FA Cup deal dents winter break plan
THe FA’s agreement with emirates to extend their FA Cup sponsorship until 2021 will impact on discussions around a winter break.
The £9million-a-year deal puts the FA Cup on a healthy footing for the next four seasons, just as the premier League were eyeing the Cup’s weekend slots in their ongoing bartering with the FA over the crowded calendar.
The premier League’s big bargaining chip is agreeing to a winter break — seen as crucial in helping england perform better in tournaments.
in return they want FA Cup replays scrapped and a mainly midweek knockout competition, keeping more Saturdays and Sundays free for the most lucrative foreign Tv rights.
But with the FA now having four more years with a bluechip sponsor and a bumper guarantee for their overseas Cup rights, those FA Cup weekends are becoming an increasingly valuable commodity.
The FA Cup’s global appeal was the key to emirates signing on again when it was widely expected that they would not renew. WeST HAM have caused no problems for London Stadium co-tenants British Athletics over the World Championships, but they did ask for the hammer qualifying to be put back yesterday because of the incessant rain. West Ham feared the 16lb hammer would damage the pitch. The competition went ahead as planned.
lWOMEN’S
football is booming, with the FA bidding to host the 2021 European Championship and agreeing to send a team to the Tokyo Olympics without the support of the other home nations. But Manchester United still will not create a women’s team. A spokesman said: ‘We continue to monitor the situation and will make a decision when the time is right.’ The initiative was first turned down by Sir Alex Ferguson, who did not want the focus on the men’s team disturbed.