Posted on 12th March 2025
Supporter groups from the finalists of this weekend’s League Cup have written to the EFL calling for greater consideration of supporters at the fixture.
Liverpool’s Spirit of Shankly (SOS) supporter union and the Newcastle United Supporters’ Trust (NUST) have written to the chief executive of the EFL Trevor Birch calling for a reduction in ticket prices, larger allocations for competing finalists and more convenient kick-off times.
The two teams are due to play each other for the cup at Wembley Stadium on Sunday at 4.30pm.
This year each club received an allocation of 31,939 tickets – a total of 63,878. At the 2022 final, Liverpool were given 32,999 tickets and a year later, Newcastle United were allocated 32,761.
Supporter groups are questioning the decrease, calling for larger allocations in future and warn the EFL that larger corporate and sponsor allocations will lead to more tickets appearing on the black market.
Pricing
Both supporter organisations expressed concern at the rise in tickets for the League Cup final in recent seasons.
NUST were particularly concerned about the rise of ticket prices in the safe standing sections behind the goal – a critical part of the ground for generating atmosphere – where prices have risen 34.7% since their last visit in 2023.
In the 2023 final, a ticket in the safe standing section was £72 and this year it costs £97.
“Another blow to the ordinary fan during a cost-of-living crisis,” the letter says.
“And why has the cheapest category of tickets been removed from the lower tier of Wembley, with fans now having to pay substantially more? Two years ago, pitchside tickets cost £40; they are now £76 (up 90%).
“Such price hikes symbolise nothing more than greed.”
Kick-off time
Both supporter groups say that the kick-off time announced at short notice, late on a Sunday afternoon, is inconvenient for supporters and adds to the cost and burden of getting to the final.
“A later kick-off like this impacts on supporters getting home, for many it will be the early hours when they then have to get up for work the next morning, ” they said.
“Travel on public transport is difficult later on Sunday evenings with direct trains not always available, and it shows disdain for ‘green football’ campaigns as many will be forced into using their own vehicles instead of public transport.”
They are calling on the EFL, clubs and the game’s governing bodies to work in tandem to reduce the cost for as many fans as possible to attend a final and to find a more reasonable kick-off time in future.
The EFL has been in touch with the two supporter groups and will respond in full in due course.
Fans first finals?
Supporters have long argued for more supporter-orientated cup finals.
Back in 2019, led by fan groups at Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, a campaign was launched at European level aiming to create “fan first” style European finals.
It was an expensive summer for fans of those clubs travelling to the Europa League final in Baku, Azerbaijan, and Madrid in Spain for the Champions League final.
Supporters called on UEFA to increase allocations and reduce ticket prices – something that later became official policy at Football Supporters Europe (FSE), who represent fans at European level.