The FA People’s Cup gets serious this weekend – with the remaining teams battling for a place in the Final across the eight regional semi-final venues.
A record breaking 4,352 teams entered and now just 400 remain – and this weekend’s action will determine the finalists who will be slugging it out for top honours during Sport Relief weekend in Sheffield next month.
The FA People's Cup
Regional Finals
27 & 28 February 2016
Venues: Birmingham, Bristol North, Hull, London City, Luton, Manchester, Nottingham, Portsmouth
Coverage on BBC Get Inspired
The FA’s largest ever mass participation football tournament has already proven to be a rip-roaring success.
There were over 35,000 entrants and round one featured over 2,000 hours of action across 130 venues in January.
The tournament features male, female and disability knock-out categories with participants ranging from under-14s through to veterans (over 35s).
It also features the increasingly popular walking football for over 50s which caters to those who enjoy playing the beautiful game at a slightly more sedate, but no less competitive, pace.
And there’s an added bonus for winning teams across all categories, as they will each receive tickets for The Emirates FA Cup Final at Wembley on Saturday 21 May 2016.
Pete Ackerley, The FA’s head of participation said: "The FA People’s Cup has the potential to bring the delights of knock-out football to everyone – and the sheer volume of people who entered shows the tournament’s appeal.
England legend Kelly Smith enjoyed watching The FA People's Cup in the first round last month
"It is also a great way to get back into football and a wonderful platform to raise funds for Sport Relief."
The format for the People’s Cup mirrors rounds of The FA Cup and, as with the world’s original cup competition, the BBC has been following the action every step of the way - with cameras trained across venues around the country to capture action as it unfolds.
Sharon Fuller, project lead for BBC Get Inspired added: "We have discovered so many fascinating stories among along the way, including a Shakespearean rapper who helped turn his life around through football and a lady with a knee replacement who has been re-united with the game through Walking Football.
"We are really looking forward to uncovering some more at the semis."
The Regional Finals will be held at eight venues across the country on 27 and 28 February
Highlights from the first round action are available by clicking here and the semi-final action will available on iPlayer and the red button from 5 March.
You can follow live text updates on the BBC Get Inspired website on Saturday and Sunday.
For further opportunities to play visit The FA’s Play Football search engine provides information of where to play the game locally.
This year it’s not just about football, as we are also raising money for Sports Relief. To donate £5 text CUP to 70005. Texts cost £5 plus your standard network message charge. 100% of your donation will go to Sport Relief. You must be 16 or over and please ask the bill payer’s permission. For full terms and conditions and more information click here.
