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MPs applying pressure for more play-off tickets

Martin Heath
BBC News, Essex
Reuters Wembley Stadium from an elevated view, seemingly taken a few hundred metres away. The arch can be seen over the large stadium. There are tower blocks in the distance and white clouds and blue sky above.Reuters
Wembley Stadium has increased the allocation to 21,500 tickets for both clubs, plus extra ticket packages that include coach travel

Labour politicians in Southend-on-Sea say they will "keep the pressure on" to persuade Wembley Stadium to release more tickets for the National League play-off final.

The allocation for the Blues and opponents Oldham Athletic have been increased to 21,500 tickets each, not including packages that include coach travel.

But two MPs and a council leader said they "continue to implore [Wembley] to allow more fans into the ground".

The stadium says it is concerned about safety and has pointed out that no London Underground trains are stopping at Wembley Park station due to engineering work.

An extra 2,722 promotion final tickets went on sale at 12:00 (BST) on Monday.

Following a meeting with Wembley Stadium, the club said it had secured an additional 1,059 tickets along with 1,663 tickets that will be sold as part of coach packages.

A spokesperson for the club said: "We remain committed to pushing all stakeholders to find a solution to the capacity issues."

David Burton-Sampson with very short grey hair smiling at the camera while wearing a grey jacket and red and white striped shirt. He is standing in front of a brick municipal building with a mail box on the wall and a craft fair sign attached to the wall.
David Burton-Sampson, the MP for Southend West and Leigh, has written to various offices to try to get the allocation increased

The two Southend MPs Bayo Alaba and David Burton-Sampson, together with Southend-on-Sea City Council leader Daniel Cowan, said they had been "working hard over the weekend trying to build support for our campaign to increase the ticket allocation".

In a joint statement, they said: "We will continue to push for more, as we want to ensure the final allocation is meaningful and maximised."

Baya Alaba with very short dark hair smiling at the camera and wearing a blue and white shirt. He is standing in front of a brick wall with trees behind it.
Bayo Alaba, MP for Southend East and Rochford, is a member of the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee

Southend United said it was told the capacity was increased for both clubs because extra train services had since been scheduled for Wembley Central and Wembley Stadium stations.

The club said it was confident it could sell more than 35,000 tickets.

"We are still pushing all stakeholders to think creatively and to find solutions that can safely increase the capacity further," a club spokesperson said.

Former Southend, Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and England striker Stan Collymore posted on X, to say he had spoken to the Mayor of London's office about the issue.

The mayor's office was hopeful that supporter capacity would be upped to at least 60,000 following the next safety meeting on Tuesday, he told his followers.

PA Media Stan Collymore with very short dark hair looking to the right of the camera while wearing a black coat. He is in a crowd of people, possibly at a football match.PA Media
Footballer Stan Collymore said he hoped for good news from a safety meeting on Tuesday

A Wembley Stadium spokesperson said "the safety and security of fans" was of "paramount importance".

The engineering work at Wembley Park could not be moved to another weekend, they explained.

Transport for London said it had arranged for more Bakerloo line trains to serve Wembley Central.

Chiltern Railways will be putting on extra services to Wembley Stadium.

The final is due to kick off at 15:00 BST on Sunday.

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