Editing FA Cup (section)

==Venues==
[[File:Wembley-Stadion 2013.jpg|thumb|Since 2007, the [[List of FA Cup finals|FA Cup final]] has been held at [[Wembley Stadium]], on the site of [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|the previous stadium]] which hosted it from 1923 to 2000.]]
Fixtures in the 12 rounds of the competition are usually played at the home ground of one of the two teams. The [[FA Cup semi-finals|semi-finals]] and [[FA Cup Final|final]] are played at a neutral venue – the rebuilt [[Wembley Stadium]].

===Competition rounds===
In the matches for the 12 competition rounds, the team who plays at home is decided when the fixtures are drawn – simply the first team drawn out for each fixture. Occasionally games may have to be moved to other grounds due to other events taking place, security reasons or a ground not being suitable to host popular teams. However, since [[2003–04 FA Cup|2003]], clubs cannot move grounds to the away side's for capacity or financial reasons. If any move has to be made, it has to be to a neutral venue and any additional monies earned by the move goes into the central pot.<ref>Burnton, Simon (11 March 2003). [https://www.theguardian.com/football/2003/mar/12/newsstory.sport1 "FA Slam Door on Cup's Rogue Venue-Switchers."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706202111/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2003/mar/12/newsstory.sport1 |date=6 July 2020 }} ''[[The Guardian]]''. Retrieved 29 July 2020.</ref> In the event of a [[draw (tie)|draw]], the [[replay (sports)|replay]] is played at the ground of the team who originally played [[home advantage|away from home]].

In the days when multiple replays were possible, the second replay (and any further replays) were played at neutral grounds. The clubs involved could alternatively agree to toss for home advantage in the second replay.

===Semi-finals===
{{Main|FA Cup semi-finals}}
The semi-finals have been played exclusively at the rebuilt [[Wembley Stadium]] since [[2007–08 FA Cup|2008]], one year after it opened and after it had already hosted a final (in 2007). For the first decade of the competition, the [[The Oval|Kennington Oval]] was used as the semi-final venue. In the period between this first decade and the reopening of Wembley, semi-finals were played at high-capacity neutral venues around England; usually the home grounds of teams not involved in that semi-final, chosen to be roughly equidistant between the two teams for fairness of travel. The top three most used venues in this period were [[Villa Park]] in Birmingham (55 times), [[Hillsborough Stadium|Hillsborough]] in Sheffield (34 times) and [[Old Trafford]] in Manchester (23 times). The [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|original Wembley Stadium]] was also used seven times for semi-final, between 1991 and 2000 (the last held there), but not always for fixtures featuring [[Football in London|London teams]]. In 2005, both were held at the Millennium Stadium.

In 2003 the FA decided to permanently use the new Wembley for semi-finals to recoup debts in financing the new stadium.<ref>{{Cite news|title=FA Cup: Greg Dyke says semi-finals will stay at Wembley|publisher=BBC Sport|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/27008308|access-date=12 February 2016|archive-date=4 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200504111826/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/27008308|url-status=live}}</ref> This was controversial, with the move seen as both unfair to fans of teams located far from London, and taking some of the prestige away from a Wembley final.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fsf.org.uk/news/news0002-facup.html |title=Football supporters hail FA Cup semi-final decision |publisher=Football Supporters' Federation |access-date=8 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070208165141/http://www.fsf.org.uk/news/news0002-facup.html |archive-date=8 February 2007 }}</ref> In defending the move, the FA has also cited the extra capacity Wembley offers, although the 2013 fixture between [[Millwall F.C.|Millwall]] and [[Wigan Athletic F.C.|Wigan Athletic]] led to the unprecedented step of placing 6,000 tickets on sale to neutral fans after the game failed to sell out.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|title=FA Cup semi-finals: should they be played at Wembley? – poll|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/poll/2013/apr/11/fa-cup-semi-finals-wembley-poll|website=The Guardian|date=11 April 2013|access-date=12 February 2016|first=Paul|last=Campbell|archive-date=23 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223132225/http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/poll/2013/apr/11/fa-cup-semi-finals-wembley-poll|url-status=live}}</ref> A fan poll by ''[[The Guardian]]'' in 2013 found 86% opposition to Wembley semi-finals.<ref name=":2" />

