According to the Daily Mail, The National League have written to their clubs saying they back the abolition of FA Cup replays from the first-round next season, but that they could be retained in the competition's qualifying rounds.
In
another sign of the growing divisions within the game it is understood
that the National League are supporting the stance of the FA and the Premier League to scrap replays in direct opposition to the EFL who were vocal in their condemnation of the move when it was revealed last week.
In a letter to the 24 National League clubs chief executive Mark Ives is understood to endorse the controversial decision to abandon replays from the first-round on the grounds that there is insufficient space in the calendar to accommodate them.
Non-league clubs experience problems with fixture congestion in the same way was those at the elite levels of the game, as many of them compete in a wide variety of cup competitions and suffer more from postponements due to poor weather during the winter.
Ives
is also understood to have said that replays could be retained in the
qualifying rounds however, with a decision to be taken this summer
following talks between the clubs.