The FA Cup isn't just a tournament; it’s a chaotic, beautiful logistical nightmare that defines the English winter. If you're looking for dates for the FA Cup, you aren't just looking for a calendar. You're trying to figure out if your team is going to be playing a rotated squad of teenagers in January or if the "Magic of the Cup" is actually going to survive the new, ruthless scheduling demands of the modern game.
It’s getting complicated. Honestly, the 2025/26 season feels like a boiling point for the Football Association and the Premier League. With the expansion of European competitions and the ever-looming threat of player burnout, the traditional weekend slots we all grew up with are being squeezed. Basically, if you want to catch a game, you have to be vigilant because the days of "every round happens on a Saturday at 3 PM" are long gone.
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The Big Shift in the 2025/26 Calendar
Let’s get into the weeds of when things actually happen. The FA Cup qualifying rounds start way earlier than most people realize—usually in the heat of August when nobody is thinking about Wembley. But for the vast majority of fans, the journey truly begins with the First Round Proper in early November. This is where the "real" drama starts for League One and League Two clubs.
For the current 2025/26 cycle, the dates for the FA Cup have been pinned down to keep the momentum going through the dark months. The First Round kicked off the weekend of November 1-3, 2024, and the Second Round followed closely on the November 29 to December 2 window. These are the rounds where you see those iconic scenes—tiny stadiums, muddy pitches, and the very real possibility of a part-time plumber scoring against a professional goalkeeper. It's great.
Then comes the big one. The Third Round.
This is the weekend every football fan circles in red. It’s when the Premier League and Championship giants enter the fray. For this season, that marquee weekend was set for January 10-12, 2026. However, there’s a massive caveat here that most casual fans miss. Because of the sheer volume of televised games, "Third Round Saturday" is now effectively "Third Round Friday-through-Monday." You’ve got to check the broadcasters like ITV and BBC because they’ll move a game to a Monday night at the drop of a hat.
Why No Replays Changes Everything
You might have heard the massive outcry from EFL clubs recently. The FA made the controversial decision to scrap replays from the First Round Proper onwards. This was a huge blow to smaller clubs who relied on the "away day" revenue from drawing a big club and forcing a draw. Now, games go straight to extra time and penalties.
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Why does this matter for the schedule? It makes the dates for the FA Cup much more rigid but predictable. In the past, a midweek replay could pop up ten days after the original fixture, throwing a club's league schedule into total disarray. Now, the FA can guarantee that a round will be completed within its designated window. It's efficient, sure, but many purists argue it has killed a bit of the soul of the competition. Managers like Jurgen Klopp (before his departure) and Pep Guardiola have long campaigned for less congestion, and this change was basically a direct response to those "big six" complaints.
Breaking Down the Latter Stages
As we move into the business end of the tournament, the spacing becomes critical. The Fourth Round for the 2025/26 campaign is slated for the weekend of January 31, 2026. This is a tight turnaround from the Third Round, leaving very little room for error if weather causes postponements.
- The Fifth Round (Round of 16) is where things get interesting. For the last few years, the FA has experimented with midweek slots for this round to ease weekend congestion. For 2026, expect these matches to take place around Wednesday, February 25.
- Quarter-finals usually land in mid-March. Specifically, the weekend of March 21, 2026. This is often a split weekend where Premier League games are postponed to make room, creating a massive backlog of league fixtures that usually causes a "double gameweek" frenzy in Fantasy Premier League.
- Semi-finals are locked for the weekend of April 18-19, 2026, always held at Wembley.
- The Final. The big dance. May 23, 2026.
It’s worth noting that the FA Cup Final is now being protected more fiercely. There used to be a clash where Premier League games were played on the same day as the final, which felt... wrong. The FA and Premier League have a renewed agreement to ensure the Final stands alone as the primary domestic event of that Saturday, usually kicking off at 5:30 PM.
The Impact of the "New" Champions League Format
You can't talk about dates for the FA Cup without mentioning the Swiss Model in the Champions League. Because European nights have increased, the "free" midweeks that the FA used to rely on for rescheduling have vanished. This is why the Fifth Round is so precarious. If a team like Manchester City or Arsenal has a knockout European game and an FA Cup tie in the same fortnight, the scheduling becomes a game of Tetris.
We saw this happen last season where some teams were playing three games in seven days. It’s brutal. The physical toll on players is real, and it’s why you’ll see the FA Cup often being used as a "rest" period for star players, much to the annoyance of fans who paid £60 for a ticket.
Honestly, the "Magic of the Cup" is under siege from the clock.
Surprising Details You Might Have Missed
Did you know that the FA Cup schedule actually affects the grassroots game? When a local team makes a deep run, it often causes a ripple effect where local amateur leagues have to shift their pitch bookings because the "big" local stadium is in use.
Also, the prize money is distributed based on these rounds, and the dates matter for the payout. A win in the Third Round is worth about £120,000 in prize money alone, not counting the TV broadcast fees which can be upwards of £250,000. For a club in League Two, knowing the exact dates for the FA Cup is a matter of financial survival, not just sport. They plan their entire yearly budget around the potential of a January windfall.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Schedule
A common misconception is that the FA Cup dates are set in stone years in advance. They aren't. They are "provisional" until the TV picks are announced, which usually happens only three to four weeks before the game. This makes life incredibly difficult for away fans. If you’re a Newcastle fan and you draw Bournemouth away, you can’t book your train until the broadcasters decide if you’re playing Friday night or Sunday afternoon.
Another myth: the FA Cup final is always the last game of the English season. While it usually is the last domestic game, the Champions League final often happens a week or two later. In 2026, the scheduling has to be particularly tight because of the preparations for the subsequent World Cup cycle.
Actionable Advice for Following the 2025/26 FA Cup
If you are planning to attend or follow the tournament closely, do not rely on the "default" Saturday 3 PM kickoff time you see on most score apps six months out. Those are placeholders.
How to stay ahead:
- Monitor the TV Pick Window: For the Third Round in January, TV picks are usually finalized by the first week of December. Don't book non-refundable travel before this announcement.
- Follow the "Secondary" Channels: While BBC and ITV have the main rights, the FA's own website often lists the "overseas" broadcast picks which can sometimes leak the schedule a day or two early.
- Watch the Weather: Historically, the Fourth Round in late January is the highest risk for frozen pitches. If you're traveling to a smaller stadium without undersoil heating, check the local forecast 48 hours in advance; League One and Two clubs still suffer from postponements that big Premier League clubs don't.
- Check the "EFL Trophy" Calendar: Often, lower-league clubs have games in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy that clash with potential FA Cup replays (back when they existed) or moved fixtures.
The 145th edition of the competition is shaping up to be one of the most condensed ever. While the removal of replays is a bitter pill for many to swallow, it has made the dates for the FA Cup a much more streamlined affair for the modern viewer. Just keep your calendar flexible, because as any seasoned fan knows, the FA Cup doesn't care about your weekend plans.
Check the official FA website or your club's specific ticket office portal for the most immediate updates regarding Fourth Round tickets, as those windows are notoriously short—often opening and closing within a 72-hour period once the Third Round concludes.