The Rochdale Football Club has expressed its profound dissatisfaction at the news released on Thursday that FA Cup replays will no longer be shown.
As far as we know, the FA did not consult with any clubs that are not in the Premier League. To our dismay, the news was left to the mainstream media to be delivered to EFL, NFL, and local teams.
It is important to remember how important FA Cup replays are to teams like ours. During the historic campaign in 2018, we had one of our proudest days when we went to Wembley to play Tottenham Hotspur in a fifth-round replay. A third-round replay took place at St James’ Park, home of Newcastle United, two years later.
Events such as this give clubs much-needed revenue while also leaving fans with enduring memories that come from competitions such as the FA Cup.
It is blatantly disrespectful to the football pyramid that all 700+ clubs that enter the competition have these opportunities taken away from them, especially after no consultation.
We beg the FA to reevaluate this choice. Together with the other National League clubs and the impacted parties, we will make every effort to fight it.
