The FA Cup Tournament Structure

The FA Cup is a knock-out tournament and teams are drawn to play each other randomly. Any matches that end in a draw go to a replay, and if the replay is drawn then extra time and penalty shootouts are used to decide the winner.

The FA Cup has a total of 14 rounds, with the first six of these being played by lower league teams in a bid to qualify for the “proper” FA Cup. The First Round Proper is where the teams from League One and League Two enter, while Premier League teams and Championship teams enter in the Third Round Proper. All games are played at one of the competing teams’ stadiums, aside from the final, which is contested at Wembley.

The winner of the FA Cup receives entry into the Europa League. If they have already qualified for European competition, then the place goes to the runner-up. If both finalists are already in Europe, then the place is added into the standings within the Premier League. It should also be noted that there are no seeds in the FA Cup, meaning that any team can play any other team throughout the tournament.

Fixtures and Results

The fixtures for the 2012/2013 Fa Cup has not yet been decided