Imagine attending a major concert, say by Taylor Swift, and seeing vast sections of empty seats. It’s practically unthinkable. Yet, just last weekend, a significant event at Wembley Stadium featured large areas of seating with no one in them.
The match was far from a sell-out, clearly indicating that the Football Association (FA) needs to urgently re-evaluate its approach to hosting FA Cup semi-finals.
The practical economics of attending matches in London became strikingly clear last Sunday. When Manchester City and Nottingham Forest, two major clubs located a significant distance from Wembley, competed for a place in the final, the challenges for travelling fans were highlighted.
What did millions of viewers worldwide, eager to watch the sport`s oldest competition, see on their screens? Thousands of unoccupied plastic red seats.
Firstly, it presents a very poor image. Television companies will undoubtedly be unhappy with this visual. Trying to promote a tournament with extensive empty seating is difficult, if not impossible, and it harms the competition`s reputation.
Much is said about the `magic` of the FA Cup, but the recent television coverage showing empty seats will likely prompt many to question why fans are not attending.
This is not intended as a criticism of Manchester City. They are a well-supported club, but even they could only sell approximately 27,000 of their allocated 36,230 tickets. Given this was their 29th visit to Wembley since the stadium was rebuilt in 2007, a degree of `London fatigue` among supporters is understandable.
With ticket prices ranging from £30 to £150, plus a potential 400-mile round trip, and the added costs of food, drink, and the uncertainty of train travel, it`s easy to see why many loyal fans decided the expense was too high.
Asking two clubs with fanbases far from London to travel such distances is not only expensive but also illogical.
Why not utilise high-quality stadiums that are much closer, such as Villa Park or Old Trafford?
Wembley should ideally be reserved exclusively for the final. While this might be seen as traditionalist, some traditions are worth preserving.
Reaching Wembley for the final historically carried a special aura; it was a kind of footballing promised land. By holding semi-finals there, the FA dilutes the unique status of their own competition, resulting in noticeable attendance gaps, like the over 17,000 empty seats seen on Sunday.
This isn`t an isolated incident. The 2023 FA Cup semi-final between City and Sheffield United also saw attendance fall short of Wembley`s 90,000 capacity, with fewer than 70,000 present. Similarly, the 2019 semi-final between Brighton and City drew just over 71,000 spectators.
A dose of common sense and consideration for the fans is needed. If a semi-final features two clubs from the London area, hosting it at Wembley makes logistical sense.
However, compelling fans from northern clubs to travel hundreds of miles to London, with the enormous costs involved, appears utterly unreasonable.
Football should respect and maintain its traditions, particularly those of the FA Cup. Since its inception in 1871, 44 different clubs have lifted this famous trophy, including teams like Blackpool, Burnley, Wimbledon, and Wigan. The FA Cup is a competition that deserves to be cherished and respected.
Perhaps the most celebrated giant-killing goal in FA Cup history is Ronnie Radford`s spectacular strike for non-league Hereford, which helped them defeat Newcastle in the 1970s. Radford`s reaction – hands aloft, beaming in disbelief – is an iconic image in football folklore.
The ecstatic response from the Hereford fans demonstrated what the FA Cup truly means to ordinary communities. That sense of shared joy wouldn`t have been the same spectacle with large sections of empty seats, would it?
