The 2016–17 FA Cup (also known as the FA Challenge Cup) was the 136th edition of the oldest recognised football tournament in the world. It was sponsored by Emirates, 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.

Premier League side Manchester United were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Chelsea.

Arsenal won a record-breaking 13th title following a 2–1 win over Chelsea in the final, 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 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 Round Clubsremaining Clubsinvolved Winners fromprevious round New entriesthis round Leagues enteringat this round First round proper 124 80 32 48 EFL League OneEFL League Two Second round proper 84 40 40 none none Third round proper 64 64 20 44 Premier LeagueEFL Championship Fourth round proper 32 32 32 none none Fifth round proper 16 16 16 none none Quarter-finals 8 8 8 none none Semi-finals 4 4 4 none none Final 2 2 2 none none

Prize fund Round No. of Clubsreceive fund Prize fundper club Extra preliminary round winners 184 £1,500 Preliminary round winners 160 £1,925 First round qualifying winners 116 £3,000 Second round qualifying winners 80 £4,500 Third round qualifying winners 40 £7,500 Fourth round qualifying winners 32 £12,500 First round proper winners 40 £18,000 Second round proper winners 20 £27,000 Third round proper winners 32 £67,500 Fourth round proper winners 16 £90,000 Fifth round proper winners 8 £180,000 Quarter-final winners 4 £360,000 Semi-final losers 2 £450,000 Semi-final winners 2 £900,000 Final runners-up 1 £900,000 Final winner 1 £1,800,000 Total £15,132,000

Round and draw dates The schedule was as follows. PhaseRoundDraw dateMatch dateQualifying rounds Extra preliminary round8 July 20166 August 2016Preliminary round20 August 2016First round qualifying15 August 20163 September 2016Second round qualifying5 September 201617 September 2016Third round qualifying19 September 20161 October 2016Fourth round qualifying3 October 201615 October 2016Main tournamentFirst round proper17 October 20165 November 2016Second round proper7 November 20163 December 2016Third round proper5 December 20167 January 2017Fourth round proper9 January 201728 January 2017Fifth round proper30 January 201718 February 2017Quarter-finals19 February 201711 March 2017Semi-finals13 March 201722 and 23 April 2017Final27 May 2017

Qualifying rounds All teams that entered the competition, but were not members of the Premier League or The Football League, competed in the qualifying rounds to secure one of 32 places available in the first round proper. The qualifying competition began with the extra preliminary round on 6 August 2016, with the final (fourth) qualifying round played over the weekend of 15 October.

The winners from the fourth qualifying round were Southport, Alfreton Town, Macclesfield Town, FC Halifax Town, Stockport County, Barrow, Altrincham, Stourbridge, Lincoln City, Curzon Ashton, Spennymoor Town, Westfields, Stamford, Chesham United, Whitehawk, Sutton United, Dagenham & Redbridge, Taunton Town, Woking, Braintree Town, Dartford, St Albans City, Brackley Town, Eastbourne Borough, Harrow Borough, Boreham Wood, Maidstone United, Kidderminster Harriers, Solihull Moors, Dover Athletic, Merstham and Eastleigh.

Westfields, Stamford and Merstham were appearing in the competition proper for the first time. Solihull Moors was also appearing at this stage for the time since the 2007 merger of Solihull Borough and Moor Green, who had last featured in the first round in 1997-98 and 2002-03 respectively. Of the others, Curzon Ashton and Eastbourne Borough had last reached the first round in 2008-09, Taunton Town had last done so in 1981-82 and Spennymoor Town had last done so in 1956-57 when the club was still known as Evenwood Town. Defunct rivals Spennymoor United had last appeared at this stage in 1995-96.

First round proper The first round draw took place on 17 October and was broadcast live on BBC Two and BT Sport. 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 and League Two 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, home of Southport F.C., immediately prior to the Southport-Fleetwood tie, and was broadcast live on BT Sport. The round included one team from Level 7 still in the competition, Stourbridge, 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 Premier League and EFL Championship entering in this round. The draw was held on 5 December 2016 at the BT Tower and was broadcast live on BT Sport and BBC Two. The matches were played across the weekend of 6–9 January 2017. The round included five non-league teams, including Stourbridge, who were still the lowest-ranked team in the competition.

