The 2022–23 FA Cup was the 142nd edition of the oldest football tournament in the world, the Football Association Challenge Cup. It is a one-legged competition whereby teams play each other once and the winner proceeds to the next round, in contrast to a two-legged competition in which teams play each other twice (home and away) to determine which team progresses to the next round. The FA Cup was sponsored by Emirates and known as the Emirates FA Cup for sponsorship purposes.
Premier League team Liverpool were the defending champions, having defeated Chelsea to secure their eighth title in the previous year's final, but they were eliminated in the fourth round by Brighton & Hove Albion.
Manchester City defeated city rivals Manchester United 2–1 in the final to win their seventh FA Cup title. As winners, they would have qualified for the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League group stage; however, as they had already qualified for European competition via the league standings, the spot was passed down to the sixth-placed Premier League team.
Teams The FA Cup was a knockout competition with 124 teams taking part all trying to reach the final at Wembley on 3 June 2023. The competition consisted of the 92 teams from the Football League system (20 teams from the Premier League and the 72 in total from the EFL Championship, EFL League One and EFL League Two) plus the 32 surviving teams out of 640 teams from the National League System (all but eleven clubs from 5–9 and eleven replacements from tier 10 of the English football league system) that started the competition in the qualifying rounds.
Qualification rounds were on a geographical basis and main competition rounds were drawn randomly usually either at the completion of the previous round or on the evening of the last televised game of a round being played depending on television broadcasting rights.
Round Main date Number of fixtures Clubs remaining New entries this round Winnersprize money Losersprize money Divisions entering this round First round proper Saturday 5 November 2022 40 124 → 84 48 £41,000 None 24 EFL League One teams24 EFL League Two teams Second round proper Saturday 26 November 2022 20 84 → 64 None £67,000 None None Third round proper Saturday 7 January 2023 32 64 → 32 44 £105,000 None 20 Premier League teams24 EFL Championship teams Fourth round proper Saturday 28 January 2023 16 32 → 16 None £120,000 None None Fifth round proper Wednesday 1 March 2023 8 16 → 8 None £225,000 None None Quarter-finals Saturday 18 March 2023 4 8 → 4 None £450,000 None None Semi-finals Saturday 22 April 2023 2 4 → 2 None £1,000,000 £500,000 None Final Saturday 3 June 2023 1 2 → 1 None £2,000,000 £1,000,000 None
Qualifying Teams that were not members of either the Premier League or English Football League competed in the qualifying rounds to secure one of 32 available places in the first round. On 6 August 2022, in an extra preliminary round match against Fleet Town, Newport (IOW) teenager Finn Smith became the youngest ever FA Cup goalscorer, a day after his 16th birthday. The fourth and final qualifying round was played on the weekend beginning 15 October.
The winners from the fourth qualifying round were Oldham Athletic, AFC Fylde, King's Lynn Town, York City, South Shields, Curzon Ashton, Wrexham, Solihull Moors, Gateshead, Chesterfield, Alvechurch, Buxton, Coalville Town, FC Halifax Town, Torquay United, Maidenhead United, Hereford, Taunton Town, Eastleigh, Woking, Dagenham & Redbridge, Ebbsfleet United, Chippenham Town, Weymouth, Oxford City, Bracknell Town, Needham Market, Chelmsford City, Boreham Wood, Merthyr Town, Farnborough and Barnet.
Needham Market was the only club in this season's tournament appearing in the competition proper for the first time, although reconstituted sides Merthyr Town and Farnborough were featuring at this stage for the first time in their own right following the liquidation of Merthyr Tydfil FC (in 2010) and Farnborough Town (in 2007). Of the others, Weymouth had last appeared in the first round in 2007-08, Coalville Town had last done so in 2004–05, Bracknell Town had last done so in 2000-01 and Alvechurch had last done so in 1973-74. The original Merthyr Town FC, members of the Football League from 1920 to 1930, had last qualified for the first round of the FA Cup in 1932-33 before folding in 1934.
