A subject that is bound to cause debate but one that should not be easily dismissed, with the FA Cup losing its prestige over the last two decades should the winners receive a place in the following season’s UEFA Champions League? Of course it would mean that finishing 4th in the Premier League would equal qualification into the Europa League instead, thus shifting more importance on the famous domestic cup as a competition.
In 2008 UEFA President, Michel Platini started the debate that winners of the main domestic cup tournaments across Europe should qualify for the Champions League, but the idea was quickly rejected. Since then, Platini has focused on seeing league champions from smaller countries enter the tournament. He feels that the winners of the domestic cup competitions are champions in their own right and it would be fitting for them enter the main European tournament.
However, there is a long list of pro’s and con’s to this idea. Since the formation and rebranding of the Premier League in 1992 and also the Champions League competition from the old knock-out style cup competition, the FA Cup has suffered as a result. Where two decades ago, winning the FA Cup was viewed as a major trophy, today it’s seen as more of a nuisance to managers who are either trying to save their club from Premier League relegation or aiming to finish in the top four.
Whilst we’ve not seen the treatment of fielding reserve teams for FA Cup games, like the League Cup, managers, players and fans would be more in favour of qualifying for the Champions League than winning the FA Cup. Especially with the money involved for clubs participating in what is now, the most prestigious tournament in world football.
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But Platini’s idea for expanding the access for the tournament, could see it lose the prestige it holds. After all, the origin of the European Cup was for the best teams from each country to compete against each other to determine who the kings of Europe are. There are positives to expanding the access of the tournament as it helps the clubs from smaller nations to progress financially and on the pitch.
The pro’s for the FA Cup winners achieving Champions League qualification would see a more competitive tournament with teams who would usually compete for the 4th place position in the EPL putting their emphasis on winning the FA Cup. Plus, other teams in mid-table would see the cup as an excellent opportunity to break into the Champions League, without spending years on progressing in the league.
On the flip side, the Premier League may lose out in terms of quality. Since the 4th place Champions League place has been available we’ve seen competition for places down to the last games of the season, without this, teams outside the top 3 would only have Europa League places to compete for, thus making the idea a lesser of two evils.
Alternatively, a better system for this to work would be for a play-off tie between the team who finishes in 4th place in the EPL and the FA Cup winners at the end of the season. This would also put people’s fears of the possibility of a lower league team winning the competition, where not only would they have to win the FA Cup, they’d have to defeat the 4th best team in the Premier League, thus increasing the odds against.
Personally I can only see the play-off system working. Without it, you would be taking competition from the league into the FA Cup, whilst the play-off system would see both competitions be equally cut-throat. There is also the argument that finishing 4th is much harder to accomplish than winning a cup competition, although if Platini pushes harder for it to happen across Europe it will be something for us to consider realistically rather than hypothetically.
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