Streaming Should Have Saved, Not Ruined, Magic of the FA Cup

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This weekend is FA Cup third round weekend in England. It is a favourite amongst fans here as it is when the big boys from the Premier League and Championship join the oldest cup competition in the world. They can, and do, face sides from many tiers down the football pyramid.

Except it doesn’t start this weekend. It starts tonight, with Sheffield United vs Cardiff. There are two other games as well – Everton vs Peterborough and Fulham vs Watford. I confess I only realised this when the news of Sean Dyche’s sacking by Everton broke.

This is clearly all about TV, and having the ability to broadcast as many games as possible. I spend more time than most watching football on TV, but even I think we could have a couple of football-free nights once in a while.

Plenty of changes have been made to the FA Cup, not least the scrapping of replays, but it would be nice to maintain some of “the magic of the Cup” i.e. have one Saturday on which the ties from these key round take place. Streaming makes this more, not less, feasible. Broadcasters can show an essentially unlimited number of games at the same time on their platforms. Look at how Discocvery+ is showing the Australian Open tennis.

FA Cup Missed Streaming Opportunity

There are some great third round ties this year – Tamworth vs Tottenham, Leeds vs Harrogate, Manchester City vs Salford City and Arsenal vs Manchester United all stand out. There is no reason to have spread them out over 5 days – the last match is Millwall vs Dagenham and Redbridge on Monday evening before the Premier League resumes on Tuesday. This is all to the detriment of fans, who are once again lose some connection to a popular competition and have to navigate where and how they can watch their team.

Of course, it’s not only the UK where we see TV dilute these sporting traditions, egged on by TV companies who want as much bang for their buck as possible. The NFL encroaching onto the NBA’s Christmas Day turf is an example from across the Atlantic.

In the case of the FA Cup, new technology and viewing habits provided a great opportunity to keep some historical norms. Sadly, the FA and the broadcasters chose to waste it.

[Image credit: The FA]