An extra £2.44million in prize money is being awarded in the first three rounds of this season’s FA Cup to help compensate clubs for the loss of replays, the PA news agency has discovered.
The Football Association announced in April it was scrapping replays from the first round proper in the current season onwards as the domestic game seeks to tackle fixture congestion created by the expansion of international tournaments such as UEFA’s competitions.
The FA insisted at the time that it would seek to compensate clubs for the loss of revenue generated by replays, which have been a traditional mainstay of the competition.
Figures seen by the PA news agency show there will be an extra £760,000 of prize money available in round one, £560,000 in round two and £1.12million in round three, with fees also being paid to losing clubs for the first time.