===Final===
{{Main|FA Cup Final}}
The final has been played at the rebuilt [[Wembley Stadium]] since it opened, in [[2006–07 FA Cup|2007.]]<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/6039052.stm |title=Wembley Stadium to open next year |publisher=BBC News |access-date=17 March 2007 |date=19 October 2006 |first=Howard |last=Nurse |archive-date=7 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070307000619/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/6039052.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> The rebuilding process meant that between 2001 and 2006 they were hosted at the [[Millennium Stadium]] in [[Cardiff]] in Wales. Prior to rebuilding, the final was hosted by the [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|original Wembley Stadium]] since it opened in [[1922–23 FA Cup|1923]] (being originally named the Empire Stadium). One exception to this 78-year series of Empire Stadium finals (including five replays) was the [[1970 FA Cup Final|1970 replay]] between [[Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United]] and [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]], held at [[Old Trafford]] in Manchester.

In the 51 years prior to the Empire Stadium opening, the final (including 8 replays) was held in a variety of locations, predominantly in London, and mainly at the [[The Oval|Kennington Oval]] and then [[Crystal Palace National Sports Centre#FA Cup Finals (1895–1914)|Crystal Palace]]. It was played 22 times at The Oval (the inaugural competition in 1872, and then all but two times until [[1892 FA Cup Final|1892]]). After The Oval, Crystal Palace hosted 21 finals from [[1895 FA Cup Final|1895]] to [[1914 FA Cup Final|1914]], broken up by four replays elsewhere. The other London venues were [[Stamford Bridge (stadium)|Stamford Bridge]] from [[1920 FA Cup Final|1920]] to [[1922 FA Cup Final|1922]] (the last three finals before the move to Empire Stadium); and the University of Oxford's [[Lillie Bridge Grounds|Lillie Bridge]] in [[Fulham]] for the second ever final, in [[1873 FA Cup Final|1873]]. The other venues used sparingly in this period were all outside of London, as follows:
* [[County Cricket Ground, Derby|Racecourse Ground]], Derby ([[1886 FA Cup Final|1886]])
* [[Fallowfield Stadium]], Manchester ([[1893 FA Cup Final|1893]])
* [[Goodison Park]], Liverpool ([[1894 FA Cup Final|1894]])
* [[Burnden Park]], [[Bolton]] ([[1901 FA Cup Final|1901]] replay)
* Goodison Park ([[1910 FA Cup Final|1910]] replay)
* [[Old Trafford]], Manchester ([[1911 FA Cup Final|1911]] replay)
* [[Bramall Lane]], Sheffield ([[1912 FA Cup Final|1912]] replay)
* Old Trafford ([[1915 FA Cup Final|1915]])

===Artificial turf===
The FA permitted [[artificial turf]] (3G) pitches in all rounds of the competition from the [[2014–15 FA Cup|2014–15 edition]] and beyond.<ref>{{Cite news|title=3G pitches allowed in all rounds of FA Cup from 2014–15|publisher=BBC Sport|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/26717348|access-date=13 February 2016|archive-date=30 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171230185746/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/26717348|url-status=live}}</ref> Under the 2015–16 rules, the pitch must be of FIFA One Star quality, or Two Star for ties if they involve one of the 92 professional clubs.<ref name=":12"/> This followed approval two years previously for their use in the qualifying rounds only – if a team with a 3G pitch progressed to the competition proper, they had to switch their tie to the ground of another eligible entrant with a natural grass pitch.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Artificial pitches given go-ahead for FA Cup qualifying rounds|publisher=BBC Sport|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/18833248|access-date=13 February 2016|archive-date=4 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180804203145/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/18833248|url-status=live}}</ref> Having been strong proponents of the surface, the first match in the proper rounds to be played on a 3G surface was a televised first round replay at [[Maidstone United F.C.|Maidstone United]]'s [[Gallagher Stadium]] on 20 November 2014.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Maidstone United 2–1 Stevenage|publisher=BBC Sport|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/29999662|access-date=13 February 2016|archive-date=11 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111212443/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/29999662|url-status=live}}</ref>