The Football Association will today confirm that the next three finals will be played in the Welsh capital, ending speculation that there could be an embarrassing last hurrah for the Twin Towers.

Cardiff will also play host to the Worthington Cup Final, Play-off Finals and the Auto Windscreens Shield Final as it effectively becomes the temporary home of all English foot-ball's major club occasions.

Soho Square has received assurances - backed by the threat of heavy financial penalties - that the much-criticised pitch at the 72,000-capacity ground will be replaced completely after rugby union's Six Nations Championship.

Senior FA figures, who always planned to move their showpiece occasion - and the Charity Shield - to Cardiff, have been involved in intensive negotiations for the past six months with Millennium Stadium chiefs in a bid to avoid any prospect of the game being ruined by the surface.

Rugby internationals have cut up the pitch dreadfully and there have been increasing doubts over its fitness to stage an FA Cup Final, especially as the excellent Wembley surface was the stuff of legend.

While the decision to base the pitch on a palate system seemed sensible, with each piece of turf grown individually at St Athan in the Vale of Glam-organ and then dropped into place, it has been a disaster. Instead of the clumps of turf bonding together, the pitch has broken up appreciably, leaving at times an almost unplayable surface.

When Wales played Norway in October, the 1-1 draw was overshadowed by the appalling condition of the pitch, which left manager Mark Hughes saying: 'The pitch is poor. You can't trust the run of the ball. It's very difficult for skilful players like Ryan Giggs. I don't know what they plan to do but they'll have to do something.'

Groundstaff in Cardiff and Wembley have had detailed consultations with turf experts from around Europe - including the team responsible for the Stade de France outside Paris - in a bid to find the solution.

Rolls of turf grown in the Vale of York will be transported to Cardiff by Leicestershire-based contractors before being laid as a carpet on top of hundreds of small palates of topsoil, an exercise costing more than £100,000.

The process will begin today, with the first new pitch laid ahead of Wales' opening Six Nations clash against England on February 3.

But a new surface will then be put in place in the last week of April, with no events at the Stadium for the fortnight before the Cup Final takes place on May 12. The retractable roof will remain open, whatever the weather conditions.

The FA believes it has covered every aspect by the imposition of penalty clauses in the contract, and spokesman Adrian Bevington said: 'We always made it clear that the Millennium Stadium was our preferred option while Wembley was being rebuilt. We're delighted that lengthy negotiations are nearing a successful conclusion.'

The move to Cardiff has been anticipated for some time and, despite suggestions that Murrayfield could be used - and initial hopes that Twickenham might be the Cup Final venue - it was only the question mark over the pitch that delayed the official announcement until 48 hours before this year's third round.

FA chiefs felt that a neutral venue was needed - thus ruling out Old Trafford - and Cardiff is deemed to be equally accessible for fans from all over the country. Its capacity exceeds all club grounds in England.