Manchester City will be roared on by a sold-out allocation at Wembley in their FA Cup final against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Manchester City are competing in their third successive FA Cup final after back-to-back meetings with Manchester United.
Nearly 34,000 Manchester City fans will be at Wembley for Saturday’s FA Cup final against Crystal Palace.
City have confirmed their total allocation has sold out with two days remaining before the final, having initially been given just over 30,000 tickets. An additional allocation has also sold out in spite of price rises of up to 95 per cent from last month’s semi-final.
Thousands of City fans opted to stay away from that semi-final win over Nottingham Forest, keeping their money in their pockets given the cost of following the Blues to Wembley multiple times per season. The final will be their 31st visit to the new Wembley Stadium since it re-opened and third this season.
To make it even more difficult for fans to commit to watching the final, the FA increased prices by up to 20 per cent from last year’s final, which marked a considerable rise from the semi-final. In the lower tier at Wembley, tickets cost £90 against Nottingham Forest, rising to £175 against Crystal Palace for the final.
At the start of the week, the only tickets remaining were a small number of Level 2 hospitality tickets priced at between £255-285. These have now sold out, meaning City will be roared on by 33,467 fans at Wembley – a significant increase from the semi-final despite the price rises.
An FA spokesperson defended the increases, committing to a price freeze for the next three FA Cup finals, saying: “The Emirates FA Cup is our biggest revenue producer, and it allows us to invest more funding into every level of English football.
“We regularly review our ticket prices for Emirates FA Cup matches at Wembley Stadium to ensure they are in line with other major sporting events, and we have not increased the prices of tickets for the Final over the last six years despite the rise of inflation during this period.
“This season, we have introduced limited price increases for tickets to the final, with the majority of these in the higher-priced categories and minimal increases in the lower-priced categories. We will be freezing the prices of almost all tickets to the Emirates FA Cup Final for the next three years.”
Crystal Palace have also sold out their allocation meaning Wembley should be heading for a sell-out if hospitality and other allocations are taken up. The 4.30pm kick-off time has proven contentious with supporters after a reported stand-off between broadcasters BBC and ITV resulting in a delay in confirming the start time and subsequent rises in the cost of travel and accommodation for City fans.
Manchester City have released their home kit for next season – featuring the reimagining of the sash running through their shirt. For the first time ever, the famous City blue will have a white sash through it as Puma put a new twist on an old favourite.