Everything you need to know about this season’s tournament, including results in a round-by-round breakdown
The FA Cup in England is the oldest football competition in the world and this season, despite coronavirus pandemic-related issues, it returns for the 140th season.
Teams from the lowest level of the English football pyramid right up to the Premier League compete in the tournament and this year it will see a total of 736 teams take part.
Winner-takes-all knockout games mean there is always a chance of a ‘giant killing’ and there have been plenty of those moments over the years, contributing to the magic of the cup.
This season there will be no replays in order to ease the burden of fixture congestion. That decision was confirmed by the Football Association in August prior to the tournament kick-off.
Goal brings you everything you need to know about the 2020-21 edition of the FA Cup.
FA Cup 2020-21 fourth round
FA Cup fourth-round matches will be played over the weekend of January 23, 2021.
The draw for the fourth round takes place on Monday January 11. Thirty-two teams will feature in the draw, with 16 ties to be played.
FA Cup 2020-21 third round
The FA Cup 2020-21 third round will be held across the weekend of January 9-11, 2021.
Twenty Premier League teams and 24 Championship teams enter the competition at this point, joining the 20 winners from the second round.
A total of 32 fixtures will be played in the third round, including eighth-tier Merseyside club Marine taking on Premier League high-fliers Tottenham.
Southampton‘s clash with Shrewsbury Town was postponed after a number of positive Covid-19 tests among the League One outfit’s players and staff.
FA Cup 2020-21 second round
The FA Cup 2020-21 second-round proper was held across the weekend of November 27-30.
| Date | Match | TV? |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 27 | Tranmere Rovers 1-0 Brackley Town | BBC Two |
| Nov 28 | Morecambe 4-2 Solihull Moors (AET) | BBC & BT Sport digital |
| Nov 28 | Newport County 3-0 Salford City | No |
| Nov 28 | Gillingham 2-3 Exeter City | No |
| Nov 28 | Harrogate Town 0-4 Blackpool | No |
| Nov 28 | Plymouth Argyle 2-0 Lincoln City | No |
| Nov 28 | Portsmouth 6-1 King’s Lynn Town | BBC & BT Sport digital |
| Nov 28 | Cheltenham Town 2-1 Crewe Alexandra (AET) | BBC digital |
| Nov 28 | Bradford City 1-2 Oldham Athletic | BBC digital |
| Nov 28 | Peterborough United 1-2 Chorley | BT Sport 2 |
| Nov 29 | Stevenage 1-1 Hull City (AET – Stevenage won 6-5 on penalties) | BBC digital |
| Nov 29 | Wimbledon 1-2 Crawley Town | BBC digital |
| Nov 29 | Stockport County 3-2 Yeovil Town (AET) | BBC digital |
| Nov 29 | Shrewsbury Town 1-0 Oxford City (AET) | BBC & BT Sport digital |
| Nov 29 | Mansfield Town 2-1 Dagenham & Redbridge | BBC digital |
| Nov 29 | Carlisle United 1-2 Doncaster Rovers | BBC digital |
| Nov 29 | Barnet 0-1 MK Dons | BBC digital |
| Nov 29 | Bristol Rovers 6-0 Darlington | BBC & BT Sport digital |
| Nov 29 | Marine 1-0 Havant & Waterlooville | BT Sport 1 |
| Nov 30 | Canvey Island 0-3 Boreham Wood | BT Sport 1 |
FA Cup 2020-21 first round
The first round proper of FA Cup 2020-21 kicked off on November 6, with games also being played on November 7, 8 and 9.
A total of 48 clubs from League One and League Two enter at this phase of the competition as they join the 31 winners of the previous round (along with the bye recipients – on this occasion, Chorley Town).
