A full breakdown of the financial rewards offered to clubs participating in one of the oldest national competitions in the world
Winning the FA Cup this season will provide a financial boost for the club that emerges as the winners, but they will receive far less than those who won the competition last season.
Prices for the oldest FA Cup competition were doubled in 2018-19 and remained higher in 2019-20, but the pot was brought back to the previous level for the 2020-21 edition.
“After two seasons of record price levels, the Emirates FA Cup prize fund has returned to the 2017-18 level due to the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said a Football Association statement in 2020 .
So what exactly do clubs stand to gain from the FA Cup in 2020-2021? Goal breaks down the price fund.
What is the FA Cup 2020-21 cash prize?
The total prize money for the FA Cup for the 2020-21 season is £ 15.9million. This fund is distributed among the participants according to their performance during the competition.
The cash prizes for the first rounds of the Cup are relatively low and gradually increase with each round, with larger sums as the team gets closer to the final.
For example, winning the extra preliminary round is worth £ 1,125, while winning the final earns a reward of £ 1.8million ($ 2.4million).
You can see the turn-based breakdown of the FA Cup 2020-21 cash prizes in the table below.
| Round | Prize money | Of teams |
|---|---|---|
| Additional preliminary round winners | £ 1,125 | 184 |
| Additional losers from the preliminary round | £ 375 | 184 |
| Preliminary round winners | £ 1,444 | 160 |
| The losers of the preliminary round | £ 481 | 160 |
| First qualifying round winners | £ 2,250 | 116 |
| The losers of the first qualifying round | £ 750 | 116 |
| Second qualifying round winners | £ 3,375 | 80 |
| The losers of the second qualifying round | £ 1,125 | 80 |
| Third qualifying round winners | £ 5,625 | 40 |
| The losers of the third qualifying round | £ 1,875 | 40 |
| Fourth qualifying round winners | £ 9,375 | 32 |
| Losers of the fourth qualifying round | £ 3,125 | 32 |
| First round winners | £ 16,972 | 40 |
| The losers of the first round | £ 5,657 | 40 |
| Second round winners | £ 25,500 | 20 |
| The losers of the second round | £ 8,500 | 20 |
| Third round winners | £ 61,500 | 32 |
| The losers of the third round | £ 20,500 | 32 |
| Fourth round winners | £ 67,500 | 16 |
| Fourth round losers | £ 22,500 | 16 |
| Fifth round winners | £ 135,000 | 8 |
| The losers of the fifth round | £ 45,000 | 8 |
| Quarterfinals winners | £ 360,000 | 4 |
| Winners of the semi-finals | £ 900,000 | 2 |
| Losers in the semi-finals | £ 450,000 | 2 |
| Finalists | £ 900,000 | 1 |
| Final winners | £ 1,800,000 | 1 |
So if a Premier League side entering the FA Cup third round reached the final and won the competition, they would pocket a total prize of £ 3.4million ($ 4.6million). The defeated finalists would end up with £ 2.4million ($ 3.2million).
Prize money increases dramatically once the “actual contest” begins, with first round winners being awarded £ 16,972 and second round winners being awarded £ 25,500.
Round three winners get £ 61,500, and round four success earns you £ 67,500. It continues to rise noticeably in the fifth round, where £ 135,000 awaits the winners and £ 360,000 is the prize for winning in the quarterfinals.
The semi-final victory is rewarded with £ 900,000 ($ 1.2 million) and a final victory is worth £ 1.8 million ($ 2.4 million).
It should be noted that in addition to the FA cash prizes, clubs can also earn money through TV contracts where their games are selected for broadcast.
What was the price of the FA Cup in 2019-20?
The prize money for last season’s FA Cup was double what it was in 2020-2021, with 2019-20 champions Arsenal taking a total of £ 6.8million (9.3million dollars), compared to £ 3.4million, for their efforts.
The payout for winning the final last season was £ 3.6million ($ 4.9million), while the finalists took home £ 1.8million – which the winners get this year.
With the cash prize for simply competing in the Premier League far exceeding what’s on offer in the FA Cup, the idea behind the doubling of the prize was to create a greater incentive for clubs.
The priorities of English football clubs, especially at the top of the pyramid, have changed since the birth of the Premier League and the Champions League, an injection of television revenue changing the landscape.
While winning the FA Cup offers a path to the Europa League, the competition had lost its luster by the 21st century, with bigger clubs contenting themselves with rotating their teams, especially during the early rounds.
Given that the cash prize for winning the Premier League is around £ 150million ($ 206million) and just staying in the division is also worth over £ 100million ($ 137million). dollars), it may not come as a surprise.
