Women's FA Cup matches may be decided on toss of a coin or drawing of lots

[ASFN Admin]

Coin tosses or the drawing of lots may be used to decide the outcome of the Women's FA Cup second and third round, Telegraph Sport has learned, as the Football Association considers a range of options after England's third national lockdown saw the competition suspended. Alternatively the second and third-round clubs could find themselves withdrawn completely from this season's Cup, which is classed as 'non-elite' by the Government at the second and third-round stage. The 23 'elite' clubs from the Women's Super League and Championship do not enter until the fourth round. Meetings were held at the FA on Tuesday to discuss potential ways to progress with the Cup, but no decisions are expected until later this week. It is understood they will seek to avoid any delay to the competition, rather than wait for England's coronavirus restrictions to be loosened, because of constraints in the calendar such as the Team GB pre-Olympics training camp in June. The Cup final is scheduled to be played at Wembley on May 22. The FA are understood to remain hopeful of finding a way to complete the second and third-round matches on the pitch under 'elite protocols', through consultations with the Government, but sources have told Telegraph Sport that prospect looks increasingly unlikely. The Government are believed to be reluctant to make any exceptions to their lockdown restrictions for sport while the number of Covid-19 cases continues to rise so rapidly. Meanwhile, the FA do not pay for any Covid testing for 'non-elite' women's clubs. They are prepared to provide testing and an elite environment for nine lower-league teams that could take part in the fourth round, alongside the 23 elite clubs at that stage of the competition. But they do not appear set to do so for the second or third rounds, when the majority of players involved are not paid to play football as their job. Telegraph Sport has been told that the "huge" cost of providing testing and elite protocols for the second and third-round clubs would be more expensive than the cost of scrapping this season’s entire competition, although it is understood cancelling the cup is not one of the options being considered. Some officials remain hopeful of finding a way to play the postponed games before it is too late, but if that cannot be done safely, Telegraph Sport understands the options under consideration include: The 17 outstanding second-round games — plus the one delayed first-round tie — to be decided by coin tosses or a similar process. The same method could be used to decide the third-round 'winners' too. The drawing of lots, to determine which nine teams go straight to the fourth round, from the 'non-elite' teams left in the cup The 36 teams still involved in the first, second and third round having to withdraw from the Cup, and the 23 'elite' teams progressing with the cup alone, but with some teams receiving byes to the fifth round. There is said to be a determination to press ahead with the competition from the fourth round as scheduled if possible, and that will only include a full complement of 32 teams [16 ties] if a solution can be found that guarantees player safety. However, any solution that sees the Women's FA Cup differ further from the opportunities provided for the men's FA Cup could see the authorities come under heavy criticism. Testing has been provided for 'non-elite' male teams in the early rounds of the men's competition, where lower-level sides have been in the same rounds as professional men's teams, including this weekend's upcoming men's third round. One 'non-elite' women's club chairman told Telegraph Sport on Tuesday they are hopeful a further bailout for the grass-roots game could help fund the provision of elite protocols for the postponed games. English football has 158 'elite' men's teams, compared to just 23 'elite' women's teams allowed to carry on playing, under the latest guidelines. Sunday, January 3 saw just one of the scheduled 18 Women's FA Cup second-round ties go ahead, with Huddersfield Town winning 3-2 at Liverpool Feds after extra time. That match had a crowd of 150 people, just over 24 hours before Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the new England-wide lockdown. All of the women's leagues in England below the Championship have been suspended indefinitely and are facing major disruption, with most clubs already having several games in hand prior to Monday's announcement.

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