West Ham fans will be sorely disappointed by the 4,890 seats allocated to the team for the Europa Conference League final – and getting to Prague will become even more difficult as travel prices skyrocket.
As the June 7 showpiece takes place at Prague’s Eden Arena, the eyes of the world will be on the Czech Republic’s capital.
But the stadium has a capacity of 19,370 – less than a third the size of London Stadium, West Ham’s home venue in Stratford.
Eager West Ham quickly booked their travel arrangements to Prague after Thursday’s semi-final victory over AZ Alkmaar.
But it means the cheapest direct flight to Prague now costs £1,100 according to Skyscanner, and that’s likely to get worse as thousands of fans want to travel to soak up the atmosphere in the country’s capital.
The 19,370 capacity Eden Arena will host the Europa Conference League final on June 7
West Ham receive fewer than 5,000 tickets despite playing at a 60,000 capacity ground
Skyscanner reports that the cheapest return flights to Prague cost nearly £1,100
Fans have been candid about their plans on social media, with some happy to have booked ahead of West Ham progressing to the final, and others making arrangements to travel via Manchester or other cities to save money.
Around 10,000 ticketless West Ham fans attended last season’s Europa League semi-final defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt, and it is believed many will also travel to West Ham’s first European final in 47 years.
UEFA initially reserved 8,500 tickets for the public and reserved 4,300 for sponsors and national associations. This means that each team will only receive 4,890 tickets for the final.
For context, West Ham sold 55,000 season tickets for the 2022-23 season, meaning less than one in 11 regular home fans can legitimately buy a ticket to the Hammers section.
Even Fiorentina’s Stadio Artemio Franchi has 43,147 seats – more than double the number in attendance on the day.
Many fans are still expected to travel to Prague to soak up the atmosphere of the historic city, but there are concerns that fans are being ripped off by secondary ticketing sites and scammers.
West Ham booked a place in the final against Fiorentina by beating Dutch AZ Alkmaar
Even before West Ham’s place in the final was confirmed with a 1-0 win over AZ Alkmaar, the Metropolitan Police and the FA expressed public order concerns, particularly about ticketless fans.
UEFA insisted they could not change the venue as the match was given to Prague last year after a year-long bidding process. However, they accepted their mistake and promised next year’s final in a stadium with a minimum capacity of 30,000.
The Met would be responsible for maintaining order among the traveling fans as West Ham are a London club. The Football Policing Unit takes charge of away games involving the England national team, but their responsibilities are devolved to local divisions for club affairs.
Another complication is that there are less than three weeks until the final, so preparation time is limited, to either play at the ground in Prague, or provide more opportunities for fans in East London.
And security fears in Prague are unlikely to be allayed after Thursday’s incident in the Netherlands, with West Ham players stepping in to defend their families against AZ Alkmaar ‘ultras’ after the final whistle.
The Metropolitan Police and the FA previously feared the low ticket numbers
The Hammers considered plans for a fan zone outside their London Stadium home
MailSport previously revealed that West Ham are considering turning part of the Olympic Park around the club’s home stadium into a fan zone so fans can come together and enjoy the final in June.
But the game against Fiorentina is West Ham’s first European final in 47 years, and it won’t be an opportunity many Hammers fans will pass up if they can.
As previously reported, the cheapest ticket for the final on June 7 will cost just £22.11, while the most expensive ticket for fans will cost £110.56.
However, black market fans are likely to expect to pay significantly more – without any guarantee that their tickets are genuine.