FA Cup final: Let’s get more tickets into hands of fans

The Football Supporters’ Federation yesterday (Thursday 7th January 2016) wrote to the FA calling on them to cut the number of FA Cup final tickets redistributed to the football family in half.

This would free up 10,000 tickets every year for loyal, match-going fans.

The FA has responded to the letter saying: “Ticket allocation at The Emirates FA Cup Final is being reviewed by The FA Board. In so doing, it is important to strike a balance between the fans of the finalists and those grassroots volunteers who richly deserve to be rewarded for their tireless efforts throughout the season. Without pre-empting the outcome of the review, it is hoped a solution can be found that provides more tickets for competing clubs.”

The letter has been co-signed by 90 different supporters’ organisations – if you’d like to retrospectively add your fans’ group to the list, email [email protected].

FSF letter to the FA (Thursday 7th January 2016):

Dear FA,

The FA Cup has supplied countless special memories across generations of fans and, with the Third Round only days away, we’ll see many of those famous images again and again.

We’re sure many more FA Cup memories will be created in the years ahead but, unless the FA act, tens of thousands of supporters will see those scenes on TV rather than from their seat at Wembley.

That is because season-after-season thousands of loyal fans miss out on final tickets. Wembley holds 90,000 yet only 25,000 tickets are given to each competing club. The remaining 40,000 are redistributed to the “football family” and Club Wembley.

Every year the FA Cup’s reputation takes a blow because of this.

All-too-often supporters who have followed their side through the early rounds of the FA Cup and the semi-final miss out on the big day or are forced to pay extortionate prices for tickets which have been sold on the black market. Those tickets should be going directly into the hands of fans.

The Football Supporters’ Federation and all our affiliates and associates listed below call upon the FA to listen to supporters and increase the number of tickets it gives to fans of competing clubs.

If the FA cut the number of FA Cup final tickets it redistributed to the football family in half, this would free up at least 10,000 tickets every year for loyal, match-going fans.

We understand that the FA must convince its members to voluntarily take fewer tickets but we also believe that this is the right thing to do for both the good of the game and the long-term health of a competition that we all love.

