The FA have gone a long way to restoring the fading grandeur of their flagship cup competition by agreeing a massive six-year deal for the overseas TV rights worth more than $1billion.

The contract, which runs from the 2018-19 season and is due to be announced at the start of next week, has greatly benefited from the Brexit vote.

It was negotiated with two TV rights selling agencies, Pitch International and IMG, in US dollars which have become more valuable against the weakening pound following the referendum decision to leave the EU.

Manchester United players celebrate after winning the FA Cup trophy at Wembley last May

Pitch International are believed to have guaranteed the FA over $300m (£245m) to sell FA Cup rights into the Europe and Middle East markets.

Yet IMG are forking out an astonishing $700m (£575m) for the rest of the world's territories — an investment that shows enormous faith in the FA Cup's continued standing as the football world's most famous club knockout competition at a time when the Premier League dominates the UK landscape.

The huge sums give the FA, who last April also extended their domestic TV rights for the FA Cup with the BBC and BT Sport until 2021, welcome certainty about their revenue streams well into the next decade while trying to save £30m a year to invest in coaching and grassroots facilities.

The BT Sport team present the FA Cup semi-final action from Wembley earlier this year

The FA's combined TV rights will, from 2018-19, bring in well over £250m a year, with around £160m from the overseas guarantees, £67m annually from the BBC and BT Sport plus £50m for England games from UEFA's centralised deal with ITV.

The latest windfall should mean a rise in FA Cup prize-money. The win bonuses this season start from £1,500 for extra preliminary round winners, rising to £1.8m for the team who lift the trophy at Wembley next May.

The two agencies were prepared to put their huge offers on the Wembley table despite the possibility that replays in the third, fourth and fifth rounds will be scrapped during the tenure of their rights contracts.

Sixth-round replays have been abolished this season to ease the fixture list.