National League clubs are told more details regarding the controversial new cup competition with Premier League under-21 teams.
A piece in this weekend’s edition of the Non League Paper read: “A new midweek cup competition between National League teams and Premier League U21 sides will kick-off in the upcoming season, clubs have been told.
“The format will see 16 clubs from Step 1 enter along with 16 academy-sides in an EFL Trophy-style cup.
“The competition is likely to begin in November with four regional groups of eight. Group games will only be National League v Premier League in the group stages – a total of four games – with the top two from each qualifying for the quarter-finals.
“National League clubs will host the group and knock-out games up until the final, with a date and venue to be confirmed. Games will be streamed live on National League TV.”
š National League & Premier League U21 cup looks set to go ahead https://t.co/CTtq7UKTCJ
ā Ollie Bayliss (@Ollie_Bayliss) July 7, 2024
According to reports, the Premier League held talks and were keen a format that involves sixteen Under-21 teams and sixteen National League sides.
Fans voiced their anger towards the āridiculousā plans for a new competition just days after the National League told its member clubs to follow the board in being in favour of the decision to scrap FA Cup replays, see more on the latterĀ HERE.
However, the National Leagueās support for the proposal may be due to the potential financial benefits it could bring, as disclosed by The Athletic.
The host National League clubs would keep all the gate money plus half the prize money.
The rest of the money would be split between eight National League teams not competing in the tournament, as well as all the National League North and National League South sides ā meaning 56 clubs in all.
Q1: Why did the National League back the decision to scrap cup replays?
A: Itās in talks with the Premier League about an EFL Trophy-like comp between 16 NL sides & 16 U21 PL teams.
Q2: When is fixture congestion OK?
A: When itās subsidised by the PL. https://t.co/ZY3fKW5psCā Matt Slater (@mjshrimper) April 26, 2024
Ā
The National Leagueās top 16 teams would take part ā with the two clubs promoted from there into the EFL replaced by the two relegated sides going in the opposite direction.
The Athleticās Matt Slater wrote:Ā Some of that anger has even been directed at National League general manager Mark Ives, as he wrote to his member clubs telling them he supported the Football Associationās decision to shelve [FA Cup] replays because of fixture congestion.
The Athletic said they spoke with a number of National League clubs over this, and they all state that they havenāt been consulted by the FA or their own league, and disagreed with the need to axe replays in the first and second round proper, even though those are the rounds prior to when Premier League enter, so to blame it on fixture congestion doesnāt make sense.
Itās also reported that Mark Ives wasnāt consulted about the decision to scrap replays, and told his clubs he would argue to keep them for the qualifying rounds, which involve hundreds of clubs lower down the non league pyramid, that precede the first round proper.
The only hope is he could put it to the FA to reverse the decision to scrap replays in rounds one and two if that is what clubs ask him to do at the leagueās annual general meeting later in the summer.
Problem is, he, the FA and the Premier League, clearly believe that National League clubs will feel differently about the decision to scrap replays once they find out more on the extra Ā£33million the Premier League is giving to the FA to share with the grassroots game, including clubs below the EFL, and it is explained that more lower-round FA Cup games will be televised in future.
Slater goes on to say: If that does not do the trick, perhaps the new EFL Trophy-style competition will, particularly as it is pencilled in to start in the pre-Christmas period just made slightly less congested by the scrapping of cup replays.
But what this means for the stalled plans to expand the actual EFL Trophy by inviting all 20 Premier League clubs and increasing the group stages to five games is unclear.
Those plans appear to be another casualty of the breakdown in talks between the EFL and Premier League over a new financial distribution model for the professional game.
This is how Twitter users reacted with National League clubs told more details regarding the controversial new cup competition with under-21 teams…
@heyit5sam: Scrapped FA cup replays in the hope people will watch the premās B teams during the week. Itās all so wrong, nobody wants it. Boycott at all levels. Be it the EFL trophy, or this new format for the NL. No bust show up, put a stamp on it and itāll be scrapped
@JakePompeySmith: A reminder that a lot of these Prem managers will be the first to moan about playing too many games, however theyāre more than happy to have National League clubs, who have to play 46 league games, FA Trophy & FA Cup qualification rounds, form a new comp. with their U21sā¦ š
@OnceADagger: Absolutely no chance I go to a single one of these and Iād encourage you all to do the same. Treat it in the same way the EFL fans treat the JPT. No fans, no money, no more taking the piss
@MANapier23: Games gone š
@samainsworth1: š¤®š¤®
@phil_dfc: Every single national league club should be standing up and boycotting this. Fans need to do the same like the EFL trophy
@groundhopper23: Hopefully the NL clubs will treat it with the same respect that the PL clubs treat the League Cup. It’ll be good experience for the NL academy players.
@B92CAB: Forgot this was a thing, more fixture congestion for games nobody will care about
@BeaumontDMD: I wonder if any PL clubs with season long loans at National League will be eligible to play? Southampton have loaned their U21 GK, Ollie Wright, to Yeovil for the season. Clearly, geographically they’d be in the same group
pic.twitter.com/Ml3HxybDiC https://t.co/wReuFdCWDX
ā Dan Bell (@TheDB30) July 7, 2024
Wrong on so many levels … and the reason why #PremierLeague owners wanted #FACup replays scrapped from the 1st Rd onward so that @TheVanaramaNL clubs would be available to play on mid- week nights.#BTeamBoycott #MoneyFirstFootballNowhere https://t.co/r2MszzURAl
ā FA Cup Factfile / Phil Annets (@FACupFactfile) July 7, 2024
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