Manchester City will offer subsidised coach travel for 2,400 supporters who want to attend the FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool next month.
The semi-finals of England’s famous cup competition are traditionally held at Wembley but plans this year have been disrupted by scheduled train works on the West Coast Main Line.
Fans either face long drives to the capital or convoluted train journeys due to closed stations at Milton Keynes and Rugby.
City announced on Thursday morning that they would lay on 50 coaches for supporters, with a statement reading:
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“Manchester City has secured an initial 50 coaches to operate a day trip travel package for the FA Cup Semi-Final against Liverpool at Wembley Stadium over the weekend of 16/17 April.
“This follows Network Rail’s announcement that there will be nationwide rail disruptions during the Easter Weekend, which means that direct train travel from Manchester to London Euston is unavailable.
“Coach tickets will be priced at £40 per person, and further information about how you can purchase a seat and a match ticket will be issued next week.
“The match will be played on either Saturday 16 or Sunday 17 April, with the date and time of kick-off still to be confirmed by the FA.”
Fan groups have demanded the semi-final be played at an appropriate venue in the north,
but the Football Association has dismissed the idea, stating the game needs to take place at Wembley to generate more cash due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Teams are usually given an allocation of around 32,000 tickets each, which means nearly 30,000 City supporters will still need to find their way to London on the day of the game.
It will be on either Saturday 16 April or the following day, but the exact date has not yet been confirmed.
