Stockport County Football Club today joins the wider footballing community in condemning the recent decision taken by the FA and the Premier League to change the formatting of the Emirates FA Cup, and the move to scrap FA Cup replays without consultation of the EFL’s 72 clubs.
As football’s oldest cup competition, the FA Cup has a rich history, and has provided many treasured memories not just for the select few clubs at the top, but for everyone throughout the wider footballing pyramid.
Replays have been a fundamental part of the success and history of this competition for over 100 years, providing lower league clubs with the opportunity to create life-long memories for supporters, whilst also acting as a vital source of income. As a club who have been on both ends of FA Cup Replay upsets in recent years, we are dismayed by this decision and in particular the backdoor manner in which it has been made.
The FA and associated media are often keen to talk about the ‘magic of the FA Cup’ when selling the competition to sponsors and supporters. To take such a decision without prior consultation with any key stakeholders outside of the Premier League flies in the face of that mantra and demonstrates a lack of respect to clubs and supporters that are the lifeblood of this competition.
English football is often celebrated for having the strongest footballing pyramid in the world, and the success and strength of the FA Cup is central to this. We feel the decision to remove replays significantly damages the reputation and integrity of the competition and will have a wider effect on all clubs.
Unfortunately, it is yet again another initiative driven by the Premier League with little thought or care for the knock-on effect it will have on clubs outside of their own bubble. Recently, they have been quick to highlight ‘unintended consequences’ of a football regulator, however seem to be very comfortable in this case with making unilateral decisions which have very clear and obvious consequences. The Premier League should rightly defend the interests of their clubs, but should not be deciding for others. Either they do not understand the needs of clubs further down the pyramid, or they do not care.
We feel that incidents like this only serve to reinforce the need for an Independent Football Regulator, to serve in the best interests of all football fans. We look forward to seeing this implemented in the near future.
For now, we encourage the FA and its stakeholders to reflect on the feedback received over the last 24 hours, and join other clubs in urging them to suspend any decision until all key stakeholders have been given the opportunity to have their say.