| Date | Match | TV? |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 6 | Harrogate Town 4-0 Skelmersdale United | BT Sport 1 |
| Nov 7 | Tonbridge Angels 0-7 Bradford City | BBC & BT Sport digital |
| Nov 7 | Exeter City 2-1 Fylde | No |
| Nov 7 | Leyton Orient 1-2 Newport County | No |
| Nov 7 | Sunderland 0-1 Mansfield Town | No |
| Nov 7 | Bolton Wanderers 2-3 Crewe Alexandra | No |
| Nov 7 | Oxford United 1-2 Peterborough United | No |
| Nov 7 | Walsall 1-2 Bristol Rovers | No |
| Nov 7 | Rochdale 1-2 Stockport County | No |
| Nov 7 | Swindon Town 1-2 Darlington | No |
| Nov 7 | Tranmere Rovers 2-1 Accrington Stanley | No |
| Nov 7 | Bromley 0-1 Yeovil Town (AET) | No |
| Nov 7 | Cheltenham Town 3-1 South Shields | No |
| Nov 7 | Stevenage 2-2 Concord Rangers (AET – Stevenage win 5-4 on penalties) | No |
| Nov 7 | Gillingham 3-2 Woking | No |
| Nov 7 | Charlton Athletic 0-1 Plymouth Argyle | No |
| Nov 7 | Salford City 2-0 Hartlepool United (AET) | No |
| Nov 7 | Hull City 2-0 Fleetwood Town | No |
| Nov 7 | Colchester United 1-1 Marine (AET – Marine win 5-3 on penalties) | BBC iPlayer / BBC digital |
| Nov 7 | Dagenham & Redbridge 3-1 Grimsby Town | No |
| Nov 7 | Cambridge United 0-2 Shrewsbury Town | No |
| Nov 7 | Brackley Town 3-3 Bishop’s Stortford (AET – Brackley win 3-2 on penalties) | No |
| Nov 7 | Boreham Wood 3-3 Southend United (AET – Boreham Wood win 4-3 on penalties) | No |
| Nov 7 | Ipswich Town 2-3 Portsmouth (AET) | BBC & BT Sport digital |
| Nov 7 | Port Vale 0-1 King’s Lynn Town | No |
| Nov 7 | Lincoln City 6-2 Forest Green Rovers | No |
| Nov 7 | Banbury United 1-2 Canvey Island | BBC iPlayer / BBC digital |
| Nov 7 | FC United of Manchester 1-5 Doncaster Rovers | BBC Two |
| Nov 8 | Scunthorpe United 2-3 Solihull Moors | No |
| Nov 8 | Havant & Waterlooville 1-0 Cray Valley | BBC iPlayer / BBC digital |
| Nov 8 | Barnet 1-0 Burton Albion | BBC iPlayer / BBC digital |
| Nov 8 | Wigan Athletic 2-3 Chorley | BBC iPlayer / BBC digital |
| Nov 8 | Maldon & Tiptree 0-1 Morecambe | BBC / BT Sport digital |
| Nov 8 | Torquay United 5-6 Crawley Town | BBC iPlayer / BBC digital |
| Nov 8 | Hayes & Yeading United 2-2 Carlisle United (AET – Carlisle win 4-3 on penalties) | BBC iPlayer / BBC digital |
| Nov 8 | Eastleigh 0-0 MK Dons (AET – MK Dons win 4-3 on penalties) | BBC iPlayer / BBC digital |
| Nov 8 | Hampton & Richmond Borough 2-3 Oldham Athletic | BBC / BT Sport digital |
| Nov 8 | Eastbourne Borough 0-3 Blackpool | BT Sport 1 |
| Nov 9 | Oxford City 2-1 Northampton Town | BT Sport 1 |
| Nov 26 | Barrow 0-0 Wimbledon (AET – Wimbledon win 4-2 on penalties) | No |
When did the FA Cup 2020-21 start & when is the final?
| Date | Round |
|---|---|
| August 31 – November 4, 2020 | Qualifying rounds |
| November 6, 2020 | First round |
| November 27, 2020 | Second round |
| January 9, 2021 | Third round |
| January 23, 2021 | Fourth round |
| February 10, 2021 | Fifth round |
| March 20, 2021 | Quarter-finals |
| April 17, 2021 | Semi-finals |
| May 15, 2021 | Final |
The first round proper of the 2020-21 FA Cup kicked off on November 6, 2020, with 47 clubs from League One and League Two entering at that stage.
Those clubs joined the 32 winners from the qualifying stages of the competition, which got underway at the end of August and concluded on November 4.
Premier League and Championship clubs enter the competition at the third round.
The FA Cup 2020-21 final is scheduled for Saturday May 15, 2021. It will be held at the traditional venue of Wembley in London.
FA Cup 2020-21 TV channel & online stream
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| BBC / BT Sport | BBC iPlayer / BT Sport digital app |
The FA Cup is broadcast on the BBC and BT Sport in the United Kingdom.
Both networks air the final and share the rest of the competition, taking turns to select the games they wish to broadcast.
All matches shown by the BBC and BT Sport will be available to stream on their respective websites and apps, while a number will be exclusively online.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| N/A | ESPN+ |
In the United States, the rights to the FA Cup are owned by ESPN and the games are exclusively streamed online via ESPN+ .
That means the games are not strictly being shown live on television in the US.
