Two major changes Portsmouth will witness in next season's FA Cup following promotion to the Championship

Pompey’s Championship return will see the Blues bypass rounds one and two of the FA Cup next season.

But that’s not the only change John Mousinho’s side will encounter in the Cup during the 2024-25 campaign. That’s after the Football Association announced on Thursday that all replays in the famous old competition will be scrapped from next season.

The decision, from the first round proper onwards, is part of a new agreement between the FA and the Premier League which will see an extra £33m a season ploughed into grassroots football from the top flight.

The Football Association had already scrapped replays from the fifth round onwards. They said the move to ditch them altogether had been agreed ‘in light of changes to the calendar driven by the expanded UEFA competitions’.

The FA added all rounds would now be played at the weekend, with the fifth phase having moved to midweek for the past five seasons.

Since last competing in the Championship during the 2011-12 season, Pompey have been knocked out at the first round stage on six occasions - including this term when they lost 1-0 to Paul Cook’s non-league Chesterfield. The Blues have progressed beyond the third round only three times since their final appearances against Chelsea at the end of their 2009-10 Premier League campaign

Three of their 30 FA Cup ties since the 2011-12 season have been replays, with the Blues winning one, against QPR in 2019. They proceded to lose the other two - against Ipswich in 2016 and at non-league Aldershot in 2014.

Pompey booked their place in next season’s Championship following their 3-2 win against Barnsley on Tuesday night - a victory that also crowned them as League One champions.