The FA Cup. The oldest competition in world football. It allows teams lower down in the footballing pyramid to go on a run, earn money that, to them, means a lot more than to a Premier League team, and best of all, play in front of the TV cameras.
Or so it should.
There are currently four non-league teams that have made it to the third round and remain in this season’s FA Cup. Aldershot Town travel to Championship high-flyers West Bromwich Albion, Chesterfield make the trip to Watford, also in the Championship, Eastleigh play Newport, and sixth-tier Maidstone United host League One outfit Stevenage.
And yet, despite some enticing ties between sides separated by three divisions, none of them have been selected for BBC or ITV coverage.
Yes, some of these have been selected for international TV coverage, but it’s not the same as it being shown by English broadcasters.
If we take a look at the games selected, there’s a few that have the right to be shown on the big screen. Sunderland and Newcastle last played each other in 2016, and it’s one of the biggest derbies in the English game, making it a certain choice to be broadcasted.
League One Wigan Athletic, winners of the competition in 2013, have been drawn to Manchester United, which is also worthy of being played on ITV.
But games like Crystal Palace Vs Everton and Tottenham Vs Burnley are just not what people want to be tuning into.
The ‘Magic of the FA Cup’ is a saying everyone knows. It’s produced so many magical moments over its 152 year history, and a lot of those are because of ‘cupsets’. They’re what every neutral wants to see, a club that people may never have heard of knocking out a Premier League giant.
But a game like Palace vs Everton, between two mid-to-low table top division sides, doesn’t excite anyone other than fans of those clubs.
Another factor is money. Bar one or two, every single team being shown on TV is investing millions of pounds every season on players, facilities etc. For any of these non-league sides, television money is incredibly important.
Each side that has been selected for coverage will receive £85,000, no matter whether they win or lose. Jordan Pickford, Everton’s goalkeeper, is earning in excess of £100,000 per week, meaning the prize money doesn’t even cover one player’s weekly wages.
Wages for National League players are a lot harder to find, but it’s likely that £85,000 would cover an entire month’s wages for every single player at a team like Maidstone. The money goes a long way for these clubs, and yet it’s an opportunity they’re deserving of, but not getting.
They’re deserving of these opportunities because of their path in getting to the third round. Maidstone United have had to win five games just to get to this stage, including three qualifying rounds and a second round tie against League Two Barrow.
The three other National League clubs also had to go through a qualifying round, and in each of their cup run’s respectively, have defeated opposition from the Football League.
While everyone apart from The Stones has already played on TV, it’s not the point. The point is, these teams deserve to play in front of the cameras because they’ve earned it. The money means so much more, and it gives them a chance to showcase their football for what might be the only time in years.
It’s only fair, and it’s only right.
