“We believe that the FA Cup is the most magical cup competition in football,” FA spokesperson Adrian Bevington said. “What we are intending is to provide the platform whereby as many people as possible can see these quarter-final fixtures. That is something which we believe football supporters will welcome. Historically, these games all took place on the same day. We would like the opportunity for that to happen again.”
The reputation of the FA Cup has been marred in recent years after Manchester United decided in 1999 to opt out of the competition in favour of FIFA’s World Club Championship in Brazil. The competition has also suffered from fragmented ties and the ever-increasing popularity of European competitions.
Each quarter-final match will be shown live on television on March 10.
The popularity of the FA Cup is expected to be revived after the Football Association announced plans to play all four FA Cup quarter-finals on the same day.
