FA Cup replays to be scrapped from the first round onwards in 2024-25
FA Cup replays will be scrapped from the first round onwards in the 2024-25 competition.
All rounds of the Emirates FA Cup will also be played on weekends, including the fifth round which has been played in midweek for the last five seasons.
The changes come as part of a new six-year agreement between the Football Association (FA) and the Premier League.
Both say that it will “strengthen” the FA Cup format.
In its current format, the FA Cup has no replays from the fifth round onwards, but the FA says the move to eliminate them from an earlier stage has been made “in light of changes to the calendar driven by the expanded UEFA competitions”.
The first round of the FA Cup sees professional teams from League One and League Two enter, with Championship and Premier League teams joining from the third round.
Other changes will see the fourth and fifth rounds, and the quarter-finals, played without clashing with any Premier League fixtures for the first time.
The fourth round will be played in an extended window from Friday to Wednesday.
More to follow.
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