Premier League and the FA agree to tear up the football calendar with FA Cup Final on league weekend and replays and the winter break killed off amid Champions League expansion

Premier League and the FA agree to tear up the football calendar with FA Cup Final on league weekend and replays and the winter break killed off amid Champions League expansion

  • All FA Cup rounds will return to weekend slots but replays will be scrapped 
  • It follows UEFA’s expansion of their competitions from next season 
  • Liverpool have been ‘hungover’ since Man United dumped them out of the FA Cup – where has their energy gone? Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off podcast 

FA Cup replays will be scrapped from next season in a major shake-up of the world’s oldest knockout competition – but each round will return to being played on a weekend and without Premier League games.

The expansion of the Champions League means additional midweek slots are required, so the fifth round – played in midweek for the last five seasons – will return to a weekend.

FA Cup weekends in the fourth and fifth rounds, plus the quarter-finals, will also now be totally free of Premier League matches. This also applies to FA Cup final weekend.

The mid-season break is also to be removed from the calendar to allow for a mid-August start date for the Premier League.  

The new agreement between the FA and the Premier League will last for at least six years.

A major change to the FA Cup will see all replays from the first round onwards scrapped but the rounds played on a weekends without Premier League games alongside

Manchester City are the FA Cup holders after they beat Manchester United 2-1 last June

Manchester City are the FA Cup holders after they beat Manchester United 2-1 last June

It says all rounds of the Emirates FA Cup will now be played on weekends, including the fifth round which has been midweek since 2019. 

THE KEY CHANGES 

  • All rounds played on weekends
  • Fourth and fifth rounds, plus quarter-finals, exclusive of Premier League games
  • No replays from the first round proper onwards
  • Cup final weekend on penultimate weekend of PL season

The fourth and fifth rounds, plus the quarter-finals, will be exclusive of Premier League fixtures for the first time. The fourth round will be played over six days from Friday to Wednesday.

Replays will be consigned to history from the first round proper onwards in light of calendar changes forced by UEFA’s expanded competitions from next season.

In addition, the FA Cup final will now take place on the penultimate weekend of the Premier League season on a Saturday without top-flight fixtures.

It is also hoped the calendar changes will enable a longer summer break for the benefit of players amid widespread concerns about their welfare in an ever-busier schedule.  


Source From: Football | Mail Online

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