SWANS JOIN FIGHT TO INCREASE ALLOCATION
TICKETS PLEASE!
SWANSEA City and Brentford have joined forces to call for an increased ticket allocation for their Championship play-off final on Saturday.
Both clubs will only be able to bring just under 4,000 fans to Wembley on Saturday – despite the magnitude of what is often referred to as the ‘richest game in football.’
In a joint statement, both clubs made a public call for more tickets to be allocated to supporters – with a petition having already been set up.
“We were naturally disappointed when we were informed of the allocation for the playoff final,” said Swansea City chief executive, Julian Winter.
“The general admission number is approximately 4,000 for each team, which seems unfair considering the size and capacity of Wembley Stadium. All 12 play-off semi-finalists wrote to the EFL and FA last week to ask for increased numbers, but, despite their acknowledgement and supportive nature on the issue, this was unsuccessful.
“The FA Cup final recently hosted over 20,000 spectators which helped generate a fantastic atmosphere for both teams – something which has been sorely missed over the past 14 months.
“Supporters are the lifeblood of the game we all love, and it is such a shame that more of them cannot be at Wembley to cheer on their team in what will be a brilliant occasion for all those clubs involved in the play-off final weekend.”
The Swans have received an allocation of 3,951 tickets – with Brentford set to have a similar number of supporters in the 90,000-seater venue.
The remaining 2,000 or so tickets will be given to sponsors and affiliates.
Understandably, Swansea fans have been left frustrated by the limited allocation they have allotted for what is undoubtedly their biggest game in a number of years.
Many have pointed to the fact that Leicester City and Chelsea both had more than 6,000 of their own fans in attendance for the recent FA Cup final at Wembley. A total of approximately 21,000 fans attended the game.
However, as that contest – which the Foxes won 1-0 – was part of the Events Research Programme (a pilot event), it was permitted to host a greater number of fans than what is permitted in the current Government guidelines. Step three of the UK Government’s roadmap states a maximum of 10,000 people can attend large outdoor seated venues – providing the venue can host more than 16,000 people.
‘‘ We were naturally disappointed when we were informed of the allocation for the play-off final - Swansea City chief executive Julian Winter