WE’RE SO GLAD CUP IS FOR ALL
TRADITION and history of the Emirates FA Cup runs through the very fabric of the game in this country. It’s the greatest cup competition in the world and it kicks off this week as competitive football at this level of the game returns. We are delighted.
The potential for a shortened version of the FA Cup didn’t sit right with us. It has always been in our thoughts to keep the same number of participants and we’ve managed to do that, with 737 teams entering in the competition, something that didn’t look possible a while ago.
The big concern was there would have to be a compromise where the competition started later in the year with 300-400 clubs not playing in the FA Cup this season. Nobody wanted that. We know how important it is for a number of reasons.
Different
We can’t hide from the fact it will come with different regulations that may provide challenges. The qualifying rounds have got to come thick and fast. So we’ve taken decisions that, while difficult, have to be made in these exceptional circumstances. There won’t be any replays season. I genuinely don’t believe we have any other choice. We all know there are complexities of the fixture calendar at all levels. Cup competitions, play-offs, deadlines that just can’t be moved. A key one is the first round proper in November. We can’t push that back.
This season there is no extra-time. Games will go straight to penalties. We have to be mindful of players returning to action in a congested schedule as it is and the statistics tell us extra-time is where a lot of injuries can occur.
Another tough decision has been the reduction of the prize money to the levels of three years ago before we were able to double it. It is a direct result of Covid-19 hitting the FA finances hard. The FA is facing losses of £300m due to the impact of Covid on its revenue streams.
Relevance
However, it is our job to keep money circulating in the game and we are trying to do that.
People often ask why the Premier League clubs also receive prize money. If we didn’t allocate the prize money in the way we do, the relevance would disappear and it would become a reserve or U21 com petition that nobody would watch or buy the rights to. So we have to play the balance between ensuring the top clubs take it seriously – and I think that has been proven in recent years with the teams who have reached the semi-finals and final. That drives the broadcast revenue which allows us to pay the prize money all the way down to the extra preliminary round.
It all begins this week. Up and down the country players will be scoring goals and clubs winning games in the same competition as the biggest names in world football. For me, that’s the beauty of the FA Cup.