After being played just before the end of the season for the last 3 years, on the same weekend as Premier League games, the FA Cup final will move back to it's traditional end of season spot in 2014.

The game will take place at Wembley on May 17th, the week after the Premier League season finishes.

Well done FA.

the best fa cup new in years hate it not being after the season ends ppl have ago at certain teams for wrecking it but by doing what they had done in the past the fa have devalued the cup hopefully this will help put value back

Agree completely with you there John. Wigan have kind of damaged the theory by winning the thing, but you couldn't have blamed them if they decided to put the reserves out and focus on staying up. Though the timing of the final probably did end up killing their chances of survival.

Either way, having it once the season is done and dusted ensures that everyone (teams, supporters, the media) is focused on it, and that's how it should be if the FA expects us to continue taking it seriously.

Its good that cup final day will be returning to its usual slot but why was it moved to the wrong day/wrong time anyway? probably because Sky/or sponsors have to much sway with the weasely FA! football used to be played on a Saturday at 3 pm with the odd mid week league game or cup fixture, now they can be at any time, any day, when ever Rupert Murdock/Barclays/Budweiser/Carling et al think it will attract the biggest audience. Lets just hope the Premiership dosnt get to popular in America or they will be asking for 4am kick offs to suit the American market and the FA will cave in!

Too easy to blame Sky etc. I think Clitterbug. At the end of the day there's plenty of people willing to shell out £30 a month or whatever and gorge themselves on as much football as they can. And while nostalgia for 3 o'clock kick offs is understandable, I'd be lost without the couple of games on a Sunday and a cheeky MNF to round it off, can't have it both ways.

I'll be out on the streets protesting with you if there's so much as a hint of a 4am kick off though!!

Scotty I take your point about sunday football I too enjoy a couple of pints or my sunday dinner with a game but what im getting at is TV/Sponsors have more say on kick off days/times than the FA, the FA Cup Final was happily held on Saturday at 3 o'clock post season for well over 100 years, now I don't know what the idea of changing the date was, {maybe it clashed with something big in America} but seeing as Budwieser took over sponsorship in 2011 and wanted it held at 5 o'clock I think we can assume the change of the kick off time had something to do with selling beer, if kick off in Wembley {London} is at 3pm that makes it 10am in New York, so postponing kick off by 2 hours makes it easier to sell their brand at noon, I bet the ''Budwieser FA Cup Final'' was well advertised to Americans, 'Come into the bar n sink some suds, while you watch that quaint little old Limey game, soccer' Budwiesers deal was 2011-2013 so whoever is sponsoring the next final is most probably English or European if the date/time have reverted, I don't think its the FA bowing to the wishes of the fans, restoring tradition.

True, true.

I stand corrected (said the man in the orthopaedic shoes).

And the cup final will probably still be a 5pm kick off next year as well.

Yeah m8, maybe it will have twin sponsors Timpson / Adidas orthopaedic sports footwear!