Both FA Cup semifinals are at Wembley this weekend, and it's been that way every single year since 2008. It wasn't always the case — and the reason it changed has less to do with tradition than with a £798 million bill.
Manchester City host Championship side Southampton on Saturday (12:15 p.m. ET), heavy favorites to reach a fourth consecutive final. Then on Sunday (10 a.m. ET), Chelsea face Leeds United, who haven't been to a final since 1973 and will be banking hard on Chelsea's recent turbulence to get them over the line.
The money behind the move to Wembley
The FA Cup is the oldest national cup competition in the world, founded in 1871. For most of its history, semifinals were played at neutral venues around the country — Old Trafford and Villa Park were regular choices through the 1990s and 2000s. The first time Wembley hosted a semifinal was 1991, Tottenham's win over Arsenal, and even then it remained an experiment used only sparingly through 1993, 1994, and 2000.
What changed everything was the reopening of the rebuilt Wembley in 2007. From 2008 onward, both semifinals moved there permanently. The FA needed revenue to offset the rebuilding cost — $1.08 billion in total — and Wembley's 90,000-seat capacity made the semifinals a reliable income source. Simple as that.
England isn't alone in this setup. Scotland does the same with Hampden Park for the Scottish Cup. But across Europe, it's far from standard — Spain and Italy use two-legged ties, while France and Germany play at the home grounds of the competing clubs.
The case against Wembley semifinals
The obvious upside is access. More fans get to attend, and for supporters of smaller clubs who rarely reach the last four, a day at the national stadium is genuinely special.
The pushback comes from the other end of the table. For clubs like City or Chelsea, who make deep cup runs regularly, playing at Wembley in the semifinal dulls the significance of actually getting to the final. The occasion loses its edge when the venue's already familiar.
- Saturday, April 26: Manchester City vs. Southampton — 12:15 p.m. ET
- Sunday, April 27: Chelsea vs. Leeds United — 10 a.m. ET
Both games are at Wembley. The final follows on May 17. City's odds to lift the trophy will shorten considerably if they handle Southampton as expected — but the Leeds-Chelsea tie is the one with genuine unpredictability baked in.
