When is the FA Cup final 2023? Date, time and fixture schedule as winner is crowned

Ben Miller

When is the FA Cup final 2023? Date, time and fixture schedule as winner is crowned image

The FA Cup final is set as the Manchester derby rivals face off for the silverware. It's the first time that an FA Cup final will feature a Manchester derby.

Manchester City overcame second-tier Sheffield United with relative ease in one semifinal, while Manchester United needed a penalty shootout to see off Brighton & Hove Albion.

Last season's FA Cup winners Liverpool were eliminated by Brighton back in the Fourth Round, with the Seagulls embarking on a memorable run, despite the crushing semifinal setback.

Defending Premier League champions Manchester City have yet to concede an FA Cup goal, advancing past Chelsea (4-0), Arsenal (1-0), Bristol City (3-0), Burnley (6-0), and Sheffield United (3-0) as they seek their seventh FA Cup trophy and first since 2019.

Manchester United overcame Everton (3-1), Reading (3-1), West Ham (3-1), Fulham (3-1), and Brighton (7-6 on penalties after a 0-0 draw) to reach their first FA Cup final since 2018, seeking their first triumph since 2016.

MORE: How many times have Man City and Man United met in the FA Cup

2022/23 FA Cup round by round

The FA Cup officially kicked off on the same weekend that the Premier League began, pitting non-league teams against each other in the earliest preliminary round at the start of August 2022.

Minnows had to play as many as six qualifying rounds before the first round proper at the start of November 2022, when teams from the bottom two divisions in England — League One and League Two — joined the party.

The most notable giant-killings began in January 2023 when the 20 Premier League teams and 24 clubs from the second-tier Championship kicked off their FA Cup adventure.

RoundDate (weekend of)
Extra Preliminary RoundAug. 6, 2022
Preliminary RoundAug. 20, 2022
First Round QualifyingSept. 3, 2022
Second Round QualifyingSept. 17-21, 2022
Third Round QualifyingSept. 30-Oct. 5, 2022
Fourth Round QualifyingOct. 15-18, 2022
First Round ProperNov. 4-16, 2022
Replays: Nov. 14-16
Second RoundNov. 26-27, 2022
Replays: Dec. 7-8
Third RoundJan. 6-17, 2023
Replays: Jan. 17-24
Fourth RoundJan. 27-30, 2023
Replays: Jan. 31, Feb. 7-8
Fifth Round (Round of 16)Feb. 28-Mar. 1, 2023
QuarterfinalMarch 18-19, 2023
SemifinalApril 22-23, 2023
FinalJune 3, 2023

MORE: Watch every Premier League match live with fuboTV in Canada

When is the FA Cup final?

That final date, June 3, traditionally represents a showpiece end to the regular domestic season in England.

The showdown at the national stadium of Wembley remains an iconic day on the English sporting calendar.

Wembley is arguably the most prestigious place most supporters can hope to see their teams play at, especially for fans unfamiliar with their clubs reaching finals.

The staging of the FA Cup at 3 p.m. local time on a Saturday in May was long held as sacrosanct. In recent times, though, kick-off has tended to take place later in the day. In 2022/23, the final began at the curious time of 4:45 p.m. local time because of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Wembley

Are Premier League teams playing on the same day as the FA Cup final?

There was a time when the idea of Premier League games taking place within hours of the final would have seemed ridiculous, but those days now seem as distant a memory.

Manchester United won the Premier League on the same day as the 2011 final, and one league game took place on the final date in the two years that followed.

The FA said it had responded to popular demand from fans and media when beginning in 2014 it once again decided to schedule the final following the closing round of league games.

In 2023, the final will take place on June 3, a week after the Premier League season ends (May 28).

Has the 2022 FIFA World Cup affected the FA Cup final?

The 2022/23 season in Europe was disrupted in an unprecedented fashion due to the World Cup in Qatar, which ran from mid-November to December 18.

The Premier League season kicked off on its earliest-ever date in order to accommodate the break in games for the World Cup, and for the same reason the FA Cup final will take place in June for the first time.

The changes enforced by the first ever World Cup to be held in the November/December window angered many fans — especially purists — and were broadly unpopular among managers.

With Man City also reaching the UEFA Champions League final on June 10, their players who also took part in the World Cup will have played for more than 10 months without any substantial break.

Ben Miller

Ben Miller Photo

Ben Miller has been writing about sport for 25 years, following all levels of football as well as boxing, MMA, athletics and tennis. He’s seen five promotions, three relegations, one World Cup winner and home games in at least three different stadiums as a result of his lifelong devotion to Brighton & Hove Albion. His main aim each week is to cover at least one game or event that does not require a last-minute rewrite.