Tamworth took Tottenham Hotspur to extra-time in the FA Cup third round on Sunday, but missed out on a massive fortune after the Football Association decided to scrap replays from the first round onwards from the start of the 2024/25 season.
Eventually, National League side Tamworth succumbed to a 3-0 defeat in extra-time to their Premier League opponents, after putting in a battling display during the initial 90 minutes.
But while Tottenham earned £115,000 in prize money for reaching the fourth round, where they will face another away trip to Aston Villa, Tamworth could have earned close to eight times that had replays still gone ahead.
How much money Tamworth could have made if FA Cup third round with Tottenham went to a replay
According to football finance expert Kieran Maguire, Tamworth missed out on an approximate £850,000 from gate receipts, while Talksport reported last year that teams involved in replays selected for TV earn an additional £25,000 each.
“If the match had gone to a replay, at an average ticket price of £30, probably about £850,000,” Maguire said.
So, in total, Tamworth missed out on around £875,000 due to the FA’s decision to scrap replays, an incredibly vast amount of money. When considering that, in 2023, Halifax chairman David Bosomworth claimed running a National League side cost an average of £150,000 per month, a replay in the FA Cup third round at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium could have paid for nearly half-a-year’s worth of expenditure at Tamworth.
It must be noted, however, that if FA Cup replays still existed then there’s no guarantee Tamworth would have even made the third round. They drew 1-1 after extra time with League One side Burton Albion in the second round at the Brewers’ Pirelli Stadium before winning on penalties to set up their tie with Spurs.
But while the replay would have seen Tamworth host Burton at The Lamb Ground, there’s simply no guarantee they would have been able to beat a side two divisions above them in the football pyramid.
Plus, if that game had gone to a replay, it would’ve have taken place after the third round draw – Tamworth’s and Burton’s combined ball number would have been different as a result, thus suggesting they wouldn’t have drawn Tottenham for the third round anyway.
