Latest Nottingham Forest news as the FA announce key changes to FA Cup from next season
The Football Association have announced a decision to scrap FA Cup replays from next season – a move Nottingham Forest head coach Nuno Espirito Santo may approve of.
The Portuguese argued replays should be done away with when the Reds were held by Blackpool in their third round tie earlier this season. It meant the club had to cancel plans to go to St George’s Park for double training sessions and team bonding during their winter break.
“Everybody is aware there is a big congestion of games and fixtures are every day. It is something they have to look at,” Nuno said at the time.
“If you ask me, I think it should be finished on the day – extra-time, penalties and whatever. Allow the players to have a little bit more time to recover. Premier League teams are suffering with that. You know the issues with injuries, and one of the things is the amount of fixtures we are exposed to.”
Forest needed extra-time to get past the Seasiders in the replay at Bloomfield Road. A replay, extra-time and penalties were then required against Bristol City in the next round, before Nuno’s side were knocked out by Manchester United in the fifth round.
The FA have now abolished all replays from the first round proper onwards as part of a new agreement with the Premier League which will see up to an extra £33 million going to grassroots football from the top-flight each season. Replays from the fifth round onwards had already been scrapped, and the FA said the move to ditch them altogether had been agreed “in light of changes to the calendar driven by the expanded UEFA competitions”.
Other changes announced for the competition include all rounds to be played at the weekend, with the fifth phase having moved to midweek for the last five seasons. The FA Cup final will now be played on the penultimate weekend of the Premier League season, on a Saturday with no top-flight matches taking place on the same day.
The FA said that under the new format, the fourth round, fifth round and quarter-finals would all be exclusive of Premier League fixtures for the first time, while the fourth round will be played across an “extended window” from Friday to the following Wednesday. The FA said the deal will provide up to £133m per season in funding to the football pyramid from 2025-26 and the agreement is in place for a minimum of six years.
Additionally, the Premier League mid-season break has been removed from the calendar to allow a mid-August start date for the top-flight for 2024-25. It is said the longer break will afford top-flight clubs a better chance of giving players a consecutive three-week break. The FA said that move took into account expert medical advice around the benefits of a longer period of complete rest versus a shorter break in the winter.
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said: “The Emirates FA Cup is our biggest asset and generates over 60 per cent of our revenue to invest into the game, so it is critical to secure a strong format for the future.
“This new agreement between The FA and the Premier League strengthens the Emirates FA Cup and gives this very special tournament exclusive weekends in an increasingly busy calendar. The new schedule ensures the magic of the cup is protected and enhanced, whilst working for the whole of the English game.
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