Starting from the 2024-25 competition, FA Cup replays will be eliminated from the first round onward.
Moreover, all stages of the Emirates FA Cup will be scheduled on weekends, including the fifth round, which has traditionally taken place midweek for the past five seasons.
These alterations are part of a new six-year agreement between the Football Association (FA) and the Premier League. Additionally, the Premier League has eliminated its mid-season break from the schedule.
Matches will commence in mid-August after a consecutive three-week summer break, instead of a shorter period of rest in the winter. This decision is based on “expert advice from medical and technical departments.”
In its current configuration, the FA Cup does not include replays from the fifth round onward. However, the FA states that eliminating replays from an earlier stage is prompted by “changes to the calendar driven by the expanded UEFA competitions.”
UEFA introduced the Europa Conference League in 2021, and the number of teams in the Champions League group stage will increase from 32 to 36 next season. Additionally, FIFA has announced an expanded 32-team Club World Cup for 2025.
What are FA Cup new rules?
The FA Cup qualifying rounds – where teams from the fifth to the 10th tiers of English football compete for 32 spots in the first round – will still have replays when ties are level after 90 minutes.
EFL chief executive Trevor Birch said the decision to scrap replays from the first round is “frustrating and disappointing” and that the EFL will be “seeking appropriate compensation arrangements”.
He added: “This represents another 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 bigger than ever.”
The champions of this season’s FA Cup will receive £2 million in prize money, with non-league and lower league clubs earning prize money and potential broadcast revenue as they progress through each round.
The FA Cup’s first round includes professional teams from League One and League Two, with Championship and Premier League clubs entering from the third round.
Furthermore, notable changes include the fourth and fifth rounds, as well as the quarter-finals, being scheduled without overlapping any Premier League fixtures for the first time. The fourth round will take place over an extended window from Friday to Wednesday.
The FA Cup final has been rescheduled to the penultimate weekend of the Premier League season. It will be held on a Saturday, with no Premier League matches taking place on the same day, as well as on the Friday before the final, to allow focus on the event’s buildup.
Additionally, the agreement involves the Premier League increasing its funding to grassroots football, with an extra £33 million allocated to this initiative.
“The FA Cup is our biggest asset,” said FA chief executive Mark Bullingham.
“This new agreement between the FA and the Premier League strengthens the FA Cup and gives this very special tournament exclusive weekends in an increasingly busy calendar.”
‘A short-sighted move’ – reaction
Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder said he would have liked the structure of the FA Cup to remain as it was.
“As always, the game is dictated and dominated by the big boys and the big boys don’t want FA Cup replays, do they?” Wilder said.
“I am a traditionalist and I would have liked to have seen it kept the same but the game is moving on and more minutes [are being played] in the game, which people are trying to push back against.”
Tranmere Rovers vice-chair Nicola Palios accused the FA and the Premier League of reaching an agreement “to suit themselves further at the expense of the rest of the football pyramid”.
“Seven hundred and twenty-nine teams compete in the FA Cup. Why is its format being dictated by the Premier League who represent circa [about] 3% of them? Protest is needed!” Palios added.
Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Maheta Molango said football needs “a collective approach” to the global fixture calendar and “not a fight for available dates”.
He added: “The current unsustainable approach to the calendar needs to be seen as an issue for every club at every level if we want to continue to protect our domestic competitions.”
Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder said he would have liked the structure of the FA Cup to remain as it was.
“As always, the game is dictated and dominated by the big boys and the big boys don’t want FA Cup replays, do they?” Wilder said.
“I am a traditionalist and I would have liked to have seen it kept the same but the game is moving on and more minutes [are being played] in the game, which people are trying to push back against.”
Tranmere Rovers vice-chair Nicola Palios accused the FA and the Premier League of reaching an agreement “to suit themselves further at the expense of the rest of the football pyramid”.
“Seven hundred and twenty-nine teams compete in the FA Cup. Why is its format being dictated by the Premier League who represent circa [about] 3% of them? Protest is needed!” Palios added.
Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Maheta Molango said football needs “a collective approach” to the global fixture calendar and “not a fight for available dates”.
He added: “The current unsustainable approach to the calendar needs to be seen as an issue for every club at every level if we want to continue to protect our domestic competitions.”
Niall Couper, the chief executive of Fair Game, expressed concern that the decision “deprives lower league clubs of a vital revenue stream” and describes it as a “short-sighted decision that fails to enhance the game.”