As my non league football teal Lewes set to address the gross inequality of the gap in prize money the FA divvy out between the men and women’s game, they seem to have not noticed that our men’s team get a very rough deal too.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47247330
The allocation of cup money is under the prose.
The reason the FA Cup has always been the nation’s cup competition is that it begins at near park football level and ends up in the Wembley showcase. Make no mistake before it descends to the rich clubs fighting out at the end, the public interest and that of the media is concentrated on the rags of non league not the ever monotonous and generic football of the riches.
Millions of fans of big clubs have a local non league club they hold dear and the FA Cup brings it all together.
The FA is supposedly committed to grass roots football. It is the beating heart of the British game.
So why do stinking rich clubs share £5,000,000 for being in the final whereas poverty stricken non league clubs in the first 4 rounds fight it out at £5-700,000 per round ? equating to £2-4,000 per club for a win.
Why do clubs who get to the final get rewarded with enough money to pay one of their players for a week, whereas at the interesting end of the competition cash strapped clubs get rewarded pro rata with ten times less ? Big clubs simply don’t need the money and augment the FA paybout further with TV revenue and other income streams.
Meanwhile Joe Bloggs FC, struggling on the breadline get a pittance. Why do the FA want to mirror society where the vast pinnacle of wealth is concentrated at the top, people who are greedy and have enough, whereas the rest of us fish for scraps ? People’s Cup my arse.
The FA are supposedly committed to investing in grass roots football for the health of the nation and the England team. So why are they starving the very clubs who through volunteers and enthusiasts are supposed to facilitate this trying desperately to keep their clubs going for the local community. Providing a breeding ground for young British talent.
It is interesting how even with the FA Cup, the People’s Cup, society is mirrored as the rich look after themselves as the poor keep the whole thing going.
Why can the FA just not allocate an equal pot of suppose £2,000,000 per round and start to address this gross inequality and start to pump some proper money into non league grass roots football ?
| Extra preliminary round winners | (184) | £2,250 Losers receive £750 |
| Preliminary round winners | (160) | £2,890 Losers receive £960 |
| First round qualifying winners | (116) | £6,000 |
| Second Round Qualifying winners | (80) | £9,000 |
| Third Round Qualifying winners | (40) | £15,000 |
| Fourth Round Qualifying winners | (32) | £25,000 |
| First Round Proper winners | (40) | £36,000 |
| Second Round Proper winners | (20) | £54,000 |
| Third Round Proper winners | (32) | £135,000 |
| Fourth Round Proper winners | (16) | £180,000 |
| Fifth Round Proper winners | (8) | £360,000 |
| Quarter-Final winners | (4) | £720,000 |
| Semi-Final winners | (2) | £1,800,000 |
| Semi-Final losers | (2) | £900,000 |
| Final runners-up | (1) | £1,800,000 |
| Final winners | (1) | £3,600,000 |
The Rights of Fans. 