Watch the FA Cup Final 2025 at your local Greene King pub
The oldest national football competition in the world: the FA Cup. First played in 1871 as a cup for all teams in English football leagues to participate in, the 2025 FA Cup Final marks the end of the 144th edition of a historic tournament.
When is the 2025 FA Cup Final?
The 2025 FA Cup competition started way back in August 2024, and throughout the tournament, we’ve seen over 700 entrants all the way from the top flights down to level 10 of the National League System. Each week, knockout matches have whittled down the number of teams and by the final, just two teams will face off at Wembley Stadium.
The 2025 FA Cup Final will take place on the 17th of May, with a kick-off time still unconfirmed. It’s likely to be at 3pm, the same time as last year, but will depend on the two teams that qualify.
Who is playing in the FA Cup Final?
Last year’s champions Manchester United are out of the running to lift the FA Cup trophy this year, but derby rivals Manchester City could still reign supreme. Depending on the results from the next two rounds, we could see a brand-new side win the FA Cup final for the first time in a few years, since Leicester City’s historic win in 2021.The quarter-final draws are as follows:
Manchester City v Bournemouth
Aston Villa v Preston North End
Fulham v Crystal Palace
Brighton v Nottingham Forest
The winners of each match will face off in the FA Cup semi-finals on the 26th and 27th of April, with the winners of those matches taking their places in the final three weeks later.
The FA Cup-winning team receives an automatic entry into the Europa League (if they haven’t finished in the top six of the Premier League) and gets to lift one of the most famous pieces of silverware in football, to the tune of chants and cheers from their supporters. They’ll also face the Premier League winners in the Community Shield season opener in August.
The potential 2025 FA Cup winners are a particularly special bunch. Bournemouth have never reached an FA Cup Final before, and their current form looks strong enough to secure a top-six position in the Premier League, better than their previous best of 9th in the 2016-17 season.
Fulham, Palace and Brighton have all reached the final in previous years, but all lost at the final hurdle on each occasion. Will the third time be the charm for Crystal Palace?
Preston are the underdogs in the semi-finals, being the only team left that aren’t currently in the Premier League, but they have won before in 1888-89, 1889-90 and 1937-38 seasons.
All in all, this FA Cup Final is shaping up to be one of the best we’ve seen in a long time.
Where to watch the FA Cup Final
We may not quite be Wembley, but Greene King pubs are a pretty good runner-up for the FA Cup Final 2025! Our Sky Sports and TNT Sports screens capture every second of the action, so from offside calls to Haaland-level hat tricks, you can call VAR before the ref even gets a look in.
With an atmosphere to rival any derby day, pints flowing at the bar and delicious food just waiting to be enjoyed, just use our handy pub finder to secure your table and watch live football at the pub with us.
Live football with the Greene King Sport app
And, how could we mention the FA Cup, live at Greene King pubs, without shouting out the Greene King Sport app? Download the app to reveal a free drink when you sign up, unlock 10% off drinks on matchdays and take part in our Score King game, where you can win free drinks and up to 20% off if you guess the results of a fixture correctly. Winner winner (chicken dinner).