October 2 – In April of this year, the Football Association scrapped replays for the 2024/25 competition much to the chagrin of the minnows who have relied on replays to fill their coffers. The FA at the time said they would seek to compensate clubs for the loss of revenue generated by these replays.
An extra £2.44 million in prize money has now been allocated towards the first three rounds of this season’s competition.
£760,000 of prize money is available for round one, in round 2 that figure is £560,000, while in round 3 the amount of prize money rises to £1.12 million, with fees also being paid out to losing clubs for the first time.
The prize money for winners of the respective rounds has also increased. First round winners will take home £45,000 and the losers will get £15,000. In the second round winners will now receive £75,000 while the losers will get £20,000, and in the third round winning teams will now get £115,000 and the losers £25,000.
The total amount of prize money from the first round to the final is now £20.3 million, with all the extra amounts concentrated in the first three rounds. This agreement featured both the English Football League and Premier League representation. The FA will confirm all the details to participating clubs later in the week.
There are no changes to the prize money on offer from round 4 onwards.
When the decision to scrap replays was first announced there were calls for clubs to stage protests. Clubs even wrote to the then culture secretary, Lucy Fraser, asking for replays to be reinstated, however, the muscle of the Premier League clubs and the current fixture congestion created by international tournaments and UEFA competitions has caused the demise of what was once a great English tradition.
Multiple replays were eliminated from the FA Cup proper after the 1991-92 season, so the days of replay sagas involving the likes of Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday, which in the 1979 FA Cup went an incredible five matches are just a mere nostalgic memory.
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at moc.l1727872304labto1727872304ofdlr1727872304owedi1727872304sni@o1727872304fni1727872304