FA Cup final to be moved as radical schedule changes unveiled
The FA Cup final is to be handed its own exclusive slot from next season after the Football Association announced wholesale changes.
In a bid to ‘strengthen’ the competition, the FA has revealed a glut of sweeping changes to help put the spotlight back on the tournament.
The FA announced on Thursday that not only will the final be played on the penultimate weekend of the season, but no Premier League fixtures will take place on the day before or the day of the final.
The measures are to preserve focus on the build-up to the final with Premier League fixtures scheduled for that weekend, to be played on Sunday instead.
An agreement between the Premier League and the FA will see the plans fixed for a minimum of six years.
Other changes to the competitions’ structure will include replays being scrapped from the first round proper and all rounds being played on weekends.
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The fourth round, fifth round and quarter-final will be played on weekends exclusive of Premier League fixtures.
Meanwhile the fourth round will have an extended window from Friday to Wednesday to allow fans to watch consecutive days of FA Cup football.
There has been no word on semi-final ties being played away from Wembley.
Fans and pundits have long been split on whether the national stadium should be preserved solely for finalists after FA chiefs introduced semi-finals at Wembley following the reopening of the refurbished stadium in 2006.
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It is hoped that the proposals can help breathe life back into world football’s oldest domestic cup competition.
The riches of Champions League qualification coupled by an increase in fixtures across the pyramid has seen both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup fall down the list of priorities by some clubs.
The FA Cup has become a space for managers to rest stars and field fringe players, particularly in the earlier rounds, leading to a significant drop in attendances.
Manchester City are the current holders after their 2-1 victory over neighbours Manchester United in last year's final.
The pair could face each other again in next month’s final if they come through this weekend's semi-final clashes with Chelsea and Coventry respectively.