Women's FA Cup: Wembley set to stay as venue for final

The crowd at Wembley for the 2016 final beat the previous Women's FA Cup record of 30,710

Wembley is set to continue hosting the Women's FA Cup final for the foreseeable future, beyond 2017.

The final was first held at Wembley in 2015 and, on Tuesday, the Football Association confirmed it would return for a third consecutive year in 2017.

Danielle Carter's goal saw Arsenal Ladies beat then-holders Chelsea Ladies 1-0 in the 2016 final, watched by a new competition-record crowd of 32,912.

The BBC understands there are currently no plans to move to a different venue.

The FA will continue to look at the location for the final every season but Wembley has emerged as the preferred option.

The competition, which was first staged in 1971, previously saw finals played at venues including Dunstable Town FC and Scunthorpe's Glanford Park before moving to the national stadium in 2015.

That first final at Wembley, won by Chelsea Ladies against Notts County, was watched by a then-record crowd of 30,710.

Extra prize money

The FA have also tripled prize money for the 2016-17 competition, with the winners set to receive up to £27,000.

"Last year's final was another great occasion for the game and with attendances increasing year on year, it looks set to be another big moment for women's football," FA director of football participation and development Kelly Simmons said.

"It was also the right time to look at prize money and we've worked hard to increase this at every level of the competition, which will allow clubs to reinvest back into their sides and make the incentive to progress through even higher."

Tickets for the 2017 final will be free for all children for the second successive year.