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 BT Tower on 9 January 2017. The round included two teams from Level 5 who were still in the competition: Lincoln City, leading the National League on the night of their third round replay and Sutton United, 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 Sutton United, 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, home of Blackburn Rovers F.C., 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 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 and potentially a penalty shootout 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 1914.

Semi-finals

The four winners of the quarter-finals progressed to the semi-finals. The semi-final draw took place at Stamford Bridge on 13 March following the quarter-final tie between Chelsea and Manchester United. The semi-finals were played at Wembley Stadium on 22 and 23 April 2017.

Final

Top goalscorers

RankPlayerClubGoals1 Adam MorganCurzon Ashton6 Son Heung-minTottenham Hotspur3 Sergio AgüeroManchester City5 Kane HemmingsOxford United Mikael MandronEastleigh Theo RobinsonaLincoln City Theo WalcottArsenal

a Theo Robinson moved to Southend United during the January transfer window with Lincoln still in the cup.

Broadcasting rights The domestic broadcasting rights for the competition were held by the BBC and subscription channel BT Sport. The BBC held the rights since 2014–15, while BT Sport since 2013–14. The FA Cup Final was required to be broadcast live on UK terrestrial television under the Ofcom code of protected sporting events.

The following matches were broadcast live on UK television: Round Date Teams Kick-off Channels Digital TV First round 4 November Eastleigh v Swindon Town 7:55pm BBC iPlayer BBC Two 5 November Merstham v Oxford United 12:30pm BT Sport App BT Sport 1 7 November Southport v Fleetwood Town 7:45pm BT Sport App BT Sport 1 First round (Replay) 16 November Brackley Town v Gillingham 7:45pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 17 November Dover Athletic v Cambridge United (Replay) 7:45pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 Second round 2 December Macclesfield Town v Oxford United 7:55pm BBC iPlayer BBC Two 4 December Curzon Ashton v AFC Wimbledon 12:00pm BT Sport App BT Sport 1 5 December Lincoln City v Oldham Athletic 7:45pm BT Sport App BT Sport 1 Second round (Replay) 20 December Peterborough United v Notts County 7:45pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 21 December Newport County v Plymouth Argyle 7:45pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 Third round 6 January West Ham United v Manchester City 7:55pm BBC iPlayer BBC One 7 January Manchester United v Reading 12:30pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 Preston North End v Arsenal 5:30pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 8 January Cardiff City v Fulham 11:30am BBC iPlayer BBC One Wales Liverpool v Plymouth Argyle 1:30pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa 4:00pm BBC iPlayer BBC One 9 January Cambridge United v Leeds United 7:45pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 Third round (Replay) 17 February Lincoln City v Ipswich Town 8:05pm BBC iPlayer BBC One 18 February Plymouth Argyle v Liverpool 7:45pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 Fourth round 27 January Derby County v Leicester City 7:55pm BBC iPlayer BBC One 28 January Liverpool v Wolverhampton Wanderers 12:30pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 Southampton v Arsenal 5:30pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 29 January Millwall v Watford 12:00pm BBC iPlayer BBC One Sutton United v Leeds United 2:00pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 Manchester United v Wigan Athletic 4:00pm BBC iPlayer BBC One Fourth round (Replay) 8 February Leicester City v Derby County 7:45pm BBC iPlayer BBC One Fifth round 18 February Burnley v Lincoln City 12:30pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 Wolverhampton Wanderers v Chelsea 5:30pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 19 February Fulham v Tottenham Hotspur 2:00pm BBC iPlayer BBC One Blackburn Rovers v Manchester United 4:15pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 20 February Sutton United v Arsenal 7:55pm BBC iPlayer BBC One Fifth round (Replay) 1 March Manchester City v Huddersfield Town 7:45pm BBC iPlayer BBC One Quarter-finals 11 March Middlesbrough v Manchester City 12:15pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 Arsenal v Lincoln City 5:30pm BT Sport App BT Sport 2 12 March Tottenham Hotspur v Millwall 2:00pm BBC iPlayer BBC One 13 March Chelsea v Manchester United 7:45pm BBC iPlayer BBC One Semi-finals 22 April Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur 5:15pm BBC iPlayer BBC One 23 April Arsenal v Manchester City 3:00pm BT Sport App BT Sport 1 Final 27 May Arsenal v Chelsea 5:30pm BBC iPlayer BBC One BT Sport App BT Sport 2

Notes

References

External links

The official FA Cup website