The FA Cup is the oldest football competition in the world and it has returned for its 144th edition in 2024-25.
Teams from the entire span of the English football pyramid have a shot at glory and the tournament has come to be known for its legendary 'giant-killing ties', which augment the 'magic of the cup'.
Here, GOAL brings you everything you need to know about the 2024-25 FA Cup, with a round-by-round guide, including draw details, fixtures and results, as well as which games are being televised.
Where to watch the FA Cup on TV & online
| Country | TV channel |
|---|---|
| United States | ESPN, ESPN+ |
| United Kingdom | BBC, ITV, BBC iPlayer, ITVX |
| Australia | Optus Sport |
FA Cup games are broadcast live on ESPN in the United States, with ESPN+ streaming a selection of fixtures across the duration of the tournament.
In the United Kingdom, broadcasting rights are shared by the BBC and ITV, with BBC showing 18 live matches a season and ITV showing at least 20 games live.
FA Cup third round draw, fixtures & results
The third round draw of the 2024-25 FA Cup took place on December 2, 2024. All Premier League teams enter at this stage, joining the 20 winners from the second round and all 24 teams from the Championship.
| Date | Fixture | TV channel |
|---|---|---|
| w/e Jan 11 | Southampton vs Swansea City | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Arsenal vs Manchester United | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Exeter City vs Oxford United | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Reading vs Burnley | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Aston Villa vs West Ham United | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Manchester City vs Salford City | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Millwall vs Dagenham & Redbridge | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Liverpool vs Accrington Stanley | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Bristol City vs Wolves | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Leyton Orient vs Derby County | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Chelsea vs Morecambe | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Middlesbrough vs Blackburn Rovers | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Norwich City vs Brighton & Hove Albion | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Preston North End vs Charlton Athletic | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Bournemouth vs West Bromwich Albion | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Mansfield Town vs Wigan Athletic | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Hull City vs Doncaster Rovers | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Tamworth vs Tottenham Hotspur | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Sunderland vs Stoke City | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Leicester City vs Queens Park Rangers | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Brentford vs Plymouth Argyle | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Coventry City vs Sheffield Wednesday | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Newcastle United vs Bromley | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Everton vs Peterborough United | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Wycombe Wanderers vs Portsmouth | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Birmingham City vs Lincoln City | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Leeds United vs Harrogate Town | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Nottingham Forest vs Luton Town | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Sheffield United vs Cardiff City | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Ipswich Town vs Bristol Rovers | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Fulham vs Watford | To be decided |
| w/e Jan 11 | Crystal Palace vs Stockport County | To be decided |
FA Cup second round draw, fixtures & results
The draw for the second round of the 2024-25 FA Cup took place on Sunday November 3, 2024.
| Date | Fixture | TV channel |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 29 | Harrogate Town 1-0 Gainsborough Trinity | BBC Two / BBC iPlayer / ESPN+ |
| Nov 30 | Wealdstone 0-2 Wycombe Wanderers | ITV1 / ITVX / ESPN+ |
| Nov 30 | Salford City 2-0 Cheltenham Town | N/A |
| Nov 30 | Walsall 0-4 Charlton Athletic | N/A |
| Nov 30 | Exeter City 2-0 Chesterfield | N/A |
| Nov 30 | Leyton Orient 2-1 Oldham Athletic | N/A |
| Nov 30 | Barnsley 0-0 (3-4 pens) Bristol Rovers | N/A |
| Nov 30 | Accrington Stanley 2-2 (4-1 pens) Swindon Town | N/A |
| Nov 30 | Crawley Town 3-4 Lincoln City | N/A |
| Nov 30 | Stevenage 0-1 Mansfield Town | N/A |
| Nov 30 | Peterborough United 4-3 Notts County | N/A |
| Nov 30 | Stockport County 3-1 Brackley Town | N/A |
| Nov 30 | Morecambe 1-0 Bradford City | N/A |
| Nov 30 | Cambridge United 1-2 Wigan Athletic | N/A |
| Nov 30 | Wimbledon 1-2 Dagenham & Redbridge | ITVX / ESPN+ |
| Dec 1 | Kettering Town 1-2 Doncaster Rovers | BBC Two / BBC iPlayer / ESPN+ |
| Dec 1 | Blackpool 1-2 Birmingham City | N/A |
| Dec 1 | Burton Albion 1-1 (3-4 pens) Tamworth | N/A |
| Dec 1 | Reading 5-3 Harborough Town | N/A |
| Dec 1 | Solihull Moors 1-2 Bromley | ITV1 / ITVX / ESPN+ |
FA Cup first round draw, fixtures & results
The draw for the first round of the 2024-25 FA Cup was made on October 14, 2024.