First round proper The first round saw the 32 winners from the fourth qualifying round joined by the 48 clubs from League One and League Two. The draw was made on 17 October 2022 by Dion Dublin and Alan Smith on BBC Two, during a live broadcast from Alvechurch. The round included six teams from the seventh tier, the lowest-ranked teams remaining in the competition: Alvechurch, Bracknell Town, Coalville Town, Merthyr Town, Needham Market, and South Shields.
Second round proper The draw for the second round was made on BBC Two on 7 November 2022 by Jermaine Beckford and Mickey Thomas at the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham, and consisted of the 40 winners from the previous round. The round contained one team from the seventh tier, Alvechurch, who defeated EFL League One club Cheltenham Town in the first round.
Third round proper The draw for the third round was made on 28 November 2022, consisting of the 20 winners from the previous round, all 20 members of the Premier League and the 24 EFL Championship clubs. The round included three teams from the fifth tier, the lowest-ranked teams remaining in the competition: Chesterfield, Boreham Wood, and Wrexham.
Fourth round proper The draw for the fourth round was made on 8 January 2023, consisting of the 32 winners from the previous round. The round included one team from the fifth tier, the lowest-ranked team remaining in the competition: Wrexham.
Fifth round proper The draw for the fifth round took place on 30 January 2023 on The One Show at Broadcasting House in Portland Place. The matches took place in the week commencing 27 February 2023. This round included one team from the fourth tier, the lowest-ranked team remaining in the competition: Grimsby Town.
Quarter-finals The draw for the quarter-finals took place on 1 March 2023. This round included one team from the fourth tier, the lowest-ranked team remaining in the competition: Grimsby Town. Grimsby were the first fourth-tier side to reach the quarter-finals since Cambridge United in 1990.
Semi-finals The draw for the semi-finals took place on 19 March 2023 on BBC One, after Brighton & Hove Albion's victory over Grimsby Town. This round, decided in one match, which was played at Wembley Stadium, included one team from the second-tier EFL Championship: Sheffield United.
Final
Top scorers Following the conclusion of the competition, Wrexham player Paul Mullin was awarded the FA Cup Golden Ball Award, commemorating him as the top scorer of the season from the extra preliminary round through to the final with eight goals. Rank Player Club Goals 1 Paul MullinWrexham 8 2 Riyad MahrezManchester City 5 3 Armando DobraChesterfield 44 Julián ÁlvarezManchester City3 Sam BellBristol City Colby BishopPortsmouth Billy BodinOxford United Conor ChaplinIpswich Town Will CollarStockport County Evan FergusonBrighton & Hove Albion Bruno FernandesManchester United Phil FodenManchester City Erling HaalandManchester City Gavan HolohanGrimsby Town Kelechi IheanachoLeicester City Luke NorrisStevenage Deji OshilajaBurton Albion William OsulaDerby County Jamie ReidStevenage Josh UmerahHartlepool United Shaun WhalleyAccrington Stanley Connor WickhamForest Green Rovers Josh WindassSheffield Wednesday
Television rights The domestic broadcasting rights for the competition were held by the BBC, who had held them since the 2014–15 season, and ITV, who were showing matches for the second successive season. Both of these broadcasters will air the tournament until the 2024–25 season, and both were permitted to show the final live. In addition, FA Cup matches could also be streamed on ESPN+. BroadcasterSummaryBBC Sport18 live matches per season, with highlights of the 2022 FA Community Shield. BBC Sport has second and third picks of matches in the second round, fourth round and the quarter-finals, as well as first and fourth pick of matches for the first, third and fifth rounds, and first pick of the semi-finals.ITV SportAt least 20 live matches per season, plus live coverage of the 2022 FA Community Shield. ITV had first pick and fourth pick of matches in the second round, fourth round and the quarter-finals, as well as second and third picks for the first, third and fifth rounds and second pick of the semi-finals. ITV1 games are also carried on STV. Additional matches featuring Welsh clubs could feature on BBC Wales or on Welsh language channel S4C.