TWO of my colleagues head for London in a few days’ time to catch Saturday’s FA Cup final between Everton and Chelsea at Wembley. Their passion for Everton was met with mock approval from the guys on the desk. One comment which sums up what the others on the desk were saying is this: "Go for it, man, you may never see Everton play at Wembley again in your lifetime."

But I can understand why these two Everton fans were spending all that money, making that hectic trip down, catching the game and flying back shortly after.
  
A final at Wembley Stadium is always special for fans of English football and even players in the English league will tell you that.
   
Only recently Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney was going on about how it will be a thrill to play at Wembley. Of course he was talking about playing in the final but I am sure he was talking about the magical atmosphere of the stadium as well.
  
When the FA Cup final was finally brought back to be played at the new Wembley in 2007 after seven years being away because the stadium was being reconstructed, there was as much excitement about the FA Cup final being held in the new Wembley as about the two teams – Manchester United and Chelsea – that were going to clash that year for the Cup. English newspaper described the occasion with much melodrama - "Return of the prodigal son" FA Cup back to its "spiritual home" and so on.
  
The venue for a game, especially a Cup final, adds to the flavour and stature of the tournament and these were the reasons the choice of the Old Police Academy as the battleground for the Police Cup rugby final last Friday was puzzling to me. It was the only negative mutters I picked up throughout the game and even the days following.
  
The schools rugby tournament is arguably the most passionately contested of the school sport. Year in, year out, you get good clean, hard-fought rugby from the teams. A number of the teams are closely matched and because the finalists have often been schools with a rugby tradition, you get the alumni, and former school players and teachers coming down for the games. For some reason too, there appears to be a higher proportion of parents of players down at these games.
   
Last Friday when Anglo-Chinese Junior College played Raffles Institution (Junior College), the showdown had all these and more and it was why I was disappointed it was played at the Old Police Academy ground. Don't get me wrong, the pitch is a good one and the venue is one with history and tradition and after all, it is the Police Cup.
   
But it is a waste for the Police not to milk the benefits of a tournament that is viewed so positively and is so well supported. A simple way to do this is to pick a good venue. On certain years, the Police Cup was played on the Singapore Cricket Club (SCC) ground. SCC has a strong rugby tradition and for these schoolboys, knowing that they are playing on the same pitch that the SCC International Rugby 7s is held only raises the level of their performance.
  
On top of the better quality of rugby, such an association would also raise the stature and prestige of the Police Cup even more.

It is time the Police Cup final is held at a venue no less than the SCC pitch. Make it a permanent move and what better time to do it than next year when the Youth Olympic Games will be held here and the world celebrates youth sport.