FA Cup replays scrapped by Football Association in response to ‘expansion’ of UEFA competitions!


The Football Association have announced that FA Cup replays have been scrapped ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.

The move to abolish all FA Cup replays from the first round proper onwards comes as part of a new agreement between the FA and the Premier League. This will see an extra £33million being put towards grassroots football from the top flight each season.

New FA Cup structure…
The FA had already scrapped replays from the fifth round onwards and said the decision to ditch them altogether had been agreed in response to “changes to the calendar driven by the expanded UEFA competitions”.

The FA said all rounds would now be played at the weekend, with the fifth phase having moved to midweek for the last five seasons.

The FA said the final will now be played on the penultimate weekend of the Premier League season, on a Saturday with no top-flight matches taking place on the same day.

From next season the Champions League will feature an extra 64 games, creating increased pressure on the domestic calendar.

The FA said that under the new format, the fourth round, fifth round and quarter-finals would all be exclusive of Premier League fixtures for the first time, while the fourth round will be played across an “extended window” from Friday to the following Wednesday.

The FA said the deal will provide up to £133m per season in funding to the football pyramid from 2025-26.

The first year of the format forms part of the overall calendar which has been given the approval of the Professional Game Board, which features representatives from the FA, the Premier League and the EFL.

The mid-season break has been removed from the calendar to allow a mid-August start date for the Premier League for 2024-25, with the longer break affording top-flight clubs a better chance of giving players a consecutive three-week break.

The FA said that move took into account expert medical advice around the benefits of a longer period of complete rest versus a shorter break in the winter.

“The Emirates FA Cup is our biggest asset…”

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said: “The Emirates FA Cup is our biggest asset and generates over 60 per cent of our revenue to invest into the game, so it is critical to secure a strong format for the future.

Source:
https://www.football365.com/news/fa-cup-replays-scrapped-by-football-association-in-response-to-expansion-of-uefa-competitions