at your own club ground in the middle of the week, it's another thing altogether seeing those same part-timers take a Premier League team to 0-0 at half time in a 60,000 seater stadium in a mid-January third-round tie.

Then you've got Wembley. The semi-finals and final are really the only times most fans ever see their club play under the arch, and the march down Olympic Way with 40,000 people all wearing the same shirt is something nobody ever forgets. Wembley Stadium holds 90,000 spectators for football matches, and it's fully covered, but the atmosphere during a cup final isn't anywhere near the same as watching a neutral international.

100% Authentic FA Cup Tickets with Buyer Protection

Each and every listing is checked before being listed, and payments are held securely until the tickets have been verified as delivered. If the seller doesn't deliver, if the tickets don't match the listing, or if a tie gets cancelled, we've got buyer protection for you.

This is one problem that the resale market is perfectly placed to solve. The FA Cup has a particular issue; draws are only made 2-4 weeks before the games, club allocations are limited and prioritised for season ticket holders, and Wembley allocations are divided between the two clubs, with very little available for general sale. For anyone without club membership (which is most overseas visitors), verified resale is the only viable option.

FA Cup Ticket Prices

Prices for Emirates FA Cup tickets vary far more than any other competition in England, as the competition runs across 10 levels of football. The qualifying rounds offer some of the cheapest tickets you'll find anywhere, with tickets usually priced at £8-£15 for admission to non-league stadiums in August and October. First and Second Round Proper fixtures at League One and League Two clubs are typically in the region of £15-£30.

At the Third Round Proper, prices increase somewhat, with the average price for tickets at Premier League stadiums against lower-league opponents sitting somewhere between £25-£45 on face value, though the bigger ties will be much more expensive on the resale market. Quarter-finals and semi-finals are even more expensive.

The final is a different story. Face value for the Wembley event is roughly £45-£150 depending on the tier, but with the allocations from both teams sold out, the vast majority of neutral fans will buy from the resale market. In the 2026 final between Manchester City and Chelsea, there were over 3,600 resale tickets listed at approximately €267, so you should expect a similar situation in May 2027.

When to Buy FA Cup Tickets

That really depends on which round you want to attend, as the FA Cup is very different to buying tickets for a league game. For the qualifying and early rounds, you can simply show up. Most non-league venues will sell tickets on the day, and the beauty of the competition is that there's no rush to buy tickets.

For the Third Round, however, it's a different story. You need to buy tickets as soon as the draw has taken place in early December. You only have a four-week lead up to the match, and any big ties — such as a Premier League team going away to a non-league side — are often sold out in just a few days. If the host club only has a capacity of 5,000, there's a good chance they'll be sold out before the end of the first month after the draw.

With Wembley, however, the logic changes. Those fans who plan ahead will grab semi-final and final tickets before the draw is even made, since demand skyrockets as soon as the draw happens. If you're aiming for the 22 May 2027 final, then monitor the market starting from the quarter-finals.

Latest FA Cup News

The 2026/27 edition of the FA Cup kicked off with the Extra Preliminary Round on 8 August 2026. 651 clubs from tiers five to nine battled for 32 spots in the First Round Proper. The qualifying rounds take place until the Fourth Round Qualifying on 17 October.

Manchester City are the eight-time defending champions and they clinched the double domestically last season under Pep Guardiola. Guardiola has left the club and Enzo Maresca is now in charge; it is City's first FA Cup campaign under a new manager since 2016.

The Third Round Proper will take place on the weekend of 9-10 January 2027. At this point, all 20 Premier League and 24 Championship clubs join the tournament. No league games are played during that weekend. The final will be held at Wembley on Saturday 22 May 2027.

FAQs

How much are FA Cup tickets?

The cheapest FA Cup tickets cost around £8 for a qualifying-round match at a non-league stadium. The most expensive FA Cup tickets can cost £150 for a premium seat at the Wembley final. For a Third Round Proper match at a Premier League ground, expect to pay between £25 and £45 at face value. Resale prices are dictated by the fixture and the size of the home stadium.

When is the 2027 FA Cup final?

The 2027 FA Cup final will take place on Saturday 22 May 2027 at Wembley Stadium in London. The semi-finals will be played on Saturday 24 April 2027 at Wembley as well.

When do Premier League clubs enter the FA Cup?

Premier League clubs enter at the Third Round Proper, which is scheduled for the weekend of 9-10 January 2027. All 20 Premier League and 24 Championship teams will enter the tournament at this stage. They will join 44 lower-league and non-league teams that progressed from the qualifying rounds.

How many teams enter the FA Cup?

Approximately 700 teams from the top ten tiers of English football enter the FA Cup. The 651 non-league clubs play in six qualifying rounds for 32 spots in the First Round Proper. At this stage, they will be joined by 92 teams from the Premier League and EFL.

Can I buy FA Cup tickets without being a club member?

Yes. Most clubs give priority to season ticket holders and members. However, allocations for the matches at Wembley are rarely sold to the general public. You can use official resale sites to purchase tickets without being a club member, with buyer protection included.

Does the FA Cup winner qualify for Europe?

Yes. The FA Cup winner earns automatic qualification for the UEFA Europa League. If the winner has already secured a spot in the Champions League via the league, the Europa League berth is passed down the Premier League table.

Are there replays in the FA Cup?

No. Replays are no longer used in any of the rounds proper. If a match is tied after 90 minutes, it goes to extra time. If still level after extra time, the match is decided by penalties.

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