The 2016–17

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

(also known as the FA Challenge Cup) was the 136th edition of the oldest recognised

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

tournament in the world. It was sponsored by

Emirates Emirates may refer to: * United Arab Emirates, a Middle Eastern country * Emirate, any territory ruled by an emir ** Gulf emirates, emirates located on the Persian Gulf ** Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, the individual emirates * The Emirat ...

, and known as The Emirates FA Cup for sponsorship purposes. 736 clubs were accepted into the tournament, and it began with the Extra Preliminary Round on 6 August 2016, and concluded with the final on 27 May 2017. The winner qualified for the

2017–18 UEFA Europa League group stage The 2017–18 UEFA Europa League group stage began on 14 September and ended on 7 December 2017. A total of 48 teams competed in the group stage to decide 24 of the 32 places in the knockout phase of the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League. Draw The draw ...

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

side

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the quarter-finals by

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

won a record 13th title following a 2–1 win over Chelsea in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

, winning their third FA Cup in 4 seasons. The tournament was also notable for the performance of Lincoln City from Level 5, who became the first non-league club to reach the quarter-finals since

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

. This edition of the FA Cup was the first in which quarter-final matches were played to a result on the day, instead of being subject to replay in case of a draw. However, all four matches were settled without the need for extra time.

Teams

Prize fund

Round and draw dates

The schedule was as follows.

Qualifying rounds

The qualifying competition began with the Extra Preliminary Round on 6 August 2016. All of the competing teams that are not members of either the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...

had to compete in the qualifying rounds to secure a place in the

First Round Proper First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number 1 (number), one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, D ...

. The final (fourth) qualifying round was played over the weekend of 15 October.

First Round Proper

The First Round draw took place on 17 October and was broadcast live on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

and

BT Sport BT Sport is a group of broadcasting of sports events, pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, Warner Bros. Dis ...

. All 40 First Round Proper ties were played on the weekend of 5 November. 32 teams from the qualifying competition joined the 48 teams from

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

and

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

to compete in this round. The round included one team from Level 9 still in the competition, Westfields, who were the lowest-ranked team in this round.

Second Round Proper

The second round draw took place on 7 November at

Haig Avenue Haig Avenue is a football stadium in Blowick, Southport, Merseyside, England, that holds 6,008 people (1,660 seated, 4,164 standing) Since its opening in 1905 it has been the home ground of Southport F.C. Everton Reserves also use the stadium fo ...

, home of

Southport F.C. Southport Football Club is an association football club based in Southport, Merseyside. They play their home matches at Haig Avenue, which has a capacity of 5,414. They are known by their nickname "the Sandgrounders". The club's main ...

, immediately prior to the Southport-Fleetwood tie, and was broadcast live on

. The round included one team from Level 7 still in the competition,

Stourbridge Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The 20 ...

, who were the lowest-ranked team in this round.

Third Round Proper

A total of 64 clubs played in the third round; 20 winners of the second round, and 44 teams from

and

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

entering in this round. The draw was held on 5 December 2016 at the

BT Tower The BT Communication Tower is a grade II listed communications tower located in Fitzrovia, London, owned by BT Group. Originally named the Museum Radio Tower (after the adjacent Museum telephone exchange), it became better known by its unoff ...

and was broadcast live on

and

. The matches were played across the weekend of 6–9 January 2017. The round included five non-league teams, including one team from Level 7 still in the competition,

, who were the lowest-ranked team in this round.

Fourth Round Proper

A total of 32 teams played in the fourth round, all winners of the third round. The draw took place at the

on 9 January 2017. The round included two teams from Level 5 who were still in the competition: Lincoln City, leading the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

on the night of their third round replay and

Sutton United Sutton United Football Club is a professional football club in Sutton, South London, England, who play in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They play home games at Gander Green Lane in Sutton about 11 miles so ...

, fifteenth on the same night and therefore the lowest-ranked team to play in this round.

Fifth Round Proper

A total of 16 clubs played in the fifth round, all winners of the fourth round. The draw was held on 30 January 2017, and the matches were played across the weekend of 18–20 February 2017. The round included the two teams from Level 5 that were still in the competition: Lincoln City and

, whose fourth round victories ensured the first ever fifth round with two non-league sides remaining. Lincoln City were in this round for the first time in 115 years and Sutton United for the first time in their history.

Quarter-finals

A total of eight clubs played in the quarter-finals, all winners of the fifth round. The draw was held on 19 February 2017 at

Ewood Park Ewood Park () is a football stadium in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, and the home of Blackburn Rovers F.C., founding members of the Football League and Premier League, who have played there since 1890. It is an all seater multi-sports facili ...

, home of

Blackburn Rovers F.C. Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. ...

, immediately following the Blackburn Rovers v Manchester United match. Matches were played between 11 and 13 March 2017. In a break from tradition, the FA officially renamed the stage the 'Quarter-finals', the name that had long been used colloquially to describe what was previously called the Sixth Round Proper. Changes to previous rules meant that tied matches would have gone to

extra-time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

and potentially a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

at this stage rather than to a replay, and that a fourth substitute would have been permitted in extra time. The round included Lincoln City from Level 5, who became the first non-league club to reach the quarter-finals since

Semi-finals

The four winners of the quarter-finals progressed to the semi-finals. The semi-final draw took place at

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...

on 13 March following the quarter-final tie between Chelsea and Manchester United. The semi-finals were played at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

on 22 and 23 April 2017. ----

Final

Bracket

The following is the bracket which the FA Cup resembled. Numbers in parentheses next to the match score represent the results of a replay, except for the quarter-finals stage onwards. Numbers in parentheses next to the replay score represents the results of a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

except for the quarter-finals stage onwards.

Top goalscorers

^a Theo Robinson moved to

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

during the January transfer window with Lincoln still in the cup.

Broadcasting rights

The following matches were broadcast live on UK television:

Notes

References

External links

The official FA Cup website
{{2016–17 in European football (UEFA) 2016–17

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...