If the FA Cup Is Dying, It Is the FA Who Are Killing It

According to many, it's the greatest cup competition in the world. Others like to wax lyrical about the "romance of the cup."

However you look at it, the FA Cup is a competition on the brink of implosion.

It has provided many of English football's most endearing and dramatic moments, with memorable matches and, of course, the much loved acts of "giant killing".

There can be no doubt, the FA Cup is a very special competition but it is now a victim of the immense popularity and subsequent over-exposure of football in this country.

Managers field weakened teams in order to preserve players for that all important league game three days later—and don't be fooled into thinking that it is just Premier League managers who adopt this attitude.

Manchester United's decision not to defend the Cup in 2000, taken in conjunction with the FA and the government to allow United to compete in the World Club Cup in Brazil—the hope being that this would aid England's bid for the 2006 World Cup—remains a sad blight on the competition's glittering history.

It would now seem, however, that the FA Cup is suffering at the hands of the governing body who's name it bears: The Football Association.

It is a widely held belief that the FA are about as useful as a chocolate fireguard, that they frequently make the wrong decision and that their organisational skills are poor at best.

A look at the farce that was the planning and building of the new Wembley gives this belief some weight, and it is Wembley itself that is one of the integral problems with the modern-day FA Cup.

On a few occasions now, the FA have experimented with the playing of the semifinals at Wembley or during Wembley's prolonged construction, Cardiff's Millennium Stadium (also the venue of the final during this period).

Each time they have tried it has been unpopular with the clubs, their fans, and the media.

Surely, one of the great FA Cup moments has to be seeing your team walk out at Wembley after a long and hard run through the rounds? 

Would seeing them do the same thing a mere month earlier in the semifinal not devalue that accomplishment?

The main motivation here, as with most things in football today, is money. The gate receipts from a packed out Wembley will far outstrip what could be earned at a packed Villa Park.

But do the FA consider the fans in this fiscally motivated move?

In 1994, Oldham and Manchester United contested the semi-final at Wembley. Two sets of fans based very close together had to organise and pay for travel to London, and all the extras associated with such a day.

Oh yes, and their match ticket which may well have cost more than if the match had been contested elsewhere. The match ended a 1-1 draw, and the replay was held at Maine Road, Manchester—a ground easily accessible for all.

Now, bear in mind that this was 15 years ago, and while football has moved on (for better or worse), it would seem that the FA have not.

The playing of this year's semifinals at Wembley is a horribly transparent move by the FA to raise money to help pay off the debt that stadium has landed them with.

No consideration for the fans, no consideration for the teams. In short, no bloody clue at all.

Another problem that the FA have caused is that of television rights.

It is now widely accepted that if you want to watch Premier League matches live, you need to either subscribe to SKY, go to the pub or a friend's, or go to the match itself. In these times of great economic strife, these are not always viable options.

This has now been the way for over fifteen years and people deal with this, whether they are happy with it or not.

But should the FA Cup not be free for all to see? After all, it is the oldest cup competition in the world and the most famous (depending on who you choose to believe).

By selling half the television rights to a subscription only channel (previously SKY, now Setanta), the FA are depriving people from seeing the FA Cup at a time when it most needs their support.

This weekend sees a Merseyside derby in the FA Cup, a special occasion at any time, but this year given more poignancy as this year will be the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough Disaster.

Surely a match of this importance and emotional magnitude deserves to be watched by all who choose to do so, regardless of whether they have subscribed to a specific television channel or not?

Of course it does, but the money the match will generate for the FA and Setanta seemingly outweighs the "needs" of supporters.

The FA Cup seems to be a competition in danger of losing its allure. It will always be special—who doesn't love to watch the pampered Premier League playboys struggle in mud and rain at a tiny ground in the middle of January?—and it will always have a place in hearts of football supporters.

Modern day football has seen football supporters become increasingly alienated and priced-out of the game, certainly in terms of the Premier League and European competitions. The FA Cup now seems to be going down the same route.

There is not much tradition left in the English game anymore, and what little there is seems to be invested in the FA Cup.

This needs to be maintained and clung on to for dear life, or the FA Cup will become a shadow of its former self. The FA should realise this and act accordingly.

Sadly, it would seem that a healthy balance sheet carries more weight than the competition loved and cherished by many.