The 2025 FA Cup final has been handed a never-before-seen kick-off time just two weeks ahead of English football’s showpiece event at Wembley Stadium, thanks to a scheduling clash between the BBC and ITV. Manchester City will face Crystal Palace at the national stadium on May 17.
It will mark the 24th time Pep Guardiola’s winning machine has travelled to the iconic stadium since his arrival at Manchester City in 2016 – averaging 2.5 visits per season. You’d expect such regular trips to inspire fondness among fans, with Wembley feeling like a second home. In reality, it’s quite the opposite.
For a fanbase rooted in working-class tradition, repeated treks to London have become a financial and logistical headache. Average train fares from Manchester hover around £100, and fixture scheduling rarely accommodates those who must plan ahead to have a chance of even making it to the capital and back on time.
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BBC and ITV Clash Pushes FA Cup Final Back to 4:30PM
The showpiece event has traditionally kicked off at 3pm
The revised kick-off time was reached following consultations with the two clubs, broadcasters, local authorities, police, and the Safety Advisory Group. Traditionally, the FA Cup final has kicked off at 3pm – a time historically favoured by police. However, The Sun has revealed that talks over this year’s kick-off time were delayed due to a dispute between broadcasters BBC and ITV.
The BBC pushed for the traditional 3pm start to avoid clashing with the Eurovision Song Contest, which airs at 8pm – even if the match runs into extra-time or penalties. ITV, on the other hand, were reportedly pushing for a 5:30pm kick-off to maximise viewership and advertising revenue.
Meanwhile, fans of both clubs are already furious over a hike in ticket prices – the first increase in six years. Prices now range from £50 for Category 4 seats to £175 for Category 1, a £30 rise from last year’s final. The scheduling and cost decisions appear to have overlooked Man City supporters entirely. As renowned journalist Henry Winter highlighted in a recent social media post, City fans once again face a raft of logistical challenges. He wrote (see his full post below):
“FA insists 4.30pm kick-off for FA Cup final “agreed in collaboration with the competing clubs, broadcasters, local authorities, police, and the Safety Advisory Group”. But not with fans? Last train back to Manchester is 9.01pm.
“If extra-time/pens, MCFC fans won’t leave Wembley until 7.30ish, then long queue for Tube, dash to Euston etc. Not ideal, forcing fans to take coaches/cars or book accommodation. NB: final kick-off 3pm in 2023, 2024. (4.45 in 2022). Stick to 3pm. Respect tradition – and fans.”
Worryingly, this comes after City failed to sell out their full allocation during their 2-0 semi-final win over Nottingham Forest, with 5,000 empty seats being on show in the top tier of the national stadium.
Indeed, Palace supporters will have far fewer problems, given most of their fanbase will reside just 20 miles south in SE25 after they earned a resounding 3-0 win over Aston Villa to reach their second FA Cup final in the last nine years. But, clearly, fans of English football are becoming more and more of an afterthought for those running things at the top.
