The Football Association has agreed to put an additional £2.34m in the FA Cup prize pot after replays were controversially scrapped.
In April, a furious EFL said it would seek compensation for its clubs following a joint move from the Premier League and the FA they claimed was aimed at easing pressure on the calendar – which the outraged competition branded ‘frustrating and disappointing’.
Officials claimed they had been sidelined by what was a historic decision, amid fears it could hit strip already cash-strapped sides of lucrative fixtures with some of the country’s biggest clubs.
Insiders believed the EFL was being punished by the expansion of UEFA’s calendar, with chief executive Trevor Birch bemoaning ‘another lost traditional revenue stream at a time when the financial gap between the biggest clubs and those further down the pyramid is growing bigger than ever’.
Mail Sport understands a form of compensation has now been agreed following a series of high-level talks.
The Football Association has agreed to put an additional £2.34m in the FA Cup prize pot
The FA made the decision to increase the FA Cup prize pot after controversially scrapping replays
As a result the FA board will put an extra £2.34m into the prize pot for rounds one to three. They estimate that the pot will increase by 38 per cent compared with last season.
Round One losers will make £15,000 compared with nothing last year, those who are defeated in the second round will get a total of £65,000 (up from £41,000) and those who are make it to round three before being knocked out will pocket £145,000, a rise of £37,000 from last season.
Insiders believed the EFL was being punished by the expansion of UEFA’s calendar as replays were scrapped
The FA carried out a report into the financial implications of the controversial decision to scrap replays and calculated a loss of £2.1m in gate receipts, although half of that was attributable to Premier League clubs.
As thus, they believe the cash injection will be more than double the amount being lost with clubs in Leagues One and Two those most likely to benefit.
Replays had been a key element of the FA Cup tradition, with the first replayed final taking place in 1875.
Throughout the competition’s history there have been numerous instances of highly-lucrative rematches for some of the lower-league clubs.