FA Cup regains traditional role as season finale

After two humiliating seasons shunted into the Premiership's shadow, the FA Cup final returns next year to its traditional place at the climax of the domestic season.

This season and last the FA Cup has been shoehorned into a League programme which, this season, does not conclude until a week after the 4 May final. This was one of a number of slights suffered in recent years by the world's oldest knock-out competition and followed the introduction of penalty shoot-outs, last season's December third round, and Manchester United's withdrawal, in adding to the impression that it had lost status.

With the breathing space provided by a tournament-free summer in 2003 the FA has been able to move the final to 17 May, a full week after the Premiership ends. It is intended that the FA Cup final will remain there regardless of future tournament commitments. However, there is still no provision for replays in the semi-final or final.

"We have a firm commitment to ensure the FA Cup returns to its rightful place as the showpiece finale in the domestic calender," said Adam Crozier, the FA's chief executive. "We are delighted."

The Premier League season, which ends on 10 May, opens on 17 August, 48 days after the World Cup final. The Football League starts and finishes a week earlier. The third qualifying round for the Champions' League, where third and fourth-placed Premiership teams enter (unless they are the holders) begin on 13 and 14 August. Since the FA Community Shield (replacing the Charity Shield) is on 11 August, this would cause problems if, for example, Newcastle won the FA Cup and came third in the Premiership.

England's first post-World Cup international, a friendly, will be on 21 August with their first qualifier for the 2004 European Championships likely to be on 7 September. The opponents will be determined at a fixtures meeting between the Group 7 countries (England, Turkey, Slovakia, Macedonia and Liechtenstein) in Istanbul on 11 March.

And, for those lucky footballers who win a place in the Intertoto Cup, the third round, where English clubs are likely to enter, begins 20 July.

Significant dates

10 Aug Football League commences; 11 Aug FA Community Shield; 17 Aug Premier League commences; 30 Aug European Super Cup; 4 Jan FA Cup third round; 2 Mar Worthington Cup final; 3 May Football League ends; 10 May Premier League ends, 17 May FA Cup final; 21 May Uefa Cup final; 24, 25, 26 May Play-off finals; 28 May European Cup final.