By Pascal Ibe

Introduction

Manchester United’s Europa League final loss captured the very essence of their horror 2024-25 season. A campaign filled with missteps, a misfiring forward line, and a lack of mentality has seen the Red Devils

The team finished in 15th position in the Premier League and missed out on making it to Europe for the next season.

Not even the late appointment of Rúben Amorim in late 2024 could salvage the season. The team lacked identity, structure, and leadership—on and off the pitch. Injuries, poor individual performances, questionable sporting decisions, and fan disconnect have all contributed to what is now regarded as a dark chapter in the club’s long and storied history.

For a club used to competing at the highest level, the 2024/25 campaign is a full-blown crisis.

The team’s rivalries like Chelsea FC and Arsenal see this as a great development. For them, Man United’s misery is their constant source of joy.

Claim

As a result of the troubled season, which placed them 15th on the EPL table, a Facebook user, Hesborn Etyang, claimed that Man United will start playing in the FA Cup in July.

The post by the Facebook user reads, “Normally FA CUP starts in January for EPL top teams.

“But for Manchester United, they will start their own by July with unknown teams.

The post had already generated thousands of reactions and laughing emojis as well as hundreds of comments.

Verification

At over 150 years old, the FA Cup – or the Football Association Challenge Cup – was founded back in 1871. This makes it the oldest and longest-running football competition in history and it has taken place every year with the exception of those seasons that would have occurred during the two World Wars.

Running from August to May, the Cup has gone by many names in its history and tends to be named based on its current sponsorship. But as of 2015, it’s been known as the Emirates FA Cup – though such name changes have played little role in how the FA Cup is formatted.

Unlike table-leagues like the Premier League or Championship, the FA Cup is what’s known as a domestic knockout competition. Played annually in England, it’s open to any club that plays in the English football pyramid.

Due to their competitive status, all clubs playing in the Premier League, EFL Championship, EFL League One, and EFL League Two automatically qualify in the first round or later, while the rest of the clubs battle it out in six qualifying rounds to reach the official rounds of the tournament.

Once these six rounds have been completed, of the 645 teams below League Two, there will be 32 teams remaining who go on to play in the ‘first round proper’, where League One and Two teams are entered. Then, when the official third round is reached, Premier League and Championship sides first-feature

In simple terms, the FA Cup is intentionally split into two sets of 6 rounds – the qualifying rounds and the official competition rounds.

The six qualifying rounds happened simultaneously over the first three months of the tournament to filter through the large number of non-league sides that enter the competition, while the official six rounds introduce the Football League teams.

Here is how the breakdown looks from a top-level perspective:

Extra preliminary round – Level 8 clubs (96 lowest ranked), Level 9 clubs, and Level 10 clubs should any vacancies in the fixtures need filling.

Preliminary round – Level 8 clubs (64 highest ranks).

First round (Qu) – Level 7 clubs.

Second round (Qu) – Level 6 clubs.

Third round (Qu) – No clubs added.

Fourth round (Qu) – Level 5 clubs.

Official first round – League One and League Two clubs added.

Official second round – No clubs added

Official third round – Premier League and Championship clubs added.

Official fourth round – No clubs added.

Official fifth round – Regular knockout round.

The finals – Quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals.

Verdict

The claim that Man United will start playing in the FA Cup in July is FALSE. The simple check indicated that regardless of a club’s position in the EPL’s table in the previous season, all the twenty clubs in the Premier League will join the FA Cup competition in the third round, which usually begins in early January.