The lowest-ranked side left in the cup, the fifth tier’s Luton Town, are run by volunteers and their players pay to play. Manager Rob Burton says his side’s upcoming home tie against Brighton, of the top flight, is “like our cup final” and added: “Now they’ve increased the cup money, this great run has given us the financial stability we need. It adds financial security for the club for a couple of years.”
Even if they lose on Sunday, Luton will earnt £69,000 from their cup run. Burton, who had to play a striker in goal for their victory at Grays Athletic in qualifying amidst a last-minute childcare issue, said: “It’s a phenomenal budget for us to gain at the level we’re at. It gives us a chance to have a minibus for away games occasionally, and then there are things we simply can’t afford at the moment, for example, analysis, heat maps to increase our stats on our players.”
Captain Jess Mckay, a central midfielder who works in the logistics industry, added: “We’ve got teachers, graphic designers and students doing a bit of football on the side, a real mix, but we’re so close-knit. A lot of girls have made a lot of sacrifices to put football first, it costs us a lot of time and money, but we’re a family unit here and that unity has probably got us through all the rounds so far.”
Even for some Women’s Super League sides, the prospect of winning £54,000 this weekend is not to be sniffed at. West Ham manager Rehanne Skinner, whose team travel to holders Chelsea on Sunday, describes the prize money as a “huge incentive”, adding: “That’s a significant amount, when you’re talking about bringing additions to the squad.”
The match that the BBC has chosen for live coverage on the iPlayer this Sunday is Manchester City’s trip to Championship side Durham, who have sold out their Maiden Castle ground and are expecting around 2,400 fans, despite doubling their usual adult ticket prices to £18.
Defender Becky Salicki, who has played for Durham since 2016, said of being the TV pick: “A couple of the girls who have been here for a long time got quite emotional about it. The fact that we’re playing live on telly, as ‘little Durham’, means so much to us and I hope we can make the fans proud. We’re not naive to who Man City are and what they’re capable of. We’re aware of their class, but we have got home-ground advantage and our fans will be incredible.”
Durham earned £35,000 for their 5-0 victory away at West Brom in the third round and Salicki added: “It’s incredible, any extra money is fantastic for us. However, I still think it could be more. It’s amazing that it [the prize pot] was doubled but the gap from us to the men’s prize money is still quite large. I’m in no way saying we should get equal pay but hopefully, as the game grows, the rewards the women’s game deserves will come.” The men’s FA Cup prize pot was frozen at £19.8 million this season.
