How are away end allocations calculated in the FA Cup?
The calculation is quite simple in the FA Cup.
Prior to the semi-final and final, which are played at Wembley, visiting clubs are allowed up to 15 per cent of all tickets for the stadium they are playing at.
That is unless 15 per cent of the stadium exceeds 9,000. So clubs travelling to Old Trafford, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the London Stadium and the Emirates Stadium will have their allocations capped at 9,000, unless the home clubs are willing to offer more.
Despite the calculation seeming quite simple, there are still a few stipulations.
The visiting club must make a request for the amount of tickets they would like for their fans within four days of the draw. More often than not, teams will request the full 15 per cent but, in some scenarios, they will take fewer tickets than they are allowed.
In the instance that not all away tickets are sold by the visiting club, the remaining tickets must be returned to the home club on or (preferably) before the day of the match.
The tickets in the away end are not the only ones that are accessible to the visiting club. They are also entitled to a third of seats usually reserved and known as “home and visiting directors’ seats” up to a maximum of 24 seats.
The disabled facilities must also be separated. The visiting club have the right to claim 15 per cent of those seats as well.
Visiting clubs will not always be guaranteed 15 per cent of the seats throughout the stadium, though.
The Safety Advisory Group (SAG) must also agree to the away allocation that has been proposed. The SAG is made up of representatives of services including the police, fire, ambulance and building authority.
For fixtures that pose risks to health and safety, they can choose to decrease allocations for visiting clubs.
