The FA Cup final will not be the traditional end-of-season showpiece event next year as a result of fixture changes which will see the last round of Premiership games taking place a week later.

The Football Association, Premier League and Football League have held a series of meetings over recent weeks designed to find a blueprint for the next three years to cope with growing fixture chaos within the game.

The FA's stated priority had been to "re-establish the FA Cup in its traditional place in the football calendar" - and to a large extent they have succeeded in that aim.

The third round will now be restored to its normal January date after the December experiment proved to be a much-criticized failure, while no club will be allowed to be exempt in the future like Manchester United were this season.

The Premiership season will also be delayed by two weeks until August 19, giving players a longer summer break after the European Championship finals and ensuring that they are better prepared for England's vital World Cup qualifier against Germany in October.

However, with replays also being retained in the FA Cup until the semi-final stage and the Football League's play-off weekend being protected at the end of May, something had to give.

It has proved to be the date of the FA Cup final, which has previously always been scheduled as the climax of the domestic season, while Premiership clubs will also be forced to cram matches into a season which is two weeks shorter.

Next season's FA Cup final - to be held at either the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Twickenham or at the ground of a leading club not involved in the match itself - will therefore take place on May 12.

The final round of Premiership matches is then scheduled for May 19 to ease the burden on clubs reaching the latter stages of European competitions and to allow a 'get-out' date of the previous Wednesday on which to hold any postponed games.

Traditionalists already angered by this season's tinkering with dates could well be further upset and the situation may arise that at least one of the FA Cup finalists could find themselves preoccupied with a vital relegation or title decider the following weekend. (Xinhua)