Free Lionesses help secure 2,000 extra England seats amid World Cup ticketing issues

England fans have been reporting issues with the Women’s World Cup ticketing system all tournament, but thanks to work from the Free Lionesses team the vast majority of travelling England fans should make tomorrow’s semi-final.

The semi-final match between England and Australia tomorrow in Sydney has had problems with ticketing as demand is expected to far exceed Stadium Australia’s 80,000 capacity.

England’s section will be a mix of fans after Australian fans were able to use online codes meant for England fans in FIFA’s online ticketing system to get seats in the proposed England end, which could have meant Lionesses fans missing out.

However, the Free Lionesses Fans’ Embassy team worked with the FA to report issues and feedback concerns and the FA were able to secure an extra 2,000 tickets from FIFA following those requests.

“By the FA and Free Lionesses working together, we have been able to quickly identify and resolve issues supporters were reporting to us,” says Deborah Dilworth, head of our Free Lionesses Fans’ Embassy.

“Between the FA and ourselves we have managed to help most England fans out in Australia who wanted tickets for the semi-final to secure them, however we suspect a small number may be missing out some of which is down to the nature of tournament football and the demand outsripping the supply.

“It’s something we’ll be taking up with FIFA post-tournament alongside raising other issues we have heard supporters experience across the tournament.”

The FA says it will be reviewing its ticketing process with FIFA as a result of the issues seen at the Women’s World Cup.

“We worked with FIFA to secure an additional allocation of tickets for England’s World Cup Semi-Final against Australia,” an FA spokesperson said. “The details of how to purchase these tickets were communicated directly to our fans on our England Football channel, and we are disappointed to see reports that a limited number of these tickets have been accessed by other fans.

“We are working with FIFA to review this ticketing process going forward.”

Despite these ticketing issues, Wednesday’s semi-final is expected to have a positive atmosphere in keeping with the rest of the tournament so far.

“The tournament has been a great mix of fans in the stadiums, and Wednesday will be no different,” Deborah said.

“And as the popularity of the Lionesses and women’s football grows, more must be done to encourage and support our travelling fans, who’ve been brilliant all tournament.

“Creating a distinct, colourful England end is hugely important for both the travelling fans and the team.”