FA Cup final kick-off time finally confirmed as FA issue statement on Crystal Palace vs Man City

The Football Association have finally announced that the FA Cup final between Manchester City and Crystal Palace will kick-off at 4.30pm on Saturday, May 17, putting an end to lengthy debates about the potential timing of the final.

With no matches scheduled for that day, the FA had been pushing for a traditional 3pm kick-off. The semi-finals took place last weekend, leaving just two weeks until the grand event at

Television networks have been attempting to establish the kick-off time since Monday, but with little success. A significant concern for the FA was the Eurovision Song Contest, scheduled to take place in Switzerland on the same evening. Last year, more than 7.5 million people in the UK tuned into Eurovision on the BBC, and the broadcaster was keen to avoid a scheduling conflict with the contest.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

A later start could have posed issues, given that Eurovision begins at 8pm. If the match between Crystal Palace and Manchester City were to go into extra time or penalties, a scheduling clash might have arisen, reports .

However, a 4.30pm kick-off ensures there will be no overlap between the two events, with the BBC set to broadcast both. A 3pm start might have been even more ideal, but Mirror Football understands that the expressed concerns.

In a statement the FA said: "The 2024-25 Emirates FA Cup Final between Crystal Palace and Manchester City at Wembley Stadium connected by EE will kick-off at 4.30pm BST on Saturday 17 May. The Eagles and the Sky Blues overcame Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest respectively in the semi-finals on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 April.

"Crystal Palace will be competing in the Final for the first time since their last appearance at this stage in 2016, while Manchester City are set to appear in the Final for the third successive year. The kick-off time has been agreed in collaboration with the competing clubs, broadcasters, local authorities, police, and the Safety Advisory Group.

"The showpiece event is going to be broadcast live in the UK on ITV1, ITVX, UTV, STV, STV Player, BBC One and BBC iPlayer. The FA will announce where it can be watched around the world in advance. The winners and the runners-up will receive £2,000,000 and £1,000,000 from the competition’s prize fund respectively."