Yet more Manchester City glory, but Portsmouth and Cardiff's proud record still unequalled
Saturday’s FA Cup final drew an attendance of 83,337 at Wembley
Pep Guardiola claimed a staggering 20th trophy as Manchester City captured the FA Cup.
Yet despite the 1-0 triumph over Chelsea adding to their extensive list of accomplishments during his remarkable 10-year reign, City have still been unable to surpass Pompey’s proud record.
A crowd of 83,337 watched Saturday’s final - yet once again that doesn’t beat the new Wembley record for a sporting event set by Pompey and Cardiff in the 2008 FA Cup final.
On that May 2008 occasion, a crowd of 89,874 witnessed Harry Redknapp’s men claim the FA Cup for the first time in 69 years.
What’s more, the 2019 Checkatrade Trophy between Pompey and Sunderland also attracted a higher attendance than Saturday, with 85,021 in attendance for the Blues’ penalty shoot-out win.
Wembley’s reopening in May 2007
Since the 90,000 capacity Wembley reopened in May 2007, 20 FA Cup finals have been held, in addition to other domestic cup competitions, internationals, the Women’s Euro 2022 final and NFL fixtures.
But that figure of 89,874 for the Blues’ 1-0 triumph over Cardiff remains unprecedented.
It also represents the best-attended FA Cup final of the last 38 years, since 98,203 were present for Wimbledon’s 1-0 victory over Liverpool in May 1988.
During that period, the Millennium Stadium served as the cup final venue for six seasons, during which time Southampton lost to Arsenal in 2003.
However, with a capacity of 73,931, every FA Cup final at Wembley since then has exceeded those attendances.
When Pompey faced Chelsea there in May 2010 - two years after their Cardiff fixture - the crowd was 88,335, which is more than the last 10 FA Cup finals.
Covid years at Wembley
Although Covid dictated the 2020 encounter between Arsenal and Chelsea was behind closed doors and, the following year, Leicester triumphed over Chelsea in a reduced capacity of 20,000.
In terms of the NFL, the competition’s record at Wembley was set in October 2024, when 86,651 were in attendance for Jacksonville Jaguars’ clash with New England Patriots.
In October 2025, Jacksonville returned to London to face the LA Rams, attracting a crowd of 86,152, falling narrowly short of the NFL record by 499.
Incidentally, the 2019 Checkatrade Trophy final crowd of 85,021 for Pompey against Sunderland remains the biggest in that particular competition’s history.
The most notable since then was in April 2023, when 79,389 attended Bolton’s 4-0 thumping of Plymouth in the Papa Johns Trophy.
When Pompey faced Salford in the Leasing.com Trophy in March 2021, the fixture took place 11 months after the original due to Covid.
With restrictions still in place, no supporters were allowed into Wembley as the Blues lost on penalties to the League Two side.
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