Fans boost as club gets another 1,000 tickets
SWANSEA City and Brentford will both receive an extra 1,000 tickets apiece for Saturday’s Championship play-off final, it has been announced.
The capacity for thewembley showpiece had initially been capped at 10,000 supporters, prompting both clubs to issue joint statements pleading for a great number of fans to be in attendance.
Both clubs were told only 3,951 supporters from each side were permitted to attend, which came as a disappointment given the magnitude of what is often referred to as the ‘richest game in football.’
Although the stance was that this would be part of an NHS trial and therefore numbers were limited, there was a hope from both the Swans and the Bees that a greater number of fans could be allowed to attend safely.
That hope has now turned into reality, with each club’s allocation rising by 1,000, meaning almost 5,000 supporters from each side will be able to attend, taking the overall capacity up to 12,000 for Saturday’s clash in the 90,000-seater venue.
Swansea confirmed on their website that all fans who were unsuccessful in the first ballot will now be eligible for a ticket for Saturday’s clash.
They said in a statement: “We are pleased to announce that all fans unsuccessful in the first ballot will now have a ticket for Wembley. We will send email confirmation to all of these fans that they now have a ticket later tonight (Wednesday).
“The remaining additional tickets are now on sale for all 2020-21 season ticket holders and all 2021-22 season ticket holders.
“Due to the lack of time available to the club, the additional tickets will be given on a first come, first served basis for those eligible fans mentioned above until they are sold out.”
An EFL spokesperson said: “Having moved our play-off schedule to align with the Government’s move to Step 3 protocols and enable fans to attend, we look forward to welcoming supporters back to Wembley at the Sky Bet EFL play-off finals.
“While the small increase in the Championship final is welcome, we would of course have preferred to admit fans in much greater numbers, but like other public events are subject to the Government’s Step 3 guidance.
“Unfortunately, the play-offs were not selected to operate as a pilot event as part of the Government’s Events Research Programme, despite a request from the EFL on behalf of the clubs involved and their supporters, which meant that achieving significantly greater capacities at all three finals was not possible.
“The EFL shares the disappointment of the clubs and their supporters that many fans will be absent but we will continue to liaise with the Government in the coming weeks as we pursue our aspiration of a return to full stadia for the start of next season.”