The FA Cup is the world's oldest (and certainly used to be the greatest) knockout cup competition. However, over the last couple of decades, the competition has taken a backseat to Champions League qualification and Premier League survival. The big clubs now see it as an inconvenience and spend half the season complaining about fixture congestion.
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Apathy |
Unfairness & Dominance |
Interest in the FA Cup has waned in recent years amongst clubs and supporters, mainly due to the Premier League clubs concentrating on Champions League qualification at one end of the table and survival at the other. Likewise, many of the big Championship clubs sacrifice the FA Cup due to concentrating on promotion to the Premier League and the millions it brings. Apathy from Premier League and Championship teams causes apathy amongst supporters, which results in many half-empty grounds. This devalues the competition for all that have an interest in it.
No Longer a Special DayThe FA Cup Final no longer has it’s own dedicated special day. It used to be the biggest day in the football calendar where friends and family would meet up to watch the game together on TV. On both the BBC and ITV, we used to have the exciting build-up starting on the morning of the final, we would see the teams leaving their hotel and follow the coaches to Wembley. And who can forget those cringeworthy, but fun FA Cup Final songs?
Now the day also sees domestic league matches being played and the final now kicks off at 5.30pm (possibly at the demand of broadcasters and sponsors), and the FA Cup Final has become demoted to just another game. |
The current format of Level 1 and 2 clubs entering the competition at the Third Round Proper has existed since the 1925-26 season. This has created a long-standing unfairness in the system, where clubs at Levels 3 and 4 will need to win five games to reach the Quarter-Finals, yet the big Premier League teams get a too easy passage to the Quarter-Finals by only needing to win three games. We therefore end up with that feeling of same old, same old every season once we reach the Quarter-Final stages. The last 30 years have seen the FA Cup Finals vastly over-represented by Arsenal, Chelsea and the Manchester teams.
ExclusionToo many Non-League clubs do not get to take part due to over-subscription. This creates disappointment year after year for many clubs and their supporters at Level 10 (step 6 of the Non-League pyramid), who rarely, if ever, get accepted into the competition.
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"Of the last 29 finals, 16 have been won by just 2 clubs. The FA Cup is in serious need of a new and more open format"
Ticket Prices
The FA dictate to clubs as to what the minimum ticket price should be. This, in addition to the apathy mentioned above, keeps attendances low, when it should be an ideal opportunity to have “Football for a Fiver” and “Kids for a Quid” schemes. Clubs should have the freedom to set their own ticket prices and fill their grounds. The Boring Round The Second Round Proper is often the least interesting round due to consisting of only 20 ties and too many same-division fixtures, which do not capture the imagination. And many empty stadiums. |
Sunday Football
Too many games are scheduled on a Sunday, when they could be staggered over a Saturday (12pm, 3pm, 5.30pm) allowing football fans to attend more than one game in a day. Sunday is a less convenient day for football, with limited public transport and that feeling of not wanting a hangover when heading to work on a Monday morning. Semis at Wembley The FA Cup lost some of its magic when they started to host both semi-finals at Wembley. Que Sera, Sera. |