Overview

Dates

Qualification Process

First Proper Round

On November 10 and 11 the First Round Proper was played. In this stage of the competition teams from League One and League Two get to play against the non-league teams. Second Proper Round The Second Round Proper had 64 teams and the matches were played December 1st and 2nd of 2007.

Third Round Proper

32 more matches happened on the Third Round Proper which marked the first time that the Premier League Teams appeared in this edition of the FA Cup. Another interesting fact was the first time ever presence of Havant & Waterlooville and Chasetown. By the way, Chasetown was the lowest-ranked team to ever make to this stage of the FA Cup. Only a few major clashes happened in this draw but Manchester City vs. West Ham, Manchester United vs. Aston Villa and Chelsea vs. Queens Rangers Park. The curious fact about the last two ties mentioned above is that it’s the second consecutive year that theses matches are drawn for the Third Round Proper of the FA Cup.

Fourth Round Proper

An event hosted by Sir Trevor Brooking on January 7th 2008 marked the draw for the Fourth Round of the FA CUP. For the first time since 1957 there were no replays in this stage of the competition and all the ties were played and decided on the weekend of January 26th 2008. Havant & Waterlooville made until this round of the FA Cup for the first time ever but were eliminated by Liverpool with a 5-2 loss at Anfield.

Fifth Round Proper

The Football Association at Soho Square was the venue of the draw for the Fifth Round Proper of the FA Cup. Jimmy Case and Ray Wilkins conducted the draw on January 28 2008 in the event hosted, once again, by Sir Trevor Brooking. The matches took place February 16th and February 17th 2008.

The big surprise of this round of the FA Cup was Barnsley FC. The modest side from South Yorkshire managed to cause a big upset by defeating Liverpool, one of the present top 4 teams in the Premier League, at the Anfield (Liverpool’s home ground) with a 2-1 score.

Sixth Round Proper

The 4 matches that form the Sixth Round Proper of the FA Cup were drawn Monday, February 18th 2008. Sir Trevor Brooking hosted the event at Soho Square.

Manchester United and Portsmouth will play the only all Premier League match of this round and Barnsley will try to repeat their last round achievement against a top league team when they beat Liverpool but this time they will play in their home ground against Chelsea.

Qualification Requirements

Competition Format

Location and Venues

The FA Cup matches are generally played at the home ground of one of the two teams. The decision of which team will have the home advantage is made when he ties are drawn. When a replay is necessary to decide which team will move to the next round the replay match is played at the home of the one who was the away team in the first game.

The Wembley Stadium is the official home of the FA Cup Final since 1923. Before that the final matches were played in various venues. Between 2001-2006 the finals were played at Millenium Stadium in Cardiff due to the demolition and reconstruction of the Wembley. In 2007 the FA Cup Final returned to its traditional home. The Wembley Stadium.

Ticket Availability

Official Sponsors

Important Links

Official competition site: http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup Official federation / confederation site: http://www.thefa.com Stadium home page(s): http://www.wembleystadium.com

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FA_Cup http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup