Football: Svens wish is granted

Subject to qualification, England will have four weeks to prepare for the 2006 World Cup finals, after The Football Association announced that next years FA Cup final will be held on Saturday May 13.

The move comes after sustained pressure from England boss Sven Goran Eriksson to allow for more preparation time, after a lethargic exit to Brazil in the 2002 competition was blamed on fatigue.

To compensate for the movement of the historic final, the end of the Premiership season will also be moved back a week, although the structure of the cup will change as a result.

Arsene Wenger says that the FA should scrap the Community Shield rather than mess around with the FA Cup.

The FA plan to scrap FA Cup replays in next season's fifth and sixth round of the oldest cup competition in the world for club's involved in European football.

The plan is said to help Sven Goran Eriksson have a further week of preparations for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.