Alan Shearer, who scored the most goals in Premier League history, has made it clear that he loves the FA Cup.
In 2004, the legendary Newcastle United player said, “I would give anything for a winner’s medal in this competition. I really would.” “I’ve been fortunate to win a lot of individual awards but I’d swap the lot, even the championship medal I won at Blackburn.”
To be fair, Shearer’s pledge to the world’s oldest football game was made 20 years ago, when that kind of thing wasn’t cool. He told those who didn’t believe him, “People might think I’m stupid, but I’m not wrong.” “I’d rather win the cup than the league.” In any case, Shearer didn’t win any big awards at Newcastle.
READ MORE: Here are the top five new teams in the MLS for 2023.
After 20 years, not many Premier League fans still rank their teams the same way Shearer did. But that doesn’t mean that making it further in the FA Cup doesn’t have any perks. A deep cup run is a huge moneymaker for the many clubs outside of the top flight that make up this historic tournament.
Take a look at the money that makes the cup work.
READ MORE: The Mexican players who don’t play for their country internationally
What does the winner of the FA Cup in 2023–24 get paid?
The winners of the 143rd English domestic cup game get a cool £2 million just for making it to the final. According to the Football Association, the losers will get £1 million.
The jackpot has dropped a lot since the COVID-19 outbreak, but there have been no changes to the prize fund this year. Arsenal won the 2019–20 FA Cup and made £3.6 million by winning the big game at Wembley Stadium, which was empty. Chelsea won £1.8 million that spooky afternoon, which is almost the same amount that Manchester City won as winners last year.
In the first FA Cup, which was held in 1872 before the crossbar was created and the team that caught the out-of-bounds ball first got the throw-in, Wanderers won £20, which is less than £3,000 today.
READ MORE: Win Highlights in the Sugar Bowl Washington’s Strength and Difficulties
2023/24 FA Cup prize money
| Round | Prize money for winners | Prize money for losers |
|---|---|---|
| Extra preliminary | $1,125 | $375 |
| Preliminary | $1,444 | $481 |
| First round qualifying | $2,250 | $750 |
| Second round qualifying | $3,375 | $1,125 |
| Third round qualifying | $5,625 | $1,875 |
| Fourth round qualifying | $9,375 | $3,125 |
| First round proper | $41,000 | $0 |
| Second round proper | $67,000 | $0 |
| Third round proper | $105,000 | $0 |
| Fourth round proper | $120,000 | $0 |
| Fifth round proper | $225,000 | $0 |
| Quarter-final | $450,000 | $0 |
| Semi-final | $1,000,000 | $500,000 |
| Final | $2,000,000 | $1,000,000 |
League One and Championship clubs don’t play in the league until the third round in January, but they could start qualifying on August 1. That night, Moneyfields, a team from the ninth-tier, beat Westbury United from the level above and won £1,125.
In each of the five rounds of qualifying for this season’s game, the club that lost gets some money for taking part. That being said, being open to everyone is not an option once the game starts. Losers don’t get paid again until the semi-finals.
Maidstone United, a sixth-tier Semi-Pro team, started in the competition as early as the second qualifying round. They won £126,375 by making it to the third round proper. The club’s most recent public financial report says that the FA Cup prize money this season alone makes up about 10% of United’s total revenue for the whole season.
Since West Ham United won from the second level in 1980, no team from England’s top flight has won the FA Cup. If things keep going the same way, a Premier League team that enters the game in the third round has a chance to win a total of £3.9 million if they lift the famous pot.
Teams
There are 124 teams in the FA Cup from the first round, and they are all trying to make it to the final on May 25, 2024, at Wembley Stadium. The Football League system sent 92 teams to the competition, with 20 from the Premier League and 72 from the EFL Championship, EFL League One, and EFL League Two. The National League System sent 32 teams that made it out of 640 that started the competition in the qualifying rounds.
All rounds were picked at random, and the winners were usually announced either at the end of the previous round, if there were any replays, or on the night of the last live game of the round, if that was possible because of TV broadcasting rights.
There were five hundred thousand pounds in prizes in the game.
Match Stats and Prize Money Breakdown
| Round | Main date | Number of fixtures | Clubs remaining | New entries this round | Winner prize money | Loser prize money | Divisions entering this round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round | Saturday 4 November 2023 | 40 | 124 → 84 | 48 | £41,000 | None | 24 EFL League One teams, 24 EFL League Two teams |
| Second round | Saturday 2 December 2023 | 20 | 84 → 64 | None | £67,000 | None | None |
| Third round | Saturday 6 January 2024 | 32 | 64 → 32 | 44 | £105,000 | None | 20 Premier League teams, 24 EFL Championship teams |
| Fourth round | Saturday 27 January 2024 | 16 | 32 → 16 | None | £120,000 | None | None |
| Fifth round | Wednesday 28 February 2024 | 8 | 16 → 8 | None | £225,000 | None | None |
| Quarter-finals | Saturday 16 March 2024 | 4 | 8 → 4 | None | £450,000 | None | None |
| Semi-finals | Saturday 20 April 2024 | 2 | 4 → 2 | None | £1,000,000 | £500,000 | None |
| Final | Saturday 25 May 2024 | 1 | 2 → 1 | None | £2,000,000 | £1,000,000 | None |
Summary
- First round winner prize money: £41,000 is approximately $52,170.
- Second round winner prize money: £67,000 is approximately $85,890.
- Third round winner prize money: £105,000 is approximately $133,350.
- Fourth round winner prize money: £120,000 is approximately $152,400.
- Fifth round winner prize money: £225,000 is approximately $285,750.
- Quarter-finals winner prize money: £450,000 is approximately $571,500.
- Semi-finals winner prize money: £1,000,000 is approximately $1,270,000, with losers receiving £500,000 or approximately $635,000.
- Final winner prize money: £2,000,000 is approximately $2,540,000, with losers receiving £1,000,000 or approximately $1,270,000.
Comments are closed.