The Football Association has announced that fifth round replays will be removed from this season’s FA Cup, a year earlier than planned.
The Professional Game Board agreed with the FA’s plans, designed to ease fixture congestion in a round of games that takes place on the weekend of February 16-17, a period when six Premier League clubs will be returning to European action.
From the 2019-20 season the fifth round will move to midweek, allowing for the long demanded winter break to be implemented in the English football calendar.
This break will be held between late January and early February so as not to affect the Premier League’s traditional Christmas fixture list.
That winter break is expected to apply solely to Premier League clubs but the FA believe it can ease the physical exertion on the England national team ahead of Euro 2020, whose semi-finals and final will be hosted at Wembley.
