Beijing time on December 24 news, the Chinese Football Association officially released information to determine the 2021 FA Cup final time and place. The FA Cup final will be scheduled for 9 January 2022 at the Phoenix Mountain Stadium in Chengdu. Phoenix Mountain Stadium is the venue for the 2023 Asian Cup, and this FA Cup final will also be the first official competition hosted by Phoenix Mountain Stadium.
According to the arrangement of the FA Cup, the final adopts a single-game winning and losing format, and Shandong Taishan and Shanghai Haigang enter the final. This is the fourth consecutive season that Shandong Taishan team has reached the final, and in 2020, Taishan team won the FA Cup, which is the team with the most titles in the history of the FA Cup, reaching 6 times. In 2021, The Tarzans have the opportunity to storm the 7th FA Cup trophy.
In the Chinese Super League, Taishan's victory has entered the countdown, as long as they defeat Hebei on the 26th, they can win the championship three rounds in advance. This means that The Tarzan team has a chance to hit the double again, and historically, the Tarzan team won the double in 1999 and 2006. Shanghai Harbour is now in third place in the Chinese Super League, and they still have to compete with Guangzhou for second place, and Oscar is still the core of the team.
Because the FA Cup final is a single game to determine the winner, the suspense of the game will be greater, and the Taishan team must also prepare in advance. The final was arranged at the Phoenix Mountain Stadium in Chengdu, which is also of special significance. Phoenix Mountain Stadium is the venue of the Asian Cup, and this FA Cup final is also a new test of the stadium, looking forward to this FA Cup final, it can be a wonderful showdown.
In terms of referee arrangements, the referee group of the FA Cup final has long been determined, and the news shows that Wang Zhe serves as the referee, Zhang Lei serves as the fourth official, and the video referee is Shi Zhenlu, which is also a very high-standard referee configuration. The strength of the Taishan team and the harbor is close, the final showdown tests the team's mentality and overall strength, from the personnel point of view, the harbor's Wei Zhen will be suspended to miss the final due to receiving a red card in the semi-final match, and the Taishan team's lineup is relatively neat.
In terms of fans, there is no official information on whether the final is open to fans at this stage, and everything has to wait for the Football Association and the division to be determined.