| FA Cup | |
| Year: | 2003–04 |
| Country: | England Wales |
| Champions: | Manchester United |
| Count: | 11 |
| Runner-Up: | Millwall |
| Top Goal Scorer: | Garry Barnes Scott Taylor Ruud van Nistelrooy (6 goals) |
| Prevseason: | 2002–03 |
| Nextseason: | 2004–05 |
The 2003–04 FA Cup was the 123rd staging of England and the world's oldest football competition, the FA Cup. The competition began on 23 August 2003, with the lowest-ranked of the entrants competing in the Extra preliminary round. In the third round, the clubs from the Premiership and Division One competed in the competition for the first time.
The semi-finals were staged at neutral venues and, like the final, would not be replayed in the event of a draw. The competition culminated with the cup final at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff for a fourth year in a row, since Wembley Stadium was still in the rebuilding process. The cup was won by Manchester United for a record 11th time, with a 3–0 victory over Millwall from Division One.
The appearance in the cup final by Millwall, a Level 2 team, marked the first time in 12 years that a team outside Level 1 of the English football pyramid appeared in the final game.
| Round | Date (weekend of) | Matches | width=100 | Clubs ! | width=100 | Prize money |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extra preliminary round | Saturday 23 August 2003 | 73 | 661 → 588 | £500 | ||
| Preliminary round | Saturday 30 August 2003 | 182 | 588 → 406 | £1,000 | ||
| First round qualifying | Saturday 20 September 2003 | 124 | 406 → 282 | £2,250 | ||
| Second round qualifying | Saturday 27 September 2003 | 84 | 282 → 198 | £3,750 | ||
| Third round qualifying | Saturday 11 October 2003 | 42 | 198 → 156 | £5,000 | ||
| Fourth round qualifying | Saturday 25 October 2003 | 32 | 156 → 124 | £10,000 | ||
| First round proper | Saturday 8 November 2003 | 40 | 124 → 84 | £16,000 | ||
| Second round proper | Saturday 6 December 2003 | 20 | 84 → 64 | £24,000 | ||
| Third round proper | Saturday 3 January 2004 | 32 | 64 → 32 | £40,000 | ||
| Fourth round proper | Saturday 24 January 2004 | 16 | 32 → 16 | £60,000 | ||
| Fifth round proper | Saturday 14 February 2004 | 8 | 16 → 8 | £120,000 | ||
| Sixth round proper | Saturday 6 March 2004 | 4 | 8 → 4 | £300,000 | ||
| Semi-finals | Saturday 3 April 2004 | 2 | 4 → 2 | £900,000 | ||
| Final | Saturday 22 May 2004 | 1 | 2 → 1 | £1,000,000 |
This round is the first in which Football League teams from Second and Third Division compete with non-league teams. Luton's Adrian Forbes and Sheffield Wednesday's Adam Proudlock netted hat tricks. Shildon AFC, of the Arngrove Northern League (level 9 on the football league pyramid), were the lowest ranked team left in the competition in the first round.
Ties were played over the weekend of 6 December 2003. Mansfield's Liam Lawrence showed how interested Championship and premiership clubs were with him by netting a hat trick.
This round marks the first time First Division and Premier League (top-flight) teams play. Matches were played on the weekend of Saturday, 3 January 2004, with replays on 13 January and 14 January.
Ties played during the weekend of 24 January 2004, with replays on 3 February and 4 February.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burnley (2) | 3–1 | Gillingham (2) | |
| 2 | Liverpool (1) | 2–1 | Newcastle United (1) | |
| 3 | Nottingham Forest (2) | 0–3 | Sheffield United (2) | |
| 4 | Wolverhampton Wanderers (1) | 1–3 | West Ham United (2) | |
| 5 | Luton Town (3) | 0–1 | Tranmere Rovers (3) | |
| 6 | Everton (1) | 1–1 | Fulham (1) | |
| replay | Fulham (1) | 2–1 | Everton (1) | |
| 7 | Scarborough (5) | 0–1 | Chelsea (1) | |
| 8 | Ipswich Town (2) | 1–2 | Sunderland (2) | |
| 9 | Manchester City (1) | 1–1 | Tottenham Hotspur (1) | |
| replay | Tottenham Hotspur (1) | 3–4 | Manchester City (1) | |
| 10 | Northampton Town (4) | 0–3 | Manchester United (1) | |
| 11 | Coventry City (2) | 1–1 | Colchester United (3) | |
| replay | Colchester United (3) | 3–1 | Coventry City (2) | |
| 12 | Portsmouth (1) | 2–1 | Scunthorpe United (4) | |
| 13 | Arsenal (1) | 4–1 | Middlesbrough (1) | |
| 14 | Birmingham City (1) | 1–0 | Wimbledon (2) | |
| 15 | Telford United (5) | 0–2 | Millwall (2) | |
| 16 | Swansea City (4) | 2–1 | Preston North End (2) |
The match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City was particularly notable. Tottenham led the match 3–0 at half-time but Manchester City turned the match around in the second half to win 4–3, with Jon Macken scoring the winning goal in the 90th minute. This was despite Manchester City having one less player on the pitch during the second half after Joey Barton was red carded during the half-time interval.[1]
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool (1) | 1–1 | Portsmouth (1) | 34,669 | |
| replay | Portsmouth (1) | 1–0 | Liverpool (1) | 19,529 | |
| 2 | Sunderland (2) | 1–1 | Birmingham City (1) | 24,966 | |
| replay | Birmingham City (1) | 0–2 | Sunderland (2) | 25,645 | |
| 3 | Sheffield United (2) | 1–0 | Colchester United (3) | 17,074 | |
| 4 | Tranmere Rovers (3) | 2–1 | Swansea City (4) | 12,215 | |
| 5 | Fulham (1) | 0–0 | West Ham United (2) | 14,705 | |
| replay | West Ham United (2) | 0–3 | Fulham (1) | 27,934 | |
| 6 | Manchester United (1) | 4–2 | Manchester City (1) | 67,228 | |
| 7 | Millwall (2) | 1–0 | Burnley (2) | 10,420 | |
| 8 | Arsenal (1) | 2–1 | Chelsea (1) | 38,136 |
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See main article: article and 2004 FA Cup final.
Manchester United won the game and lifted the trophy for the 11th time in their history (a competition record) with a 3–0 victory over a Millwall side who were the first team from outside the top flight to reach the FA Cup final in 12 years.
In the United Kingdom, the BBC were the free to air broadcasters for the third consecutive season while Sky Sports were the subscription broadcasters for the sixteenth consecutive season.
The matches shown live on the BBC were:
The matches shown live on Sky Sports were: