da bet nacional：
da bet7： The FA don’t do themselves any favours do they? The organisation has become a figure of hate over the past few years, with their archaic stance towards technology, and general running of the game in this country garnering much criticism from fans of clubs across the nation.
Their latest action has done nothing to endear them the support of two of the nation’s most followed sides, who have been allocated just 25,000 tickets apiece for the FA Cup final. To put this into perspective, only just over half of the fans in the stadium will be genuine supporters of the clubs, who are likely to have followed their team through the competition, hoping to gain a glimpse of their heroes on the hallowed Wembley turf. The majority of the remaining 40,000 will be made up of those who represent companies that have provided some form of financial boost to either the competition, the FA or the stadium itself. This goes against the whole idea of the tournament, in which the art of football should celebrated by those who have a passion for the game.
There has been a lot of talk regarding the disappearance of the typical match-day atmosphere at stadia of late, with many ground around the country far from providing the cauldron-like experience associated with professional football. This move by the FA will only serve to further that trend, with around half of those in attendance not being true followers of the teams, or in some cases even football.
The FA Cup has long been about the day out for fans, who get the experience of being a part of their teams journey across the country to watch their idols. Many of the supporters who have done this will subsequently struggle to obtain tickets for the fruits of their teams labour, and arguably, the biggest game of their respective seasons.
As well as the lack of numbers, the cheapest tickets on sale will be £45, according to Liverpool’s website. The majority of passes however, will range between £65 and £115, with a large quantity of these likely to cost around £80, pricing many fans out of the market, when you consider travel expenses as well. It would be tough to drop prices drastically, but if the corporate allocation were to be cut significantly, fans of the clubs would benefit from a subsequent fall in the required funds for their seat.
To an extent higher ticket prices are understandable at Wembley, with the FA having to earn back the vast investment made in the facility, yet this undermined when tickets are given away to members of various organisations who, ordinarily, wouldn’t consider attending.
As was seen in the semi-final between Everton and Liverpool, as well as the all-London clash, the atmosphere can fall flat in the giant stadium. With a large quantity of those likely to attend not being true football fans there is again the potential for a slightly subdued ambiance if the tie itself fails to meet expectations. In a period where domestic cups are losing some of their credibility, further decisions like this from the FA will only hammer more nails into the coffin.
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Fancy playing on the pitch at Anfield or Stamford Bridge?
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