Premier League clubs back proposed changes to the FA Cup and Carabao Cup tournaments, which could see teams from Europe opt out of the latter.
A shareholder meeting between Premier League clubs will take place on Wednesday to discuss further changes to the national calendar from 2024.
Proposals to be put forward under the umbrella of a ‘New Deal for Football’ include scrapping replays in the third and fourth rounds of the FA Cup and allowing clubs across Europe to opt out of the Carabao Cup.
Those clubs in the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League could withdraw from the tournament altogether or send under-21 teams instead.
According to the Times, the FA and EFL have not yet been consulted, but the latter “would welcome talks on the future of League Cup and FA Cup replays”.
The possibility of FA Cup replays being removed from the rulebook is described as “inevitable” as it is “the easiest way to free up some time on the match schedule”.
Meanwhile, the Carabao Cup is seen as a “major moneymaker” for lower league clubs, which has led to a “compromise approach” over the future of the tournament, rather than trying to scrap it altogether.
A decision is not expected to be made this week, although both proposals seem reasonable from the point of view of Premier League clubs.
Liverpool’s remarkable drive for a quadruple last season, which saw them conquer both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup before reaching the final day in both the Premier League and Champions League, must be seen as something of an outlier.
More often than not, clubs competing in Europe will field weakened teams in tournaments, particularly the Carabao Cup, to avoid overuse of key players.
On rare occasions, such as Liverpool’s ludicrous clash of matches between the Club World Cup and the Carabao Cup at the end of 2019, teams have been asked to name squads made up entirely of academy players for cup ties. .
Jurgen Klopp has long advocated relaxing the fixture list to lighten the load on players, which was only increased this season with a winter World Cup.
However, the coach is unlikely to take the position of scrapping the Carabao Cup or denying lower league teams the financial boost these tournaments provide.
