There’s a big local derby coming up in the football very soon. In the Uefa Euro 2012 qualifier, Wales host England at the Millenium Stadium on March 26th.
It’s a huge game for both countries. Wales haven’t had the best of times of the football field of late. Their last match was a 3-0 defeat at the hands of the Republic of Ireland in Dublin, but new boss Gary Speed will be looking to the derby fixture as a chance to reclaim some much needed confidence into his side and a bit of confidence as he looks to build to the future.
England, meanwhile, need to take maximum points to keep the qualification campaign on track after a disappointing result against Montenegro saw them go down a slight diversion from the straight road to Poland and Ukraine.
With it being a huge game, there has been a huge demand for tickets. So much so that tickets have been sold to customers that shouldn’t have been, and the FAW need them back!
You may or may not know that I’m an Englishman and I follow the England national team around the world (for my sins). I’m a member of the supporter’s club which allows me to purchase tickets for away fixtures and a trip to the wonderful stadium which is the Millenium Stadium couldn’t be missed.
Fortunately, I managed to get my ticket on the day of sale and more fortunately for me, my ticket has not been affected by the recall.
Two sections of the ground which were allocated to England supporters have now been cancelled by the FAW (Football Association of Wales). This is a good three or four weeks after the tickets were sold to these people and just three weeks before the fixture.
They have known about this fixture for a long time too. The draw for the qualification campaign was made some time ago, I really do not understand how such a basic administrative error could be made?
It’s egg on the face of the people at the FAW. Months of preparation would have been completed to make sure these things shouldn’t happen and yet so close to the game being played after people have coughed up their hard earned money for a ticket, they are now told that actually, they shouldn’t have been able to. It’s an absolute farce and a disgrace.
Not only will these people have paid for their tickets, some of them will have already paid for travel to the Welsh capital for the game. Following football is not a cheap hobby by any means, but being at the game and experiencing a great atmosphere and enjoying the day makes it worthwhile. For the people affected, this has been cruelly taken away through no fault of their own. FAW, you should be ashamed of yourselves.
Author: Paul Harper
0 comments:
Post a Comment