2025 FAI Cup
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | Republic of Ireland |
| Venue(s) | Aviva Stadium, Dublin |
| Dates | 11 May 2025 – 9 November 2025 |
| Teams | 44 |
The 2025 FAI Cup, known as the Sports Direct FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons,[1] is the 105th edition of the Republic of Ireland's primary national cup competition. It features teams from the League of Ireland Premier Division and the First Division, as well as teams from the regional leagues of the Republic of Ireland football league system.
The 2025 FAI Cup winners are set to enter the first qualifying round of the 2026–27 UEFA Europa League.[2]
Drogheda United are the defending champions, having won their second FAI Cup the previous year.
Round and dates
| Round | Draw date | Match dates | Number of fixtures | Teams | New entries this round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Round | 8 April 2025 | 11–18 May[3] | 12 | 44 → 32 | 24 |
| Second Round | 5 June 2025 | 18–20 July | 16 | 32 → 16 | 20 |
| Third Round | TBD | 15–17 August | 8 | 16 → 8 | None |
| Quarter-finals | 12–14 September | 4 | 8 → 4 | None | |
| Semi-finals | 3–5 October | 2 | 4 → 2 | None | |
| Final | — | 9 November | 1 | 2 → 1 | None |
Teams
The 2025 FAI Cup is a knockout competition with 44 teams taking part. The competitors consist of the 20 teams from the League of Ireland and 24 teams from the regional leagues of the Republic of Ireland football league system.
First round
| 11 May 2025 | North End United | 1–4 | Castlebar Celtic | Wexford Town, County Wexford |
| 14:00 | Paul Murphy 55' | Report | Eoghan Hughes 25' Dylan Edwards 57' Dylan Edwards 68' Luke Kelly 84' |
Stadium: Hollygrove Attendance: 57 Referee: Seamus Kelly |
| 15 May 2025 | Wayside Celtic | 4–0 | River Valley Rangers | Kilternan, County Dublin |
| 19:45 | Eimhin Boylan 33' Cormac Kelly 40' Luke Clucas 58' Thomas Whelan 67' (o.g.) |
Stadium: Jackson Park Referee: Declan Troy |
| 16 May 2025 | Crumlin United | 4–2 | Lucan United | Crumlin, Dublin 12 |
| 20:00 | Aidan Friel 5' Reece Kavanagh 23' Sam O'Donohoe 51' Reece Kavanagh 90+4' |
Mark Byrne 32' Ollie Kendrick 67' |
Stadium: Pearse Park Referee: Peter Mahoney |
| 17 May 2025 | Midleton | 0–6 | Killester Donnycarney | Midleton, County Cork |
| 14:00 | Owen Jones 23' Daniel Bergin 38' Steven Nolan 63' James Wall 74' James Wall 75' Daniel Bergin 83' |
Stadium: Knockgriffin Park Referee: Darren O'Sullivan |
| 17 May 2025 | College Corinthians | 1–2 | Bangor Celtic | Douglas, County Cork |
| 15:00 | Keelan Crowley 37' | Ognjen Lovic 59' David Samson 90+2' |
Stadium: Corinthians Park Referee: Robert O'Leary |
| 17 May 2025 | Fairview Rangers | 4–0 | Baldoyle United | Garryowen, County Limerick |
| 15:00 | Oleg Vysochan 27' Adam Dore 38' Oleg Vysochan 88' (pen.) Brian Ahern 89' |
Stadium: Singland Park Referee: Brian Higgins |
| 17 May 2025 | Ringmahon Rangers | 1–3 | UCC | Mahon, County Cork |
| 15:00 | Alan Happi 30' | Sean Power 48' Josh Roberts 83' Zack O'Brien 86' |
Stadium: Ringmahon Park Referee: Declan Fogarty |
| 17 May 2025 | St Mochta's | 4–0 | Douglas Hall | Clonsilla, Dublin 15 |
| 15:30 | Dylan Atanda 4' Karl Chambers 30' Dylan Atanda 45+2' Liam Brady 61' Tyler Doherty 65' |
