Sensible and affordable

[Ben_W]

The Football Association believes it has set prices at a "sensible" level for the FA Cup final between Manchester United and Chelsea on 19 May.

The event returns to Wembley after the stadium was rebuilt and tickets will be £35, £60, £80 and £95, with a limited number at £17.50 for under-16s.

"It was important to set ticket prices at a sensible and affordable level," said FA chief executive Brian Barwick.

"We believe these are very competitive for what will be a historic match."


Football in general is rapidly pricing itself out of the reach of a lot of ordinary supporters

Football Supporters' Federation chairman Malcolm Clarke

Manchester United beat Watford 4-1 to reach the final, while Chelsea booked their Wembley place with a 2-1 extra-time win over Blackburn.

Chelsea were the last winners of the FA Cup when the final was played at the old Wembley.

They beat Aston Villa 1-0 in 2000.

Both clubs will decide on their allocations after meetings this week and tickets will then be sold via Chelsea and Manchester United ticket offices only, with no general sale.

However, the Football Supporters' Federation believe the lowest ticket price should be between £15-20, not £35.

Chairman Malcolm Clarke said: "That would have been quite reasonable. The two clubs could certainly afford it.

"Football in general is rapidly pricing itself out of the reach of a lot of ordinary supporters.

"Across the board football, is too highly priced and this is just the latest example."

[NJ10]

The lowest ticket price is still pretty steep. Once you consider travel (for Utd fans anyway) and spends, your looking at way over 100 quid......

I got my ticket last season for Cardiff for £45 (i think), then had a £62 train fare, and spent around the £50 mark.....its a lot of money to spend, especially if you dont win...

anyone on here going?

[Ben_W]

I'll be applying, especially with these sensible and affordable ticket prices.

[Werdna]

FA explains Cup ticket allocation
Wembley
Wembley will host its first FA Cup final since 2000
The Football Association has explained its allocation of FA Cup final tickets.

Finalists Chelsea and Manchester United have each been given 25,000 tickets, with a further 17,000 seats taken by Club Wembley members on 10-year leases.

The remaining 23,000 tickets will go to other clubs alongside grass roots and other football organisations.

A spokesman said: "The final belongs to the whole country, it's also a chance to reward the thousands who give up their time and energy to football."

The 23,000 tickets go to groups the FA calls "the football family", which include the 92 professional football clubs, 134 full member clubs, Uefa, Fifa and county and international football associations.

Chelsea and Manchester United's own sponsors will be given tickets from the club's allocation, meaning not all of their 25,000 tickets will be available to fans.

Chelsea have already made public their disappointment at the decision.

In a statement on their website, Chelsea said: "We were very disappointed to receive this news as many of our regular fans will now miss out on a great day for both clubs."

The move also raises the possibility of tickets being sold to desperate fans for well above their face value on the black market and internet auction sites, something the FA say they're ready for.

The spokesman told BBC Sport: "We strongly urge fans not to buy any FA Cup final tickets on the black market. These fans will face a real risk of not getting into the game.

"Security measures are in place to prevent people selling on or counterfeiting tickets."

I don't know how tickets were allocated before at Wembley but this seems just ludicrous. Giving half of the tickets to people who will only marginally interested in the game and probably not too bothered who wins will definetely make the atmosphere at the game crap...

[red pisces]

to get that allocation is a joke,but then again nothing the fa does surprises me anymore.

[Ben_W]

They'll be more Reds (and probably Chelsea fans) there, just having paid over the odds for some of the other 40,000 tickets.

[alansmithy14]

yah the ticket prices looked cheap but tons of people bought them for over 1,000 pounds!!