Dale join calls to reinstate replays
ROCHDALE AFC has added its voice to growing calls for the Football Association to reinstate replays in the FA Cup.
Football chiefs from across the football pyramid joined forces in an angry riposte to the flawed consultation process that has seen FA Cup replays being jettisoned from the firstround proper from next season.
Over 20 clubs have now penned a letter to the Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer backing a Fair Game amendment to the Football Governance Bill.
The decision was made by the Premier League and the FA in a response to pressure on the football calendar. The reaction from the rest of the pyramid has been almost entirely hostile with a vast majority of clubs kept in the dark.
The amendment demands that any change to the FA Cup must require a majority of eligible clubs to back it.
The letter, which has also been sent to the Premier League, the FA and the EFL, said: “Dear Lucy Frazer,
“We want to save the FA Cup.
“The FA Cup is the oldest football competition in the world and the decision to remove FA Cup replays from the firstround proper further undermines its prestige and does nothing to help protect our cherished football pyramid.
“The Premier League’s influence in this decision is yet another example of football’s growing divide that has seen the gaps between and within divisions grow at all levels.
“Participating clubs in the FA Cup were not consulted. Our clubs as well as the fans have been let down.
“We are determined to see this decision reversed and fully support amending the Football Governance Bill to make sure such a move can never happen again without the backing of a majority of eligible clubs.
“FA Cup replays create lasting memories for generations of football fans – and it is those memories that are priceless.
“Go to any club and there will be photos on the walls of great Cup memories, while their fans will be able to recall those magical FA Cup nights.
“We all remember ties like Cambridge United v Manchester United (2015), Hereford United v Newcastle United (1972), Leeds United v Wimbledon (1975), Arsenal v Leyton Orient (2011), and Watford v Tranmere (2020).
“This whole flawed process has devalued the most prized domestic cup competition in the world.
“It is not just about finances, it is about the power dynamics within football. That needs to be overhauled.
“Concerns about a packed calendar also do not stand up.
“In the last 10 years, there have been fewer than 10 occasions when a club playing in European football has been taken to an FA Cup replay.
“Meanwhile, a Premier League club that qualifies for the Champions League - and there will be only four of them in the 2024/25 season - will play a minimum of 50 matches. That includes 38 league games, at least one in the FA Cup, one in the EFL Cup, and 10 Champions League group-stage fixtures.
“However, League One and League Two clubs and there are 48 of them will play a minimum of 51 matches (46 in the league, a minimum of one FA Cup and one EFL Cup tie, and three EFL trophy group games). That’s 11 more than Premier League clubs that don’t qualify for Europe.
“In the National League the situation is also packed with a minimum of 48 matches for their 72 clubs (46 in the League, and a minimum of one each in the FA Cup and the FA Trophy).
“This decision needs to be overturned.
“This decision has become totemic for how the game is being run. Decisions are being made behind closed doors. There is a lack of transparency, a lack of consistency, and a lack of fairness.”
Niall Couper, CEO of Fair Game, added: “The anger from across all levels of football is huge.
“Sadly this is totemic of the growing arrogance at the top of the game, and the disdain they show for the rest of the football pyramid.
“Our latest research has shown that the gap in and between divisions is widening at every level. The new regulator needs to step in and reverse that damaging trend that is destroying the game’s heritage and turning the pyramid into a greasy pole.”