Replays in the FA Cup scrapped from next season. It removes a big money‑maker for smaller clubs

Replays in the FA Cup — for so long a big money‐maker and po‐ tential lifeline for lower‐division teams in English soccer — have been scrapped from next season.

The Football Association, which organizes the FA Cup, cited "ex‐ panded UEFA competitions" as the reason for a move that was taken following talks with the Premier League.

Earning gate receipts and broad‐ cast revenue from an extra game, especially against a top Premier League team, can be a game‐ changer for smaller clubs, bringing in as much as 1 million pounds ($1.25 million).

However, the FA Cup recently got rid of replays from the last 16 onward, and on Thursday said there won't be any from the first round, a decision that was heavily criticized by the English Football League, which runs the three divi‐ sions below the Premier League.

"Ultimately this represents an‐ other lost traditional revenue stream for EFL clubs at a time when the financial gap between the biggest clubs and those further down the pyramid is growing big‐ ger than ever," EFL chief executive Trevor Birch said.

The EFL will be "seeking appro‐ priate compensation arrange‐ ments," Birch said.

Space on domestic soccer calen‐ dars is increasingly tight, even more so from next season when there will be an extra 64 games in an expanded Champions League and four extra midweeks during the season for European games. England is unusual in still having a second cup competition — the League Cup — too.

Chris Wilder, who manages Pre‐ mier League club Sheffield United but has spent much of his coaching career in the lower leagues, would have preferred replays to have stayed.

The move comes as part of an agreement between the FA and the Premier League that will see up to an extra 33 million pounds ($41 million) go to the grassroots game from the top flight each sea‐ son.

The Premier League will be con‐ tributing more money to a sta‐ dium fund, which can be accessed by clubs from the lower leagues for infrastructure improvements.

Also as part of the agreement, the fourth round, last 16 and quarter‐ finals of the FA Cup, the world's oldest knockout competition, will be played exclusive of Premier League games for the first time.

The FA Cup final will be played the weekend before the end of the Premier League season. Currently, it is staged the weekend after.