Phil SumblerThey may be rivals on the pitch on Saturday competing for a place in the Premier League but for now both Swansea City and Brentford are united in one common cause and that is to try and get more fans into the ground on Saturday.
As it stands a crowd of just 10,000 people will be at Wembley to watch the game at the weekend with each club having less than 4,000 of their own fans there to watch what is termed to be the richest game in football.
The clubs though are lobbying to get more fans there especially as the game comes less than two weeks after more than double that number watched the FA Cup final and on the same day as the FA wanted to host the Champions League final in front of more than 20,000 as well at the same venue.
According to the joint statement issued earlier today, there is plenty of sympathy from the FA, the EFL and Wembley for getting more tickets but nothing can be done without government intervention that seems unlikely at this late stage heading into the game. But, of course, we live in hope.
“We were naturally disappointed when we were informed of the allocation for the play-off final,” said Swansea City chief executive, Julian Winter.
“The general admission number is approximately 4,000 for each team, which seems unfair considering the size and capacity of Wembley Stadium. All 12 play-off semi-finalists wrote to the EFL and FA last week to ask for increased numbers, but, despite their acknowledgement and supportive nature on the issue, this was unsuccessful.
“The FA Cup final recently hosted over 20,000 spectators which helped generate a fantastic atmosphere for both teams – something which has been sorely missed over the past 14 months.
“Supporters are the lifeblood of the game we all love, and it is such a shame that more of them cannot be at Wembley to cheer on their team in what will be a brilliant occasion for all those clubs involved in the play-off final weekend.”
Jon Varney, Chief Executive of Brentford added “We find it incredulous and unjustifiable that the Championship play-off final will be restricted to just half that number. The 12 Sky Bet play-off semi-finalists joined together last week to plead for an increased capacity, but to no avail. We want to make one last call for something to be done to allow more fans in.
“This is not just a matter for Brentford. We saw this weekend a reminder of what it is like when grounds have fans in. The finals will be better spectacles for all with more people inside the ground and we hope something can be done.”
