FA Cup Final To Return To Wembley

The £800m Wembley Stadium is to host this year's FA Cup final after being awarded its safety certificate, the Football Association has confirmed.

Brent Council granted the certificate which allows the north London venue to house up to 90,000 spectators.

It followed the successful completion of two test events including England's under-21 game against Italy last week.

The stadium had been due to reopen in August 2005 but delays led to music and sports events being cancelled.

FA chief executive Brian Barwick said: "I'm happy to confirm that the 2007 FA Cup final will be played at Wembley Stadium. It's the announcement that a lot of people have been waiting for and is great news for football fans in this country and indeed the world over. The Cup Final and Wembley Stadium go hand in hand and everybody at the FA is looking forward to a great day."

The last FA Cup final to be held at Wembley was in 2000 and the last full England international saw the national side beaten by Germany in October the same year.

Last Saturday about 60,000 people watched England's under-21s play and the week before 40,000 Brent residents attended a special "community day".

The two events were designed to test escalators, turnstiles and the venue's 2,618 toilets.

Wembley Stadium managing director Alex Horne said: "Wembley and the FA's staff have worked incredibly hard to put on two great test events in a very short period of time. We realise that there is still some way to go yet and are digesting the feedback we have received in order to ensure that coming to Wembley Stadium is a fantastic experience for fans."

Brent Council's chief executive Gareth Daniel said: "We are delighted to be able to hand over this safety certificate, bringing back world-class music and sporting events to Wembley."

The FA also announced that finals of the FA Trophy and the FA Vase will be held at Wembley on 12 and 13 May respectively, with a capped capacity, as part of the build up to the official opening on FA Cup final day on 19 May.