Sheffield United’s Wembley ticket decision explained after fan debate over approach

Sheffield United’s Wembley ticket decision explained after fan debate over approach

Sheffield United had not long before sealed their spot in the play-off final later this month when the question regarding tickets for the Wembley extravaganza reared its head again. Following a spectacular 6-0 aggregate semi-final victory over Bristol City, the Blades have been awarded slightly over 35,000 tickets to the final on May 24.

United confirmed ticket information for the final not long after securing their spot, with season-ticket holders getting first dibs when sales start at noon today. However, the decision to limit them to one per person sparked considerable discussion online, with fan Ryan Green writing on X: “One per season ticket… we will not sell out. It’s very frustrating.”

Fellow Blade John Reeves said, “Stop this stupid obstacle course to get tickets… naturally, fans want to be with family and friends whenever possible.” Our worthless sales system prevents this and ensures that we will not sell our allocation. Just get them sold, United, and stop messing around.”

Others were quicker to recognize the problems that would occur if the policy was changed to allow season ticket holders to purchase more than one seat within their priority window. The Star knows that United has roughly 22,000 season pass members, and there is concern that allowing them to buy multiples could prevent others – including fellow season-ticket holders – from receiving a ticket before they sell out.

United’s decision to limit ‘general sale’ tickets to those with at least 200 loyalty points has also sparked criticism, but it was made to avoid the risk of opposition fans purchasing a ticket in the Blades end and causing subsequent issues.

The 200 loyalty point figure was chosen to avoid excluding the vast majority of fans, which equates to approximately two games attended in the last 19 years since the system was implemented, and we understand that nearly 115,000 Blades fans meet that criteria. Wembley authorized the club’s sales timetable before tickets went on sale this afternoon.

Tickets are only available online through United’s ticketing website, and prices range from £37 for adults in the cheapest category five to £105 in category one, with concession (60+ and U16) and young adult (16-21) seats also available. Membership card holders can secure their seats beginning at 9 a.m. on Friday, May 16, before tickets go on general sale that afternoon at 1 p.m.

A club representative told The Star: “While we understand that the club’s ticketing arrangement may not suit everyone’s personal circumstances, we believe it is a fair and consistent process that rewards the loyalty of our season ticket holders.”

“The sales schedule has been approved by Wembley and the EFL and the one ticket per season ticket holder policy gives every one of our season ticket holders the opportunity to purchase a ticket to see Chris Wilder’s team at Wembley.”