Among the notable games in the draw are the meeting of Sutton United and Birmingham City, as well as Wrexham's visit to Harrogate Town (both games are televised), while MK Dons and AFC Wimbledon will face off in a continuation of a rivalry which began in the early 21st century when Wimbledon FC relocated to Milton Keynes.
| Date | Fixture | TV channel |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 1 | Notts County 5-1 Alfreton Town | N/A |
| Nov 1 | Tamworth 1-0 Huddersfield Town | BBC Two, BBC iPlayer, ESPN+ |
| Nov 2 | Barrow 0-1 Doncaster Rovers | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Brackley Town 0-0 Braintree Town (5-4P) | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Bradford City 3-1 Aldershot Town | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Bristol Rovers 3-1 Weston-super-Mare | ESPN+ |
| Nov 2 | Burton Albion 1-0 Scarborough Athletic | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Carlisle United 0-2 Wigan Athletic | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Chesterfield 3-1 Horsham | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Crewe Alexandra 0-1 Dagenham & Redbridge | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Exeter City 5-3 Barnet | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Gillingham 0-2 Blackpool | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Grimsby Town 0-1 Wealdstone | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Hednesford Town 4-4 Gainsborough Trinity (4-5P) | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Maidenhead United 1-2 Crawley Town (AET) | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Newport County 2-4 Peterborough United | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Port Vale 1-3 Barnsley | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Reading 2-0 Fleetwood Town | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Rochdale 3-4 Bromley | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Rotherham United 1-3 Cheltenham Town | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Rushall Olympic 0-2 Accrington Stanley | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Salford City 2-1 Shrewsbury Town | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Solihull Moors 3-0 Maidstone United | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Southend United 3-4 Charlton Athletic (AET) | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Stevenage 1-1 Guiseley (5-4P) | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Stockport County 2-1 Forest Green Rovers (AET) | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Swindon Town 2-1 Colchester United (AET) | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Tonbridge Angels 1-4 Harborough Town | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Tranmere Rovers 1-2 Oldham Athletic | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Walsall 2-1 Bolton Wanderers | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Woking 0-1 Cambridge United | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Worthing 0-2 Morecambe | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Wycombe Wanderers 3-2 York City | N/A |
| Nov 2 | Northampton Town 1-2 Kettering Town | BBC Two, BBC iPlayer, ESPN+ |
| Nov 3 | MK Dons 0-2 Wimbledon | N/A |
| Nov 3 | Sutton United 0-1 Birmingham City | ITV1, ITVX, ESPN+ |
| Nov 3 | Boreham Wood 2-2 (1-3 pens) Leyton Orient | ESPN+ |
| Nov 3 | Curzon Ashton 0-4 Mansfield Town | ESPN+ |
| Nov 3 | Harrogate Town 1-0 Wrexham | ITVX, ESPN+ |
| Nov 4 | Chesham United 0-4 Lincoln City | ITV4, ESPN+ |
FA Cup 2024-25 round dates
| Round | Date | No. of fixtures | Teams entering |
|---|---|---|---|
| First round | November 2, 2024 | 40 | 24 League One teams + 24 League Two teams |
| Second round | November 30, 2024 | 20 | None |
| Third round | January 11, 2025 | 32 | 20 Premier League teams + 24 Championship teams |
| Fourth round | February 8, 2025 | 16 | None |
| Fifth round | March 1, 2025 | 8 | None |
| Quarter-finals | March 29, 2025 | 4 | None |
| Semi-finals | April 26, 2025 | 2 | None |
| Final | May 17, 2025 | 1 | None |
The 2024-25 FA Cup began on August 3, 2025, with the first of six qualifying rounds leading into the 'first round proper', as it is known on November 2.
There are seven 'proper' rounds in the lead-up to the final, which will be held on May 17, 2025. You can see the round dates, fixture numbers, and more above.
What is the FA Cup prize money?
| Round | Winner prize | Loser prize |
|---|---|---|
| First round | £45,000 | £15,000 |
| Second round | £75,000 | £20,000 |
| Third round | £115,000 | £25,000 |
| Fourth round | £120,000 | None |
| Fifth round | £225,000 | None |
| Quarter-finals | £450,000 | None |
| Semi-finals | £1,000,000 | £500,000 |
| Final | £2,000,000 | £1,000,000 |
Participation and success in the FA Cup can be relatively lucrative for teams, particularly those from the lower divisions.
A team entering the competition in the first round that goes on to win the FA Cup would earn £4,030,000 in prize money, with the final alone being worth £2,000,000 to the winners.
You can see a breakdown of the 2024-25 FA Cup prize money in the table above.
Who won the FA Cup last year?
Manchester United are the defending FA Cup champions, having won the 2023-24 edition of the competition.
The Red Devils defeated their close rivals Manchester City 2-1 in front of 85,000 people at Wembley.
Goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo were enough to see United over the line, despite a late Jeremy Doku goal narrowing the deficit.
United defeated Wigan Athletic, Newport County, Nottingham Forest, Liverpool, and Coventry City on their way to the final.