As the Premier League has a week off after a hectic holiday season, all eyes are on the English FA Cup. Today, at the Emirates Stadium, record holders Arsenal and Liverpool face off in a third-round match.
The FA Cup is the world’s oldest knockout club competition. It gives every club in the top four English football leagues (Premier League, Football League, and the three divisions) an opportunity to play at Wembley Stadium, the ultimate goal of every football fan.
In the third round, all twenty teams from the Premier League are invited to participate.
Aside from a monetary windfall, what else do FA Cup winners receive?
As a prize, the FA Cup champions go to the UEFA Europa League group stage. The champions retain their spot in Europe regardless of whether they are demoted or not play in the top division.
The slot for the Europa League is provided to the team that finishes second-to-last in the Premier League if the FA Cup winners do not place in the top four (which grants them group-stage participation in the UEFA Champions League) or fifth (which guarantees them a position in the Europa League).
When Arsenal won the FA Cup in 2020–21, despite finishing eighth in the league, they guaranteed themselves a spot in the Europa League, the latest example of a club securing European competition while failing to finish in the much sought top five.
In addition to the trophies, there is a cash award. Winners got £2 million for the 2022–23 season, with the runners-up receiving half of that sum. There will be a rise to that amount in the 2023–24 season, with the victors apparently receiving £3.7 million in prize money.
From the extra preliminary rounds at the beginning of the competition—a phase where even Level 9, 10 and lower-ranked teams of Level 8 battle it out for progression—to the final stages—where the prize pool rewards in decreasing measures—the competition provides both nostalgic value owing to memorable triumphs and vital injection of funds, particularly for clubs lower down the English football pyramid.
The 2021 third-round match between non-league side Marine and Premier League powerhouse Tottenham Hotspur was a prime example of this, as the club avoided financial disaster thanks to almost £500,000 in prize money, media income, and sponsorship possibilities.
Although lower-ranked teams have had opportunities to compete for the FA Cup, top Premier League teams have dominated in recent years. Out of the last 14 finals, 12 have been won by either Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, or Arsenal. The other two winners were Wigan Athletic in 2013 and Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City in 2021.
Even though Martinez’s team won at Wembley that season, they were demoted from the Premier League, making Wigan’s 2013 victory against City the last major final shock.
When Harry Redknapp’s Portsmouth defeated Cardiff City in 2008, the Welsh giants became the last club from outside the Premier League to reach the final. After almost four decades of coaching, Redknapp finally won a significant trophy with this victory. He also won the English Football League League Two championship with Portsmouth.
Nevertheless, the Premier League did not exist when West Ham of the Second Division beat holders Arsenal to win the FA Cup in 1980, thanks to the memorable goal scored by Trevor Brooking.