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Should FA Cup semi-finals be played at Wembley?
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With the end of the season upon us, games are coming thick and fast as competitions reach their culmination.
This weekend, we'll find out who will contest the 2026 FA Cup Final when the two semi-finals take place across Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
Manchester City meet Championship side Southampton first up, before managerless Chelsea clash with old foes Leeds, with narratives aplenty coming out of both games.
Both games will take place at Wembley Stadium, the chosen venue for the last four since 2008. Yet, despite it now being a nearly twenty-year tradition, many still long for the days when the games used to be contested at neutral grounds.
Ahead of 2026's final four, DAZN News asks that very question, and should the FA Cup Semi-Finals still be played at England's national stadium?
Yes, Wembley Stadium should host the FA Cup Semi-Finals
The decision to move the two Semi-Finals to Wembley permanently in 2008 was all about revenue.
Having spent £798m on revamping the national stadium, the FA needed to find ways to recoup the cost of the build and saw the opportunity to use the ground to host the Semi-Finals of its most famous competition. It was seen as "a financial necessity", but it's now become a tradition that a generation of football fans are now used to, and a big deal.
By staging the round at Wembley, it opens up the additional possibility for teams to play at the famous ground and for fans to experience seeing their club grace the famous turf.
Take Southampton this season, as a Championship side, they wouldn't be expected to reach the final, so a day out under the arch presents a big occasion for the Saints. While Leeds, who haven't appeared at Wembley in a cup capacity since 1996, get their day at the stadium, too.
Justin Setterfield - The FA/The FA via Getty Images
It also solidifies the fixtures as two major occasions in their own right. Putting more emphasis on the FA Cup and its meaning, in an age where the competition continues to battle for its status amongst the Champions League.
Then there's the capacity. By hosting the games at Wembley, the biggest benefit is that there are more bums in seats. No stadium in England can compete with the 90,000 that Wembley can offer, meaning more fans can attend the game, more tickets can be sold and more corporate clients can spend their money on the stadium's hospitality.
Like in any industry, money talks, but when we're talking about the 'magic of the cup', has some of that magic been lost at the Semi-Final stage, because of the move to Wembley?
(C)Getty Images
No, the FA Cup Semi-Finals should go back to neutral venues
Let's get the revenue issue cleared up straight away, because the FA no longer need to pay off Wembley, having repaid that debt as part of its 2022-23 financial report.
Yes, they still make more money by using the national stadium, but they no longer need to host the Semi-Finals there.
Therefore isn't time to insert some of that fabled magic back into the cup by hosting the final four in Premier League venues, just like the 'good old days' of the competition.
English clubs boast some of the best stadiums in Europe, which is why in years gone by Villa Park, Old Trafford and Highbury were all used to host these games.
Since 2008, the choice is even wider, given Arsenal's new home, Tottenham's revamped home in North London and Everton's new Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Getty Images
Up and down the country, there are stadiums fit to host such an occasion and means fans in the north don't need to worry about the schlep down south for both a semi and a possible final - something which would please transport networks, too.
Playing the games at a neutral venue also brings a unique flavour to each game, seeing two teams meet at a ground they don't play at is refreshing and creates a backdrop to certain memories.
After all, how many Semi-Final moments live long in the memory at Wembley? Other than Paul Gascoigne's free-kick in 1991 - when Wembley was still a novelty - it's hard to think of one.
Whereas we can all recall Ryan Giggs running through Arsenal's defence at Villa Park, Oldham holding Manchester United to a famous draw at Maine Road or Highbury hosting Liverpool's draw with Portsmouth.
Like a host nation gives a different flavour to every World Cup, a neutral setting would make each Semi-Final more memorable and leave the final to have the prestige of Wembley - lifting both the occasion and the venue for the showpiece it should be.
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