English Football fans more likely to oppose the decision to end FA Cup replays than support it
- Fans aged 55-75s and supporters of teams outside the Premier League are most likely to oppose ending FA Cup replays.
- Majority of fans support giving more prize money to teams further down the football pyramid.
- Fans most likely to want to see their team win their league.
New polling from Ipsos, taken ahead of the men’s FA Cup Final, explores attitudes towards FA Cup replays, and who the public expect to win the final. It considers whether the public support changes to the competition, and whether the FA Cup has become more or less important in the past 10 years.
FA Cup replays
Following recent news that FA Cup replays will be scrapped from next season, football fans in England are more likely to say they oppose this decision than support it. 43% of English football fans said they opposed ending FA Cup replays, with 31% supporting it and one in five (22%) neither supporting nor opposing the decision.
However attitudes differ by age and whether you support a team that is in the Premier League or not:
- Almost three in five (59%) English football fans aged 55-75 said they opposed the ending FA Cup replays, with only a quarter (24%) supporting the decision. Likewise 42% of 35-54s opposed ending FA Cup replays compared to 30% who said they support the decision.
- However English football fans aged 16-34 are slightly more likely to say they support ending FA Cup replays, with 38% saying support compared to 32% who oppose.
- Half (51%) of English football fans do not support a Premier League club they oppose the decision to end FA Cup replays, compared to 22% who supported it. Whilst English fans of Premier League teams were still more likely to say they opposed ending FA Cup replays, the gap was slightly closer (41% oppose, 34% support).
- Football fans from all regions of England were more likely to say they oppose ending FA Cup replays than supporting it.
General attitudes towards the FA Cup
The public were also asked about a number of other changes to the FA Cup that have either taken place, or could happen in the future:
- A clear majority of English football fans support more prize money being allocated to lower league teams in the football pyramid (79% support, 5% oppose).
- 58% support a Champions League Place being offered to the winner, and 45% support the semi-finals taking place at Wembley.
- However fans are slightly more likely to oppose changes to the FA Cup final’s timings than support them. 38% oppose the final taking place at time other than 3pm on a Saturday (31%), and 38% also saying they oppose it taking place on the penultimate weekend of the Premier League season, even if it is the only game that takes place that day (30% support).
Elsewhere in the poll the public were asked who they want to win the FA Cup final, with 37% backing Man City compared to 34% who said Man United.
Fans were also asked what they would most like to see happen out of some hypothetical scenarios:
- Fans were most likely to say they would like to see the team they support win their league (40%), followed by the England men’s or women’s team winning the World Cup (32%).
- Almost one in five (18%) said they would like the team they support to win the FA Cup.
- Ahead of the upcoming UEFA European Championships, only 7% said their first choice would be for the England men’s or women’s team win the European Championships.
Holly Day, Research Manager at Ipsos, said:
These findings suggest that the decision to scrap FA cup replays from next season is unpopular - especially with older fans. Given the strong support for increasing the amount of prize money sent down the football pyramid elsewhere in the poll, it is likely that many fans think it is unfair that smaller clubs may miss out on the financial reward replays can bring.
Technical note
Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 792 Online British adults aged 16-75 who said they would describe themselves as football fans. Polling was conducted online between 17-20 May 2024. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.
Cover image:
"Wembley Stadium" by stevecadman is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 
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