The FA Cup is set to have its 144th final when Manchester City takes on Crystal Palace at the Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
The oldest football competition in the world, established in 1871, the FA Cup is considered to be the most prestigious cup competition in England.
How much prize money will the FA Cup 2024-25 champion get?
The winners and the runners-up of the FA Cup 2024-25 will receive £2,000,000 and £1,000,000 from the competition’s prize fund respectively.
What else is at stake for the FA Cup winner?
The winner of the FA Cup will get a direct slot in next season’s UEFA Europa League.
How FA Cup final result will impact Premier League’s European places
The winners of the FA Cup get one of English football’s two places in the UEFA Europa League (UEL). The other traditionally goes to the team finishing fifth in the Premier League.
But this season, the team which finishes fifth in the Premier League will be awarded a spot in the UEFA Champions League (UCL).
This is because of Premier League clubs’ strong performances in UEFA competitions this season, which has earned an additional UCL place for next season (via the “European Performance Spot”).
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So, with the top five teams going into the UCL, the club finishing sixth will go into the UEL.
What happens if Palace wins the FA Cup?
Palace is placed 12th in the EPL standings and the highest it can finish is ninth place, which will not qualify it for European football.
If Oliver Glasner’s men beat City at Wembley, the second UEL spot will be theirs for lifting the FA Cup.
What happens if Man City wins the FA Cup?
Man City is currently fourth in the Premier League, and the lowest it can finish is seventh.
If it were to beat Palace and qualify for the Champions League or Europa League via its league position, its UEL spot for winning the FA Cup would go to the next-highest Premier League side, which has not qualified for Europe.
This is nominally seventh place unless City finishes there itself.
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Now, there is another catch, and it is revolving Newcastle United. Newcastle is guaranteed a top-seven place but has already qualified for the UEFA Conference League after winning the EFL Cup earlier in the season.
If Man City beats Palace, Newcastle will qualify either for the UCL (if it finishes in the top five) or UEL (if it finishes sixth or seventh).
The same protocol applies to the Conference League spot Newcastle claimed for winning the EFL Cup: it goes to the next-highest Premier League side, which has not qualified for Europe, which will be eighth. This is the position that Brentford, Brighton, Bournemouth and Fulham are all fighting for.
For Brentford and Bournemouth, their first appearance in a UEFA club competition is up for grabs, while Brighton would be entering Europe for only the second time and Fulham for the fourth time.
Content Source: sportstar.thehindu.com