FA Cup Confirmed Fixture Dates for 2020/21 Season - Replays Scrapped
FA Cup replays have been scrapped completely for the 2020/21 season in the hope that limiting the competition to one-off games will help ease the potential for fixture congestion.
The FA had already abolished replays from the fifth round onwards as of the 2018/19 season, with clubs in the latter stages of the competition often struggling to find space in the calendar to play extra games, especially if they are competing in Europe.
Now, while football gets back on its feet and continues to battle the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, there will be no replays at all in the 2020/21 season.
Whether replays in the earlier rounds will return as of 2021/22 and beyond remains to be seen. They have been the subject of much debate in recent years, with notable benefits and drawbacks.
Arsenal are the current holders, beating Chelsea in last season's final after the teams knocked out Manchester City and Manchester United respectively in the last four.
The FA has confirmed the dates for each round of the 2020/21 competition as follows:
First round proper: Saturday 7 November 2020
Second round proper: Saturday 28 November 2020
Third round proper: Saturday 9 January 2021
Fourth round proper: Saturday 23 January 2021
Fifth round proper: Wednesday 10 February 2021
Quarter-finals: Saturday 20 March 2021
Semi-finals: Saturday 17 April 2021
The Final: Saturday 15 May 2021
We've got some #EmiratesFACup dates for your diaries ? ?
— The Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) August 13, 2020
Preliminary and qualifying rounds will begin as early as 1 September and conclude in late October, a fortnight before the first round proper is scheduled.
For more from Jamie Spencer, follow him on Twitter and Facebook!