Pep Guardiola sends clear plea to move FA Cup Final to ‘the North of England’ | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has admitted his hope that ‘one day’ the FA Cup Final can be played in the North of England.

It was a second consecutive loss at the Final stage of English football’s most historic and iconic cup competition on Saturday afternoon, as a single goal from Eberechi Eze secured Crystal Palace their first major trophy in the club’s history.

That result means that for the first time since Pep Guardiola’s debut season at the Etihad Stadium back in 2016/17, Manchester City will end the ongoing campaign without any major trophies to their name.

Prior to the final, much was made of City fans’ struggles to attend the semi-final clash with Nottingham Forest, due to a number of reasons including travel expense, rising ticket costs, and the overall expenditure on what was the club’s 30th visit to Wembley since 2011.

And speaking to broadcasters prior to the 2025 edition of the FA Cup Final, manager Pep Guardiola admitted his gratitude for the efforts made by City supporters to travel to London, particularly given the finances involved in such a commitment.

“Ah, we love them! I just can say, ‘Thank you’,” Guardiola said, in a direct message to Manchester City’s supporters.

He continued, “It’s not easy to come, economically it’s not easy. For Crystal Palace it’s easy because they live in London.

“Maybe one day the FA Cup [Final] will be played in the North, and it will be easy for all the fans of teams that play in the North of England.”

Much has been made in recent seasons of the Football Association’s decision to permanently move FA Cup semi-final clashes in particular to Wembley Stadium, having previous held such fixtures at neutral venues depending on location of the two clubs involved.

Semi-final clashes in the FA Cup have been held at Wembley since 2008, whereas in the past any suitably large ground which was not the home ground of a team involved was used including Birmingham’s Villa Park, Manchester’s Old Trafford, and Sheffield’s Hillsborough.

There is currently no indication that a re-think of semi-final fixture locations will be undertaken by the relevant decision makers, although Pep Guardiola will likely maintain his view when quizzed upon such a call in future.