Stadium: Porterstown Road Referee: John McCarthy |
| 18 May 2025 | Leicester Celtic | 2–1 | Fanad United | Rathfarnham, Dublin 14 |
| 14:00 | Kevin Maguire 30' Kevin Maguire 59' |
Patrick Carr 80' | Stadium: Loreto Park Referee: Robert Redmond |
| 18 May 2025 | Salthill Devon | 2–1 | Liffey Wanderers | Salthill, County Galway |
| 14:00 | Timmy Molloy 39' Darren Darcy 47' |
Jake Ellis 82' | Stadium: Drom Soccer Park Referee: Thomas Oates |
| 18 May 2025 | Tolka Rovers | 3–1 | Janesboro | Glasnevin, Dublin 11 |
| 14:00 | Katlego Mashigo 6' Brendan O'Dwyer 39' (o.g.) Lasha Baramidze 90+4' |
Dion Lynch 63' Brendan O'Dwyer 89' |
Stadium: Frank Cooke Park Referee: Jason Ray |
| 18 May 2025 | St Michael's | w/o | Usher Celtic | Tipperary Town, County Tipperary |
| 15:00 | Stadium: Cooke Park | |||
| Note: St Michael's were awarded a walkover. | ||||
Second round
| 18 July 2025 | Bray Wanderers | v | Wayside Celtic | Bray, County Wicklow |
| 19:45 | Stadium: Carlisle Grounds |
| 18 July 2025 | Cork City | v | Leicester Celtic | Turners Cross, County Cork |
| 19:45 | Stadium: Turners Cross |
| 18 July 2025 | Drogheda United | v | Crumlin United | Drogheda, County Louth |
| 19:45 | Stadium: Sullivan and Lambe Park |
| 18 July 2025 | Dundalk | v | Sligo Rovers | Dundalk, County Louth |
| 19:45 | Stadium: Oriel Park |
| 18 July 2025 | Finn Harps | v | UCD | Ballybofey, County Donegal |
| 19:45 | Stadium: Finn Park |
| 18 July 2025 | Galway United | v | Tolka Rovers | Galway, County Galway |
| 19:45 | Stadium: Eamonn Deacy Park |
| 18 July 2025 | Kerry | v | Athlone Town | Tralee, County Kerry |
| 19:45 | Stadium: Mounthawk Park |
| 18 July 2025 | Killester Donnycarney | v | Bohemians | Phibsborough, Dublin 7 |
| 19:45 | Stadium: Dalymount Park | |||
| Note: Killester Donnycarney were drawn as the home team but both clubs agreed to switch the venue to Bohemians' home ground. | ||||
| 18 July 2025 | Treaty United | v | Derry City | Garryowen, County Limerick |
| 19:45 | Stadium: Markets Field |
| 18 July 2025 | Waterford | v | St Mochta's | Waterford, County Waterford |
| 19:45 | Stadium: RSC |
| 18 July 2025 | Shamrock Rovers | v | Wexford | Tallaght, Dublin 24 |
| 20:00 | Stadium: Tallaght Stadium |
| 19 July 2025 | Salthill Devon | v | St Michael's | Salthill, County Galway |
| 14:00 | Stadium: Drom Soccer Park |
| 19 July 2025 | Bangor Celtic | v | Cobh Ramblers | Crumlin, Dublin 12 |
| 15:00 | Stadium: Transport Club |
| 19 July 2025 | Fairview Rangers | v | Shelbourne | Garryowen, County Limerick |
| 18:00 | Stadium: Singland Park |
| 20 July 2025 | Castlebar Celtic | v | Longford Town | Castlebar, County Mayo |
| 17:00 | Stadium: Celtic Park |
| 20 July 2025 | St Patrick's Athletic | v | UCC | Inchicore, Dublin 8 |
| 18:00 | Stadium: Richmond Park |
References
- ^ "Mike Ashley's Sports Direct to become new FAI Cup sponsors". FAI.ie. 27 April 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
- ^ "Looking good for the League of Ireland UEFA coefficient". extratime.ie. 24 August 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ "Fixtures confirmed for 2025 Sports Direct Men's FAI Cup First Round". www.fai.ie. Retrieved 2025-05-22.