LONDON (Reuters) - Welsh club Cardiff City could represent England in Europe if they won the FA Cup in May, the Football Association said on Thursday.
A spokesman said the Association's "historical position" had been that only English teams could qualify through a Cup win but this would now be urgently reviewed after Cardiff reached the last four at the weekend by beating Middlesbrough.
The situation has not cropped up before as City's only FA Cup triumph came in 1927, almost half a century before European club competition was launched.
Cardiff are the only non-English team to have won the Cup but Wrexham and Swansea City also play in the English professional leagues.
"It's a historical position. In an organisation of this size and history, you can understand that there are historical positions which have developed over a number of years that don't relate to any specific rule," an FA spokesman said.
"We feel it's now the appropriate time to look at it in a fresh light," he added.
"Obviously the issue is one of relevance to all four teams that are left in the competition, so we will be thinking to communicate our position to them as soon as possible. It's not in anyone's interest that it drags on for a long time," he said.
Championship Cardiff face a semi-final next month against Barnsley, who also play in the English second tier, at Wembley. Usually, the FA Cup winners represent England in the UEFA Cup.
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