Football chiefs in England are planning to scrap FA Cup replays completely next season as they look at ways to ease fixture chaos in what will be a jam-packed campaign.
The idea of axing replays will be popular with clubs facing playing two games a week for much of the next season, as both the Premier League and EFL are likely to start in mid-September.
This season saw the FA Cup scrap replays from the fifth round onwards.
This meant Norwich won at Tottenham Hotspur on penalties and Sheffield Wednesday beat Reading 2-1 after extra-time. Normally, both games would have gone to replays.
Some clubs like replays for extra income.
Yet the FA are looking at all matches being settled on the day — and not just starting from the first round proper.
There are also six qualifying stages including the extra preliminary round, which this season started on August 14.
With non-league football set to return in September, it also means the FA face a challenge to squeeze those matches in — on top of FA Trophy and FA Vase fixtures.
The Football League have a headache, too, over where to fit in the EFL Trophy and Carabao Cup. One option is to scrap the Carabao Cup altogether.
