Search begins for FA Cup 'theme song'
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Your support makes all the difference.From the Tannoy at Billingham Synthonia to the sound system at the Millennium Stadium, FA Cup grounds will ring to a new tune next season. The Football Association is seeking to rebrand the world's oldest football competition along the lines of Uefa's Champions' League and a "theme song" is part of the package.
Uefa specially commissioned its anthem from the British composer Tony Britten and it has become an integral part of the competition's identity. The FA hopes to do the same and is on the look-out for an appropriate melody.
"We want every FA Cup match to have a sense of occasion," said Paul Barber, the head of the FA's marketing department. "We are seeking either a unique piece of music or something fans associate with the competition. 'Abide With Me' is one possibility, but it may be too closely linked with the final. The intention is that it would be played before kick-off wherever practical, from the fourth qualifying round to the final."
As with the Champions' League anthem it would also be played in conjunction with television and radio coverage so the broadcasters will be consulted.
The move is one of several designed to enhance the identity of the competition and restore its prestige. With this in mind prize money has been significantly increased, although there are no immediate plans to end the ridiculous anomaly in which the only rounds without provision for a replay are the semi-final and the final.
Also ruled out is a proposal to move the quarter-finals to neutral venues. This, it was suggested, would give the later stages of the competition more of an "event identity" and ensure all four quarter-finals can be staged on the same day. The plan to do that this season depends on the draw not placing two or more ties in the same city.
By offering four more matches with "clean" stadiums – grounds bereft of advertising which allows sponsors to brand the arena as Nationwide will do to Old Trafford tomorrow – would also help the FA sell its new marketing strategy. For the moment, however, that is a step too far.
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