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For the first time in 35 years, Wembley Stadium has allocated standing tickets for a major cup final. The Carabao Cup Final on the 26th of February between Manchester United and Newcastle United will see both sides allocated a total of 867 standing tickets each.
These standing areas will adhere to the safe standing regulations that all Premier League clubs, which incorporate safe standing areas, agreed to at the start of the season to ensure supporters are safe at all times.
The standing areas at Wembley will be in the lower tier and directly behind each goal. Tickets for these areas will be allocated directly through both clubs and will come out of their total allocations, which stand at 32,000 each.
This season has been the first time since 1994 that some supporters have been legally allowed to stand in football grounds in the Premier League and the Championship. It followed a number of successful pilots last year at Old Trafford, the Etihad Stadium, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and the Cardiff City Stadium.
A long road back
The abolishment of standing at football areas came as a direct result of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 when 97 Liverpool fans were tragically killed after a crush happened mid-way through the match.
The Taylor Report, which was produced in light of the disaster, recommended that all designated standing areas at Premier League stadiums should be scrapped and replaced with seats. As such, all Premier League grounds for the past 29 years have been all-seater stadiums.
Over time, European clubs followed suit with UEFA banning standing areas in their competitions. However, over the past decade, safe-standing areas have started to become more and more popular in countries such as Germany and Spain. These areas are built so that fans are unable to fall forwards thanks to regular rail placement.
With many supporters still electing to stand at football matches, it makes sense that the FA, EFL and Premier League are getting on board with incorporating safe standing areas at stadia across the country.
A date to savior for both sets of fans
For the 62,000 Manchester United and Newcastle United fans that manage to get their hands on tickets for the final at the end of the month, it will be a date to look forward to.
While Manchester United have enjoyed countless trips to Wembley in years gone by, they haven’t played a match at the national stadium since the 2018 FA Cup Final when they lost 1-0 to Chelsea. Their last cup success at Wembley came in 2017 when they defeated Southampton 3-2 in a thrilling final.
While five years may seem like a long time for Manchester United fans, it has been 24 years since Newcastle last played at Wembley, meaning this will be their fans’ first experience of the “new” Wembley. Their last cup final ended in defeat to Manchester United in 1999 when goals from Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes moved United just one game away from the treble.
Both clubs are enjoying a good season and both sets of supporters will fancy their side’s chances.
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