Why the FA Cup final kick off time has been brought forward
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The FA Cup final between Manchester City and Manchester United will kick off at 3pm, the first time in 12 years the showpiece has started in the traditional time slot.
Last weekend Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United squad claimed their deserved spot in the FA Cup final after beating Brighton & Hove Albion on penalties.
Elsewhere, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City managed to keep Sheffield United from a return trip to Wembley with a 3-0 win, thus securing the first ever Manchester derby in a major cup final.
Since the majority of travelling fans are expected to be making their way to London from Northern England, the FA and Met Police have stepped in to ease supporters’ public transport woes.
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According to the Manchester Evening News, the June 3 fixture has been deemed by the FA as a ‘high-risk’ event due to logistical issues and potential fan trouble.
This follows the violent scenes that were seen at Wembley during the Euro 2020 match between England and Italy. The latter is something the Met are keen to avoid a reap of.
It’s also been said that the relevant bodies have been in crisis talks following this weekend’s results.
Following the discussions, it’s been announced that the FA Cup final will be moved from its usual 5:15/5:30 pm slot to the earlier broadcasting time of 3 pm. This is the first time in for the 12 years that the fixture has been brought forward.
City were involved that day as well, with Yaya Toure's goal against Stoke City securing the first silverware of Roberto Mancini's time in charge of the club, after they'd beaten local rivals United in the semis.
While the 3 pm FA Cup final kick-off has appeased travelling supporters, it’s sent TV scheduling spiralling into chaos.
The annual Epsom Derby horse race was due to air live on ITV at 4:30 pm. However, this now clashes with the newly designated time for the cup final.
It’s been said that relevant TV schedulers and local authority safety advisory groups are in the process of setting up conversations with one another.
However, it’s not known at this time whether one broadcast will be moved to another ITV channel or if broadcasting for one sporting moment will cease. it could also become a massive double-header event.
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It’s possible that the Epsom Derby could still be broadcast — however, there are major scheduling issues which iTV have now been forced to iron out.
The Sun say that the most likely solution is that ITV will bring forward the running of the Epsom Derby until earlier in the card. If this happens then both events will be able to remain being shown on ITV1.
While it’s unlikely that the FA Cup will have its broadcast pulled, it is still a possibility as the Jockey Club will need to give ITV their approval for the upheaval.
The final round of the FA Cup now takes place on June 3rd at 3 pm and sees Manchester City take on local rivals Manchester United.
Featured Image Credit: PA
Topics: FA Cup, Manchester City, Manchester United, Wembley Stadium, Football
