1996–97 FA Cup

First round proper

The First Round featured those non-league teams who had come through the qualifying rounds and the teams from the third and fourth tiers of the English football league system. The matches were played on 16 November 1996. There were thirteen replays, with two ties requiring a penalty shootout to settle them.

Second Round Proper

The second round of the competition featured the winners of the first round ties. The matches were played on 7 December 1996, with four replays and one penalty shootout required.

Third round proper

The third round of the season's FA Cup was scheduled for Saturday, 4 January 1997, although fourteen matches were postponed until later dates. This round marked the point at which the teams in the two highest divisions in the English league system, the Premier League and the Football League First Division (now known as the Football League Championship). There were nine replays, with none of these games requiring a penalty shootout to settle it.

Fourth Round Proper

The Fourth Round ties were played with the thirty-two winners of the previous round. The matches were originally scheduled for Saturday, 25 January 1997, although six matches were not played that weekend. There was only one replay.

Fifth Round Proper

The Fifth Round matches were scheduled for Saturday, 15 February 1997. There was, again, only one replay.

Sixth Round Proper

The sixth round ties were scheduled for the weekend of 8–9 March. No replays were required.

Chesterfield defeated Wrexham 1-0 in a rare "all third-tier" quarter-final clash, while Middlesbrough's 2-0 win at Derby County moved them a step closer to their first-ever FA Cup final.

Semi-Finals

The semi-final ties were played at neutral venues on 13 April 1997. Middlesbrough and Chelsea came through their ties (with Middlesbrough requiring a replay against second division side Chesterfield) to reach the final.

Wimbledon, playing the semi-finals for the first time since they were FA Cup winners nine years earlier, had their hopes of FA Cup glory ended by a semi-final defeat at the hands of Chelsea, who had not played in an FA Cup final for 3 years. This came just weeks after Wimbledon had been eliminated from the League Cup semi-finals.

Middlesbrough, on the other hand, reached the FA Cup final for the first time in their history, but only after a 3-0 replay win over a Chesterfield side that had given them a serious run for their money in the first match with a 3-3 draw after taking a 2-0 lead and having a goal ruled out despite the ball crossing the line, therefore narrowly missing out on being the first "third tier" side to reach an FA Cup final.

Final

The 1997 FA Cup Final took place on 17 May 1997 at Wembley Stadium and was won by Chelsea with a 2–0 victory over Middlesbrough. Di Matteo scored the fastest ever goal in FA Cup Final history 43 seconds after kick-off, beating Jackie Milburn's record from the 1954-1955 final of 45 seconds, which was only beaten in 2009 by Everton's Louis Saha (27.9 seconds). Chelsea were attempting to win their first FA Cup final for 27 years, while Middlesbrough were contesting their first ever final. Chelsea took to the field on the back of something of a renaissance under Dutch manager Ruud Gullit, having recorded their best league finish for a decade. Middlesbrough, on the other hand, began the final having been relegated from the Premiership and also been losing finalists in the League Cup.

It was Chelsea's first major trophy for 26 years, while Middlesbrough had never played in an FA Cup final or won a major trophy before.

Media coverage

For the ninth consecutive season in the United Kingdom, the BBC were the free to air broadcasters which was their last before ITV took over while Sky Sports were the subscription broadcasters.