• FA unable to organise match in England due to Olympics
• 15 August date likely to be unpopular with league managers
The Football Association is close to agreeing to stage England's first game of next season, a "home" friendly against Italy, in Switzerland in a move that is unlikely to impress Premier League clubs preparing for the new campaign.
The match against the Azzurri, England's first after Euro 2012, is scheduled for the international window on 15 August only three days before the start of the domestic season, but cannot be held at Wembley due to the London Olympics. There are strict rules regarding scheduling of events at participating venues both before and after the Games, meaning stadiums used to host the Olympic football tournament, such as Old Trafford and St James' Park, will still be in "Olympic mode" and unavailable for the fixture.
The FA has already switched the Community Shield, scheduled for the same day as the final of the Olympic tournament at Wembley, to Villa Park on 11 August and is now hopeful of staging the match against Italy at the Stade de Suisse in Bern. The home of Berner Sport Club Young Boys would become the second neutral venue in Switzerland to host an England friendly, after Geneva staged the 3-2 win against Argentina in November 2005.
Yet whether the trip abroad is welcomed by Premier League clubs and managers remains doubtful. Fifa's August international window has prompted widespread criticism in recent years, meaning players have to be absent from their clubs in the buildup to the opening weekend of the league season. England have benefited from home matches in the past two years – they were scheduled to play Holland at Wembley last August only for the rioting in London to prompt the fixture to be postponed, and beat Hungary in 2010 – but will now travel abroad to fulfil a "home" fixture.
The FA is still waiting to make its first formal approaches to candidates to replace Fabio Capello, with those inquiries expected to take place before the end of the month. Harry Redknapp remains the favourite to succeed the Italian, though he has publicly expressed his frustration at the August friendly in the past, when trying to prepare Tottenham Hotspur for the campaign ahead.
"Can someone tell me why you have an international week the week the season is starting?" Redknapp said in 2010, before his England players departed to face Hungary. "Can someone tell me what that is all about? They've just been away as a group together to the World Cup. They're probably sick of the sight of each other and now they're going to have an international week before the first week of the season, before we play Manchester City and a European qualifier." Read More
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