FA Cup campaign surpasses 10,000 signatures as eye-watering prices continue to rise
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A growing army of fans has signed up to the Mirror campaign to save the FA Cup....and get a better deal for clubs up and down the land. More than 10,000 supporters have signed our petition to bring back FA Cup replays for the minnows of the modern game and the communities they support. Their call for change came as the big guns line up in the third round this weekend. The FA has said that they have made moves to ensure that lower league clubs do not lose out financially due to the end of replays.
Accrington Stanley, a club which backed the Mirror crusade, face Liverpool, Salford take on Manchester City and Spurs play Tamworth. National League team Tamworth have put up prices to £38-£42 for the game; even under-10s will pay £25. But smaller clubs want to maximise revenues due to the loss of replays, and the money they bring. The scrapping of FA Cup replays means that clubs lower down the pyramid feel they must do ‘what they can to survive’, according to those calling for reform.
THE FA CUP GIANT KILLERS: Get your special edition magazine celebrating some of the game's greatest-ever upsets. Niall Coupar of the campaign group Fair Game said the 10,000 signatures showed the strength of feeling from die-hard supporters. But he added: “The magic of football is being sucked out of the game and frankly fans and smaller clubs have had enough.
“The FA Cup used to be the pinnacle of the football calendar. Now top clubs can’t be bothered to play their best players and FA Cup replays have been axed. The financial gaps between divisions have soared. It is no longer a football pyramid. It is a greasy pole. It’s against the backdrop that Fair Game are not surprised that Tamworth have taken the option to hike their ticket prices.”.
