Four non-league clubs have made it to the third round of the FA Cup, but none of their fairy-tale fixtures will be shown by neither the BBC or ITV.
What makes the FA Cup undoubtedly the best domestic sporting competition in the world is the giant-killing stories.
The opportunity to see full international players take on teams several divisions below them, at the opposite end of footballing pyramid, is why the third round of the FA Cup is particularly exciting.
2021 saw Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea crowned champions of Europe, but sandwiched between colossal title-shaping fixtures against Liverpool and Manchester City, they will begin 2022 by hosting National League outfit Chesterfield.
The excitement those Chesterfield players and supporters must have felt when David Seamen drew their name out of the hat is almost unfathomable.
But apparently, the BBC and ITV did not share that excitement, and believe that other football fans will be more interested in all-Premier League and Premier League vs Championship ties.
The other three Non-League clubs all have home ties, with Yeovil Town and Kidderminster Harriers hosting Championship clubs.
Yeovil will welcome AFC Bournemouth to Huish Park and Reading will be making the trip to the West Midlands to face National League North promotion-chasers Kidderminster, whilst Boreham Wood’s tie against League One AFC Wimbledon has also been neglected by the broadcasters.
A broadcasted tie is worth Β£85,000, massive potential bonuses for the Non-League clubs that they have missed out on, and more than the prize money on offer should they achieve the near-impossible and progress to the fourth round.
Instead, that prize money will fall as drops in an ocean to sides in the two of the top 10 richest leagues in world football, with the exception of League Two Swindon Town, who will have their Friday night tie with Manchester City broadcast on ITV.
Both broadcasters appear to be choosing to appease historically well-supported clubs, rather than sustaining clubs lower down the football pyramid, and promoting the values and ‘anyone can beat anyone’ attitude that the FA Cup stands for.
For the clubs overlooked, it’s a bemusing and disappointing decision; for football fans, it’s a tragedy.
