England game to go ahead as normal

Despite reports today suggesting England’s World Cup qualifier with Andorra would be played behind closed doors the FA have now announced that the game will go ahead as planned with no restrictions. Kick-off is still scheduled for 8.15pm tomorrow (Wednesday, June 10th) although the FA have advised fans to arrive as early as possible. Turnstiles will open earlier than normal, at 5.45pm, while fans have also been encouraged to make their own arrangements for transport home and not rely on public transport.

UPDATES TODAY: Chiltern Railways say they will not be stopping at Wembley Stadium Station anymore today. The Jubilee Underground line is running with minor delays. The overground service from Euston to Wembley Central has been running but is stopping at 5.30pm. Please note that news is constantly breaking so we do advise checking the relevant websites regularly. See Transport for London’s live updates.

The disruption has been caused as members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union have launched a strike which will last for 48 hours from 7pm tonight (Tuesday, June 9th) until 7pm on Thursday, June 11th.

This lead to the possibility that England’s final competitive fixture of the season would be played behind closed doors. Brent Council officials have to issue a safety certificate for games at Wembley to go ahead and the planned tube strike threatened this process.

However, this is not the case and the game will go ahead despite the lack of Underground service to the stadium.

To add to fans’ difficulties it also look likely the overground service to Chiltern (the closest National Rail station to Wembley) will be cancelled due to fears it will be overcrowded and unsafe. For updates on this keep checking chilternrailways.co.uk or tfl.gov.uk.

FA chief executive Ian Watmore said: “Ever since we were alerted to the planned industrial action, we have been working very hard to ensure that the match goes ahead and that as many supporters as possible can see the game. We can confirm that the game will not be played behind closed doors and every ticket purchased remains valid. The turnstiles will now open earlier at 5.45pm to ease the disruption.

“However, due to the planned industrial action, travelling to and from the game is going to be very difficult and we are disappointed that England supporters are being inconvenienced in this way.

“We recommend that supporters plan to travel to Wembley as early as possible and prepare for a disrupted journey. We are advised that no additional transport will be available on the evening. The journey home will be particularly difficult and supporters should make their own arrangements and not rely on public transport.

“As a special measure, refunds will be made available to ticketholders who decide not to attend this game because of the tube strike.”

Details of the procedure for applying for refunds will be posted on TheFA.com in the days after the game as will other updates.