For the first time in 44 years, Hospital Cup ties will be played on Saturday afternoons instead of the Sunday evenings in 2018.

As a result Junior Cup ties will now take place on Sunday afternoons, the two end-of-season competitions swapping days for the 2017-18 season.

After the success of last season’s ’Super Sunday’ at Ballafletcher, both Hospital Cup semi-finals will again be played simultaneously at the venue but, as with the rest of the competition, this time on a Saturday.

The Isle of Man FA has made the move as part of several tweaks to the fixture framework for the 2017-18 campaign.

The decision was made towards the end of the 2016-17 term to push the league season’s start back until after the Festival of Motorcycling.

The opening games in the Premier, Division Two and combination leagues will be on Saturday, September 2, two weeks later than normal.

A round of mid-week games will follow on the Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.

Grand Slam winners St George’s take on last season’s top-flight runners-up Corinthians in the season’s traditional curtain-raiser, the Eric Fletcher Charity Shield, on Sunday, August 27 at the Bowl.

Other changes for the new season include the FA Cup final being moved forward 48 hours.

Traditionally held on the Monday of the Easter weekend, the final will now take place on the Saturday afternoon. The Woods Cup final will remain in its usual Good Friday slot.

There are also changes to the festive schedule.

Although the Railway Cup final will take place on Boxing Day as usual, there won’t be a break in the league programme over the Christmas holidays this year with games taking place on December 23 and 30.