The FA Cup set a record for 64 teams and 66 matches were played in 28 cities.
In 20 14, the Chinese Football Association Cup expanded again, from 48 last year to 64 this year. Last year, the Super League team 16, the Chinese team 16, the Chinese team 12, and four grass-roots teams. This year has reached the record of 20 grass-roots teams. These 20 amateur teams were selected from nearly 500 teams participating in local amateur leagues and cups in various provinces and cities. There are 8 places from the champion and runner-up of the local FA Cup, and another 12 places from the top 12 of the national amateur football league.
This year's FA Cup not only gives more places to grassroots teams in quantity, but also takes special care of amateur teams in the competition system. According to the FA Cup regulations, when playing against low-level teams, Chinese Super League and Chinese A teams are not allowed to use foreign aid, and the teams ranked lower give priority to home games. The reason for this regulation is that it increases the chances of the grassroots teams being upset, which directly leads to the low-level teams attracting more fans to play against the Super League teams at home.
The change of rules has made this season's FA Cup brilliant. For example, Wuhan Red Star became the first grassroots team to win three consecutive victories. It eliminated the Super League team from Shanghai and entered the top 16 with a penalty shoot-out, but only lost to Qingdao Manatee, the top four team, in the next knockout. In addition, Suzhou Jin Fu eliminated Baxi and Liaozu successively and entered the top 16.
Fu Qiang, media manager of Fortbao Company, said: "This change has greatly increased the participation of amateur teams, giving grassroots football the opportunity to play at home and show the charm of football and the elegance of grassroots football to family and friends. Wuhan Hongxing, the biggest dark horse this year, won a dark horse prize of 300,000 yuan, and the team also reached the podium after the final, which is a great encouragement for amateur grassroots teams. "
This year's 64 teams came from 33 local football associations, 8 more than last year. The coverage of the FA Cup has been further expanded, with 66 games throughout the year, covering 28 cities across the country. The number of participating teams has increased year by year, which shows that the FA Cup national football strategy has achieved good results and attracted more and more fans. The data shows that the total audience of 20 1 1 FA Cup is 260,000, and the average audience is less than 1 10,000. The number of 20 12 participation increased, and the number of fans on the scene soared to 480,000, reaching 505,000 last year and 520,000 this year.
In the first round of the Football Association Cup Baotou Station, the number of spectators reached more than 22,000, exceeding the attendance rate of some professional leagues. It is worth noting that after Wuhan Red Star eliminated Shanghai from Shanghai and entered the top 16, the club specially sent 50 yuan's red envelopes to the fans present to express their gratitude.
In addition to the increase of fans, the media also pay more attention to the FA Cup. This year, the FA Cup has further strengthened its publicity and promotion work, expanded its cooperation with TV stations, and coordinated 25 TV stations to participate in the broadcast of sports events throughout the year, 7 more than 20 13. There were 36 broadcasts throughout the year, and the number of broadcasts increased compared with last year. Among them, CCTV realized live broadcast 12 times, an increase of 20% over last year. In addition, the cumulative page views of the FA Cup official website page climbed again, reaching 6,543.8+0.6 million, an increase of over 654.38+0.5% compared with last year. In addition to the sharp increase in the number of fans on the scene, the activities outside the FA Cup are also wonderful, which truly makes the whole people enjoy football.
The FA Cup final is the last football match in China this year. The second round of the final is the most wonderful final in history, with controversy, red card, conflict, reversal and countdown. The 50,000 fans at the scene witnessed the historic moment, and even 5,000 fans of the visiting team watched the game. The fireworks set off by Luneng fans when celebrating the team's victory are even more reminiscent of the Milan derby.
For this FA Cup final, the Beijing media bluntly said: "The hot confrontation and the ups and downs of the game plot are undoubtedly good for more than 50,000 spectators at the scene and the FA Cup aimed at changing the image of the chicken ribs." However, relevant persons of Fortbao Company said that the FA Cup ended in this way, which undoubtedly played a positive role in promoting the promotion of future events. The wonderful game content and the hot ball market proved that the FA Cup is by no means a chicken rib.