CEO Matt Boles voiced his views on the matter on social media platform X, formerly Twitter: "Ask any Gainsborough Trinity supporter for their most memorable moments and many will refer to the FA Cup First Round tie and replay against Lincoln City. That was over twenty years ago which says it all! The revenue from that funded the redevelopment of the Northolme."

Despite this, at no point were any EFL, Non-League or grassroots teams included in this consultation process. We also understand that FA Council members were not consulted about the changes.

The decision, and the way it was taken, demonstrate a total lack of respect for the football pyramid and its fans. Football belongs to all of us and decisions should not be taken behind closed door, in backroom deals, where only the very wealthiest of clubs are allowed to participate. It is yet another eloquent example of the 19th-century governance that means that football simply cannot regulate itself and needs the Independent Football Regulator to have real teeth.

We condemn the changes wholeheartedly and urge The FA to suspend them immediately until all stakeholders in the game are properly consulted. 732 teams made up the 2023/24 Emirates FA Cup.

The Premier League makes up just under 3% of the competition that is over 150 years old, and with one wave of the hand 152 years of history, heritage, and magic of the FA Cup can be brushed aside, for what? For whom?

We cannot stand idly by, and let this world famous knockout competition die a death, one breath at a time.

Article by Rob Hughes (@AATM_Media)