Both FA Cup semifinals are at Wembley this weekend, and if you've ever wondered why England's national stadium gets two bites at the cherry before the final, the answer is straightforward: money.
Manchester City host Championship side Southampton on Saturday (12:15 p.m. ET), with City heavy favorites to reach a fourth consecutive final. Then on Sunday (10 a.m. ET), Chelsea take on Leeds United — a side who haven't been in an FA Cup final since 1973 and are eyeing a Chelsea squad that has looked shaky in recent weeks.
It didn't start this way
The FA Cup has been running since 1871, making it the oldest national cup competition in the world. But Wembley didn't host a semifinal until 1991 — Tottenham's win over Arsenal — and even then it was treated as a curiosity rather than a policy. The FA experimented with Wembley semis in 1993, 1994, and 2000, then stepped back. Old Trafford and Villa Park were the go-to neutral venues throughout the 90s and 2000s.
The shift came in 2007 when the rebuilt Wembley opened. From 2008 onwards, every single semifinal has been played there. The rebuilt stadium cost £798 million — around $1.08 billion — and routing two additional high-profile matchdays through the ground each year helps the English FA claw back that investment. Simple as that.
The case for and against
The stadium's 90,000 capacity means more fans get to experience semifinal day than any neutral venue could offer. That's a genuine upside.
But traditionalists have a point too. When a club like Manchester City reaches the last four, Wembley isn't much of a landmark anymore — they've been there so many times it's practically a home game. For the bigger clubs who dominate the competition, the final has lost some of its distinct weight when the stadium is already familiar from two rounds back.
For anyone looking at City's odds to lift the trophy, reaching a fourth straight final would be a formality-level stepping stone. Southampton, sitting in the Championship, are the longest of long shots to cause an upset. The Leeds vs. Chelsea tie is the more interesting watch — and the more open betting proposition of the two.
Both semifinals and the final on May 16 are all at Wembley. Same stadium, three weekends, one trophy.
