Do FA Cup winners qualify for Europa League? FA Cup champions prizes explained | Sporting News

The FA Cup is the oldest knockout club competition in world football and offers teams from across the English league pyramid a route to Wembley Stadium.

Alongside the potential of a date in the capital, an FA Cup final win also provides a huge cash injection and the chance of a European adventure.

Find out everything you need to know about the FA Cup as a tournament below.

MORE: Ten biggest upsets in FA Cup history

Do FA Cup winners qualify for the Europa League? 

The winners of the FA Cup automatically secure a spot in the following season’s Europa League group stages. However, their Premier League finish could also affect the qualification scenarios.

If the FA Cup winners finish inside the top four thereby qualifying for the UEFA Champions League — or fifth, which qualifies them for the Europa League — then the Europa League qualifying spot offered to the FA Cup winner will be reassigned to the next-highest-ranked Premier League team.

An FA Cup win has provided a backup for teams finishing outside the Premier League’s European places in recent seasons.

What is the FA Cup prize money? 

Success in the FA Cup final also offers a financial boost with the FA confirming the 2024 winners will receive £2 million/$2.42 million.

The runners-up will bank £1m/$1.21m for their efforts with prize money awarded in decreasing measures all the way down to the extra preliminary rounds at the start of the competition.

A ‘cup run’ is regularly treasured in English football as providing both nostalgia and much-needed funds. Non-league side Marine faced Tottenham in 2021, a match that saved the club from financial ruin as it saw them earn around £500,000/$685,000.

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Lowest-ranked teams to win the FA Cup

Top Premier League sides have dominated the FA Cup in recent seasons with one of Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool or Arsenal winning 12 of the past 14 finals.

Wigan Athletic’s win over Man City in 2013 was the last significant final upset, as Roberto Martinez’s side were relegated from the Premier League that season despite their Wembley glory.

Cardiff City are the last team outside the top flight to reach the final, as the Welsh giants lost to Portsmouth in 2008.

However, the last team to win the FA Cup from outside the top tier predates the Premier League, with Trevor Brooking’s famous goal clinching the 1980 trophy for Second Division West Ham against holders Arsenal.