English Football Association have confirmed full details of when each round of 2020-21 FA Cup will be played, with next season’s FA Cup Final set for Saturday 15 May 2021.
Defending champions, Arsenal will enter the competition in the Third Round alongside fellow Premier League and Championship clubs across weekend of 8-11 January 2021.
Replays have been removed from all rounds including the Qualifying stage in order to reduce the risk of fixture congestion throughout the entire football pyramid, as a consequence of the delayed start due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Clubs at Levels nine and ten of the Football pyramid however will enter the competition across the midweek of 1 and 2 September in the Extra Preliminary Round.
Teams at level eight will then join those who progress into the Preliminary Round across weekend of 11-13 September 2020, with those at level seven entering in the First Qualifying Round ten days later.
Level six clubs will enter at the Second Qualifying Round stage on Saturday 3 October 2020, with the winners advancing to the Third Qualifying Round just ten days later across the midweek of 13 and 14 October 2020.
National League clubs will enter this season’s FA Cup in the last Qualifying round to be held across the weekend of 23-25 October 2020.
League One and Two teams will enter as normal in the First Round Proper to be held across weekend of 6-9 November 2020, with the winners then advancing into the Second Round Proper across weekend of 27-30 November 2020.
Premier League and Championship clubs will then enter across the weekend of 8-11 January 2021, with the Fourth Round following just two weeks later from 22-25 January 2021.
Unlike last season in which the Fifth Round was held in the opening midweek of March between UEFA competitions, this season sees those who reach the Last 16 play their Fifth Round games across midweek of 9-11 February 2021.
Quarter-Finals will be held across weekend of 19-21 March ahead of the Semi-Finals at Wembley on 17th and 18th April.
Both Semi-Final winners will then meet on Saturday 15th May 2021 in the Final, which takes place before the end of the Premier League season for the first time since 2013 when Wigan beat Manchester City in the Final only to be relegated to Championship just days later at Arsenal.
Full 2020-21 FA Cup Round Dates
Extra Preliminary Round: 1-2 September 2020
Preliminary Round: 11-13 September 2020
First Round Qualifying: 22-23 September 2020
Second Round Qualifying: 2-4 October 2020
Third Round Qualifying: 13-14 October 2020
Fourth Round Qualifying: 23-25 October 2020
First Round Proper: 6-9 November 2020
Second Round Proper: 27-30 November 2020
Third Round Proper: 8-11 January 2021
Fourth Round Proper: 22-25 January 2021
Fifth Round Proper: 9-11 February 2021
Quarter-Finals: 19-21 March 2021
Semi-Finals: 17-18 April 2021 (Wembley Stadium)
Final: Saturday 15 May 2021 (Wembley Stadium)
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