FA Cup replays and two-leg Carabao Cup semi-finals are SCRAPPED next season to ease pressure on English football’s packed calendar… as first four rounds of the EFL Cup are crammed into September alone
- FA Cup replays will be scrapped to ease scheduling during 2020-21 season
- Prize money for the FA cup will revert to 2017-18 levels after recent increases
- The first four rounds of the Carabao Cup will be played during September
- It will allow most of the competition to be played before European fixtures
- Carabao Cup will not return until just before Christmas with final in February
- The traditional two-legged semi-finals will now just be one fixture in January
FA Cup replays will be scrapped for the 2020-21 season to ‘ease pressure’ on a packed football calendar with prize money for the competition also reduced.
It comes as the first four rounds of the Carabao Cup are set to be played before the end of September as the EFL desperately tries to squeeze in the tournament.
The Covid-19 pandemic, which disrupted the 2019-20 campaign, is having a knock-on effect with traditional matches having to be culled to fit everything in next season.
There will be no replays in the 2020-21 FA Cup to ease the pressure on a congested calendar
Manchester City lifted the Carabao Cup in 2020 but next season’s competition will be played predominantly in September before the top teams return to European fixtures
Carabao Cup semi-finals will be reduced to a single leg, while replays will be replaced by extra time and penalties if ties end in a draw after 90 minutes.
And the FA Cup prize fund paid to clubs will revert to 2017-18 levels after two years of increases as the financial impact of coronavirus is felt.
The early start to the Carabao Cup will allow teams also competing in the Champions League and Europa League, which begin in October, to participate.
The first group stage fixtures in the 2020-21 Champions League and Europa League are scheduled for October 20-22.
The Carabao Cup won’t then pick up until just before Christmas with the fifth round followed by semi-finals – over just one leg – in January and the final on February 28.
The draw for the first round of the Carabao Cup, featuring EFL sides, will be on August 18 broadcast live on Sky Sports News.