It’s a common turn of phrase thrown around, particularly in the men’s game when the likes of League One Tranmere Rovers knock-out the Premier League’s Watford, but when it comes to the women’s game the “magic of the FA Cup” is nothing more than a myth.

For most, the chance to play at Wembley is a once in a lifetime opportunity and it’s even rarer in women’s football because unless you have a foot in the door with England, the FA Cup is their only opportunity. The Continental Cup, essentially the WSL’s equivalent of the Carabao Cup, doesn’t hold its final at Wembley. 

The FA Cup is a renowned competition and players relish the opportunity to be a part of it, understandably so. And when we think of its magic it’s often in relation to cup upsets or teams making history – and in that respect, the women’s game is no different.

But to insist there’s anything truly magical about the women’s FA cup is questionable – and this isn’t a means of taking away from the significance of the trophy for clubs, nor is it about undermining what it could mean for teams, but more about recognising that we cannot romanticise the idea of this ‘magical’ competition when the reality for those involved is poor playing conditions, little financial reward and clubs essentially bleeding themselves dry for a shot at playing at the home of football.

4th Round losses

The fourth round of the FA cup is when teams in the top two tiers enter the fray, bringing insides from the Women’s Super League and FA Women’s Championship – including a scrappy affair in a Manchester Derby.

Football aside, it was revealed that Billericay Town spent £600 alone on a coach, seeing them travel to face Lewes FC. Billericay gave a valiant effort but was eventually knocked out on penalties. They received just £500 as a result of the defeat, a fee that didn’t even cover the cost of them getting down to Lewes. For context in relation to the men’s FA Cup: the losers of the extra preliminary round will still earn more than the women’s fourth-round losers, a difference of £250.

Crystal Palace could also face making a loss from the fourth round after the FA demanded their tie versus Southampton Women FC be replayed. Due to the pitch becoming unplayable in the latter stages of the game, it was abandoned 12 minutes from the end with Palace leading 3-0. The replay means shifting their league schedule and cancelling non-refundable hotel rooms in Sheffield and, if things don’t go in their favour, paying for another coach down to Southampton to replay the tie. The club believes they will “probably make a loss” out of the replay – meaning that, should they win, not even the FA’s generous grand total of £2,000 will be enough to subsidise the cost.

And that’s just a glimpse into the financial burden this competition can be – the playing conditions don’t exactly make for a glamorous outing, either. The pitch at Prenton Park is so bad that Liverpool’s tie against Blackburn was moved 30 miles away – although Tranmere’s tie versus Manchester United would have forced them out anyway – and their Merseyside neighbours Everton played at home, but with such little amount of grass on the ground, I’m not sure it even qualifies as a pitch anymore. 

And of course, let’s not forget that accessibility was rife over the weekend, with a total of 1 out of 16 ties being broadcast. Unless the club took it upon themselves to stream games or you were there in person, it meant an afternoon of furiously refreshing Twitter for updates. Hooray. If only we had something like an FA player to help stream games...

Leading by example

The aforementioned Lewes FC have, for some time now, been leading by example when it comes to calling on the FA to pay women’s sides their worth. They’re also the only women’s club in the world with equal pay to their male counterparts. In the week leading up to their FA cup tie (and beyond) against Billericay, and on the day, they wore t-shirts showing the significant pay gap when it comes to financial rewards.

Their statement and protest crucially gave a gentle reminder to those who have coincidentally enough forgotten the history of football in this country.

Unless we have more clubs like Lewes fighting for equality, it’s going to get even harder to achieve it. Keep making noise, Lewes, women’s football needs it. The staggering gap must be highlighted because in staying silent we're accepting that it is acceptable. 

Taking responsibility

In May when the FA Cup concludes, the winner of the men’s competition will win an eye-watering £3.6 million. The winner of the women’s competition, I hear you say? Well, that’s a humbling £25,000. Not even 1% of the men’s final allocation.

The FA have to take responsibility – as do top tier clubs who have women’s sides that need more investment, by the way – but the FA settled on these prize funds. To put it simply: you will win more money as a first-round winner in the men’s comp than you will if you lift the trophy in the women’s comp.

There’s very little incentive from the top for clubs to invest in their women’s side if they’re not getting anything return and that has a lot to do with tournaments like the FA Cup and the way they spread out their prize money. 

After all, it is a grassroots tournament at its core and we can’t truly grow the women’s game unless we’re investing in the grassroots and lower leagues – it won’t survive if just teams at the top have access to funds, or in this case, have better means to available to help win those funds.

When the FA decided to double the men’s prize fund from £15m to £30m a few seasons ago, they decided to isolate the women’s game (not for the first time, as we all know). Serious revaluation needs to happen, why not cut the prize fund back and use that extra £15m to spread across the women’s game?

The reality of the women’s FA cup is that it, and the teams involved, are being starved of investment and there’s simply nothing magical about that. And until the FA treat this competition for both men and women equally, there’s little magic to be found in a well-loved tournament bleeding clubs dry.