The 146th edition of the FA Cup kicks off in August with 743 teams accepted from across the country.
The official start date for the 2026/27 FA Cup is Saturday 8th August but it’s likely there will be a handful of games on Friday 7th August as teams adjust for groundshares and good old floodlit football. Last season seven teams played FA Cup matches on Friday night including Wokingham Town who beat Brislington 3-2.
Wokingham’s game was brought forward due to use of the cricket pitch at Lowther Road on the Saturday. The Sumas would go on to reach the First Qualifying Round where they lost 5-1 at home to Burgess Hill Town.
As this is Football in Berkshire, we’ll focus on the Berkshire sides and those around us, beginning in the Extra Preliminary Round – which you can see here.
We’ll also be keen to see whether Slough Town can make it two years in a row as the Berkshire side going the furthest in the competition. Reading FC had held the record for 40-years, but Slough’s win over Altrincham combined with the Royals defeat to Carlisle United saw that crown pass to East Berkshire.
We’ll also be eager to see another local side on television after Tadley Calleva stunned Weymouth in front of the BBC cameras.
26/27 FA Cup Final date
The 2026/27 FA Cup Final will be back at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 22nd May 2027. As it stands the Final will be played the week before the end of the Premier League season on Sunday 30th May and two weeks before the Champions League Final on 5th June in Madrid.
