Nottingham Forest have "reluctantly" ruled themselves out of the running to host the FA Women's Cup Final for the third successive year.

The Football Association had asked club officials whether they wished The City Ground to be considered as the stage for the game after two record-breaking years.

But Forest have declined as they would be unable to accommodate the final in their schedule following their promotion to the Championship.

Forest's Operations Manager Brandon Furse explained: "We're delighted the FA were considering us to host the final again but logistically it's impossible.

"The game is scheduled to take place on Monday, May 4, which is the day after we complete our programme of Championship games against Southampton at The City Ground.

"We therefore do not feel we would have time to prepare the ground properly for the Cup Final and have reluctantly ruled ourselves out of the running.

"As a club, we are honoured to have hosted the game for the past two years and played a part in making it such a prominent event.

"We hope the FA will consider the claims of Nottingham Forest as a host venue again very soon."

The City Ground staged the Women's Cup Final for the first time in 2007 with a record crowd of 24,529 - more than 10,000 more than the previous best - watching Arsenal overcome Charlton 4-1.

Arsenal were the winners again this year as the showpiece game returned to The City Ground, beating Leeds by the same scoreline in front of another record attendance of 24,582.