The Football Association wants to keep up with the times, with changes planned to keep the FA Cup modern, with one key change coming from the Champions League.
The FA Cup is set to undergo changes to help modernize the competition. (Image: (Photo by Michael Regan – The FA/The FA via Getty Images))
The FA Cup is a world-famous competition steeped in history and unparalleled tradition. But England’s governing body, the FA, is looking at ways to keep the game fresh and modern.
One way to do that, it seems, could be to introduce a competition anthem that is played before kick-off, from the early rounds all the way through to the final. The Times reports that the FA Cup will follow in the footsteps of the Champions League and introduce its own music, which will become synonymous with the battle for the trophy.
The FA has commissioned a company, part of Universal Music Group, to create separate tracks for the men’s and women’s competitions, the report said. The national anthem will likely be played as the teams emerge from the tunnel, line up and shake hands between opposing sides.
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It’s a move that could help the competition grow its own brand beyond the historical connections surrounding it. The Champions League anthem is perhaps the greatest example of a theme that represents what the competition’s brand is all about.
The song was written in 1992 by British composer Tony Britten, based on Georg Frideric Handel’s “Zadok the Priest” from the 1700s. The music has become iconic, associated with prestige and dignity, and a reflection on the sport itself, with many players citing the goosebumps they felt hearing it for the first time on the pitch.
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The Premier League will introduce its own national anthem for the 2020/2021 season, often used as the soundtrack for both teams’ pre-match walkouts. British composer Dave Connolly put together this piece, and it has been a mainstay of the sector ever since.
It remains to be seen exactly what the FA Cup anthem will sound like, but this is further evidence that the English Football Association is trying to find ways to keep the competition up to date with the current state of the modern game. The FA Cup is often held in high esteem as it is the world’s oldest football association competition.
Since the team can participate from the preliminary rounds, it feels like the team was created with the premise that anyone can win. The “magic” of the FA Cup is often much-hyped as the big teams have faced it many times in cup competitions over the years, with underdog stories being spotlighted, with Macclesfield’s victory over holders Crystal Palace headlined this year’s men’s competition.
Crystal Palace won last season’s FA Cup. (Image: (Photo by Sebastian Frej/Getty Images))
But questions are growing about the tournament’s importance in the wider football ecosystem. Once a cup that offered large prize money, the cup has been dwarfed by Premier League clubs due to increased prize pots and broadcast income in both league and European competitions.
The winner of the FA Cup will receive just over £2.1 million in prize money, while the runners-up will receive half that amount at £1.6 million, although this amount is reduced if a team is eliminated early in the competition. As a result, some may see this sport as a secondary focus, resting early rounds and rotating.
However, that is not the attitude of all teams and many are taking the challenge seriously as they approach the possibility of lifting the trophy at Wembley. But as the season gets busier, with more games and not to mention more injuries, teams have more things to consider when considering where their priorities lie.
Changes have already been introduced to combat this, with the FA scrapping replays in competitions to mitigate the possibility of further matches. This is something that has not been popular with some sections of the football ecosystem, especially smaller clubs who dream of getting a chance to play with the big teams again.
The funding provided to these teams in the early rounds remains important for ‘smaller’ clubs looking to progress. As a result, the magic of the Cup is still real in the moment, and the FA is grappling with the realities of keeping competition relevant in an ever-changing football landscape.
