FA may scrap replays in early rounds of Cup
Plan to reward minnows with more prize money Broadcasters urged to look at FA Cup ‘stories’
The Football Association will consider scrapping replays for earlier rounds of the FA Cup. It is also planning to significantly increase prize money, and “reward the smaller clubs” who do well, once a new television deal kicks in next year.
At the same time, the FA wants to “remind broadcasters of the stories” behind some of the ties to avoid the outcry when games such as Sutton United v AFC Wimbledon, in this season’s third round, were overlooked in favour of bigger clubs.
The FA Cup quarter-finals kick off today with two innovations – the ties will be knockout, with no replay, and, as a consequence, teams will be allowed to use a fourth substitute in extra time. Further changes have already been announced for next season, with the FA Cup being used to trial video assistant referees – and Andy Ambler, the organisation’s head of professional game relations, said he expected more eventually.
“It’s the tradition of the FA Cup without losing the tradition but with moving forward in a modern world. That’s the balance,” Ambler said in an exclusive interview with
“The fourth substitute, the no replays in the quarter-finals, the VAR, are enough to be going on with for the next couple of years. There’s no doubt that no replays in the quarter-finals will fuel a debate on fifth round, fourth round, how far do we go with it, and we are prepared for that.
“It’s not something being discussed at the present time but we can’t shut ourselves off to fixture congestion issues going forward. No one at the moment is saying we’re going to do it, but we’ve got to look at the calendar and what benefits clubs, fans and the competition.”
Ambler, who joined the FA last October, in a new role, having for a decade been the chief executive of Millwall, said that the “really good new overseas broadcasting deal” (worth £820million over six years) which kicks in from 2018-19 was an opportune time to “think about” further changes.
“The people who say the FA Cup is dying, I don’t believe that at all,” Ambler, who oversees the competition as part of his remit, stated. He also pointed out the involvement of non-League Lincoln City at this stage.
“I think it’s going from strength to strength. The competition is in really good health. If you look at the viewing figures, on BBC in particular, 7.3million for Sutton v Arsenal, and that stopped being broadcast. That shows there is a story still in the FA Cup and the FA Cup is the biggest asset that the FA has.”
Of changing the prize fund, Ambler added that the scale of the new TV deal meant there was “an expectation that it will be increased” but, crucially, the FA also wanted to look at how the money is distributed. “One of my lessons from being at a club is you do well in the third, fourth, fifth round and you are not picked on TV and you don’t understand it,” Ambler added. “You ask, ‘Why are TV companies picking Manchester United all the time?’ I think it’s obvious – because they’re paying for the bigger clubs. But there is a balance there to make sure we do reward the smaller clubs. So, maybe this is a way to look at the distribution between TV fees and success fees [i.e. less for TV appearance, more for being in the tie].”
The FA cannot make broadcasters televise certain matches but, Ambler said, they can be encouraged with the “story” behind the games being explained to them.
At the same time the FA is aware that some clubs, such as Sutton, might need further support when they are in the limelight – with the organisation mindful of how the non-Leaguers’ sponsorship deal with Sun Bets and the controversy over goalkeeper Wayne Shaw caused difficulties.
“We weren’t comfortable with it, and neither were the Gambling Commission, who got straight on to it,” Ambler said. “Integrity is absolutely vital for the game and that is being dealt with in the right way… but we have to be mindful of this type of marketing and will be reminding clubs and advising them. I think the Sutton lesson is something we won’t forget.”
The future of the FA Cup – and whether its format is changed – is a constant debate but Ambler is dismissive of some other ideas, such as moving it to a midweek competition – “that would be a step too far, and we’ve done a deal with the broadcasters which relies upon weekend rounds”. He added: “I can understand the debate about replays but I am struggling with moving the FA Cup away from weekends.”
Ambler was similarly unsure about whether the fourth Champions League place could go to the Cup winners. “It’s not in our thought processes that we could persuade the powers that be that it might be the way forward,” he said. “What we have got to do is major on the story of the FA Cup.”