Yours sincerely,

Kevin Miles
Chief Executive,
The Football Supporters’ Federation

SIGNATORIES

• 1894 Group – Manchester City*
• A Love Supreme – Sunderland
• All Gone Latics – Wigan Athletic*
• Arsenal Independent Supporters’ Association (AISA) – Arsenal
• Arsenal Supporters’ Trust – Arsenal
• Association of Millwall Supporters (AMS) – Millwall
• Aston Villa Supporters Trust – Aston Villa
• avillafan.com – Aston Villa
• Bangla Bantams – Bradford City
• Barnsley FC Supporters’ Trust – Barnsley
• Blackpool Fans’ Progress Group – Blackpool
• Blackpool Supporters’ Trust – Blackpool*
• Black Scarf Movement – Arsenal*
• Blue & Gold Supporters Society Ltd – King’s Lynn
• Bradford City Supporters’ Trust – Bradford City
• Brentford Independent Association Of Supporters’ – Brentford
• Brighton & Hove Albion Supporters’ Club – Brighton and Hove Albion
• Bristol City Supporters’ Trust – Bristol City
• Cambridge Fans’ United – Cambridge United
• Canaries Trust – Norwich City
• Cardiff City Supporters’ Club – Cardiff City
• Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust – Cardiff City
• Chelsea FanCast – Chelsea*
• Chelsea Supporters’ Trust – Chelsea
• Coalville Town Supporters’ Club – Coalville Town
• Crawley Town Supporters’ Society Ltd – Crawley Town
• Crystal Palace Supporters’ Trust (CPST) – Crystal Palace
• Denbighshire Liverpool FC Supporters Club – Liverpool
• Everton South Wales Branch – Everton
• Everton Supporters’ Trust – Everton
• Exeter City AFC Supporters’ Trust – Exeter City
• FC United of Manchester 
• Forces2Canaries – Norwich City
• Forever Bury – Bury
• Fulham Supporters’ Trust – Fulham
• Gloucester City AFC Supporters’ Trust – Gloucester City
• Halifax Town Supporters’ Club – Halifax Town
• Harrogate & District Everton Supporters’ Club – Everton
• Huddersfield Town Supporters’ Association – Huddersfield Town
• Hull City Supporters’ Trust – Hull City
• Ipswich Town Independent Supporters’ Trust – Ipswich Town
• Leeds United Supporters Trust – Leeds United
• Leyton Orient Fans’ Trust – Leyton Orient
• Level Playing Field*
• Liverpool FC Supporters’ Committee – Liverpool 
• Liverpool Supporters’ Club (Deeside) – Liverpool
• Liverpool Supporters Union – Liverpool
• Manchester City Disabled Supporters’ Association – Manchester City
• Manchester City Official Supporters’ Club (1949) – Manchester City
• Manchester United Supporters’ Club (Oxford & Banbury Branch) – Manchester United
• Manchester United Supporters’ Trust – Manchester United
• Mariners Trust – Grimsby Town
• Merseyside Socios of Torrevieja 
• My Old Man Said – Aston Villa
• Newcastle United Supporters Trust – Newcastle United
• North West Sussex Seagulls – Brighton and Hove Albion
• Nottingham Forest Supporters’ Club – Nottingham Forest
• Notts County FC Official Supporters Association – Notts County
• NUFC Fans UTD – Newcastle United
• Official Wycombe Wanderers Supporters’ Club – Wycombe Wanderers
• Pompey Supporters’ Trust – Portsmouth
• Port Vale Supporters’ Club – Port Vale
• Portsmouth FC Supporters’ Club (Central Branch) – Portsmouth
• Preston Supporters’ Group – Preston North End
• Pride in Football 
• Pride of Irons – West Ham United
• Proud Lilywhites – Tottenham Hotspur*
• QPR1st Supporters’ Trust – QPR
• Rams Trust – Derby County
• RamsActive – Derby County
• REDaction – Arsenal
• Rochdale Fans United – Rochdale
• Saddlers Club – Walsall
• Saints Disabled Supporters Association – Southampton
• Satis – Everton
• Scunthorpe United Supporters’ Trust – Scunthorpe United
• Shareholders for Albion (S4A) – West Bromwich Albion 
• Sheffield United Supporters Association – Sheffield United*
• Shrewsbury Town FC Official Supporters Club – Shrewsbury Town
• Sky Blue Trust – Coventry City
• Stevenage FC Supporters Association – Stevenage
• Stoke City Southern Supporters’ Club – Stoke City
• Sunderland AFC Supporters’ Association – Sunderland
• Sunderland Supporters’ Association (Easington Branch) – Sunderland*
• Swansea City Supporters Trust – Swansea City
• Swindon Town Supporters Trust – Swindon Town
• Tangerine Knights – Blackpool
• The 1881 – Watford*
• The Blue Union – Everton
• The Cards Trust – Woking
• The Claret and Blue Army* – Aston Villa
• The Foxes Trust – Leicester City
• The United Trust – Carlisle United
• Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust – Tottenham Hotspur
• True Faith – Newcastle United
• Union FS – Leicester City
• Vale Park Beano – Port Vale
• Vikings Supporters’ Co-Operative – Doncaster Rovers
• Wolverhampton Wanderers London Supporters Club – Wolverhampton Wanderers
• Wycombe Wanderers Trust – Wycombe Wanderers

*Signatory added retrospectively

Many Arsenal fans will be acutely aware of the scarcity of FA Cup final tickets and the FSF would like to thank Arsenal Supporters’ Trust for their support with this initiative. You can download the letter in its original format here.

Thanks to Action Images for the image used in this story.