FA Cup semi-finals have been held permanently at Wembley Stadium since 2008.
Previously, neutral grounds including Villa Park, Old Trafford and Hillsborough hosted the fixtures – but in 2003 it was announced they would take place at the ‘new’ Wembley, after its rebuild.
The decision was primarily financial – to help repay the £798m cost of rebuilding a new national stadium.
Nick Barron, then a Football Association spokesperson, said the move was “a financial necessity”.
The first semi-final held at Wembley was actually the 1991 north London derby between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, but the fixtures moved there permanently from 2008.
“There will be traditionalists upset by the idea of the semi-finals being at Wembley,” said Barron.
“So will some fans of clubs who would have to travel a long way to London, and we appreciate that it’s not necessarily an ideal situation.”
When the FA released its 2022-23 annual report last year, chief executive Mark Bullingham said it had finished repaying the debt from building Wembley, describing it as a “significant milestone”.
