Football campaign group Fair Game have opposed the recent changes to the FA Cup, calling for a new vote on scrapping replays.

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 01: Eddie Nketiah of Arsenal , Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal and Dani Ceballos of Arsenal pose with the FA Cup Trophy after their teams victory in the Heads Up FA Cup Final match between Arsenal and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on August 01, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND: Eddie Nketiah of Arsenal , Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal and Dani Ceballos of Arsenal pose with the FA Cup Trophy after their teams victory in the Heads Up FA Cup Final match between Arsenal and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on August 01, 2020. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

The BBC report that football campaign group Fair Game have issued six demands to reform the FA Cup, in the wake of the recent announcement that the competition would be scrapping replays.

Fair Game want a vote from all eligible clubs on FA Cup replays, they want a Champions League spot for the FA Cup winners, and they want an independent football regulator to rule on any financial changes to the competition.

Fair Game also want replays to be played on Monday nights for clubs playing in Europe, they want a reform on voting structures, and they want fan consultation for any future changes.

fbl eng pr arsenal sheffield utd 1
Arsenal’s Spanish manager Mikel Arteta (L) speaks with Arsenal’s Dutch assistant coach Albert Stuivenberg (R) during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Sheffield United at the Emirates Stadium in London on October 28, 2023. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)

Starting from next season, the UEFA Champions League is expanding to 36 teams, with every team involved in the competition playing at least eight games in the new “league phase”, which replaces the current group stage.

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Given the group stage only had six matches, that means at least an extra two games for every team in the first half of the season.

Teams that finish between 9th and 24th in the league phase will also play an additional two-legged play-off round. So a team reaching the final of the Champions League may have to play an extra four games to get there.

As a result, the FA announced a number of changes to the FA Cup.

MUNICH, GERMANY: Martin Odegaard of Arsenal looks dejected after the team's defeat and elimination from the UEFA Champions League during the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg match between FC Bayern München and Arsenal FC at Allianz Arena on April 17, 2024. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
MUNICH, GERMANY: Martin Odegaard of Arsenal looks dejected after the team’s defeat and elimination from the UEFA Champions League during the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg match between FC Bayern München and Arsenal FC at Allianz Arena on April 17, 2024. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

For a start, there will be no replays from the first round of the FA Cup onwards.

On top of that, the FA Cup final will now be played on the penultimate weekend of the Premier League season, with the last week of the league season being moved back from this year’s May 19th to next year’s May 25th.

In effect, that means that if you aren’t in the final, you have an extra week to fit in a league game.

However, those league games on the FA Cup weekend will not take place on the Friday or Saturday, with both of those days reserved to give the FA Cup final (on the Saturday) some breathing room.

There will also be no winter break next season, with the FA opting to start the season a little later instead – August 17th next season compared to August 11th this season.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 07: Bukayo Saka of Arsenal reacts during the Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Arsenal and Liverpool at Emirates Stadium on January 07, 2024 in London, England. Arsenal wear an all-white kit at home, for the first time in the club's history, in support of the 'No More Red' campaign against knife crime and youth violence. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND: Bukayo Saka of Arsenal reacts during the Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Arsenal and Liverpool at Emirates Stadium on January 07, 2024. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

In an attempt to keep the FA Cup feeling like a significant competition, there have been a couple of further scheduling changes.

All FA Cup rounds will now be played on weekends, and the fourth round, fifth round, and quarter-final weekends will be exclusive of Premier League fixtures.

But the changes have proven very unpopular with teams in the lower leagues, and it doesn’t seem impossible they will be opposed in the upcoming Football Governance Bill.

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