The Mag
·14 février 2025
Newcastle United box holders dismayed by Carabao Cup final tickets allocation- Fair?
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The Mag
·14 février 2025
Carabao Cup final tickets have been the massive discussion point this week amongst Newcastle United fans.
Monday saw the club announce when NUFC fans would get their chance to buy them.
Six stages, with only the first three stages/pots seeing the qualifying supporters (season ticket holders who met certain criteria) guaranteed to be able to buy Carabao Cup final tickets.
Pots/stages four and five with ballots for qualifying season ticket holders but only if any tickets left.
Then finally the sixth stage seeing Newcastle United members and remaining season ticket holders together in another ballot, in the very unlikely situation whereby any tickets are left. Unlike 2023, not a single ticket guaranteed to be made available for a ballot to the reported 100,000+ Newcastle United members.
However, it has now emerged that it isn’t only NUFC members who are left wondering at the fairness of the club’s ticket allocation process for Wembley…
Craig Hope writing for The Mail – 13 February 2025:
‘Newcastle are dealing with a furious backlash from lucrative corporate supporters who are planning to boycott home cup matches after their allocation for the Carabao Cup final was slashed.
One box holder says he feels ‘robbed and conned’ after the 10 seats for which he pays more than £50,000 per season were rewarded with only four tickets for the Wembley final on March 16.
Two years ago, for the Carabao Cup final defeat by Manchester United, corporate clients were given 10 tickets each and had expected the same this time around. They were not told in advance by the club that it could be different.
They were shocked then, when an email landed communicating that they were eligible for just four tickets for the final versus Liverpool.
Angry phone calls to account managers followed and one of the reasons given for the cut was that the club has ‘more partners’ to satisfy compared to two years ago…’
I think the reaction of many Newcastle United fans to the dismay of these box holders, these ‘corporates’, was very predictable.
Craig Hope then later addressing what some NUFC fans had said in reaction to his exclusive on the box holders…
‘I get why the word “corporate” paints a certain picture. But some box holders I spoke to are ex ST holders. They’re fortunate now to be able to afford a box, which they see as 10 STs for friends & family and same people go to every game. Not every box is a business full of clients.’
I think that once again, what is fair and reasonable for all people who pay to watch Newcastle United, is what we should be looking at.
The club is very secretive about exactly how many Carabao Cup final tickets go to whoever, how many tickets have gone to ‘normal’ fans is a total unknown.
However, a close friend was at very front of queue when Pot/Stage two opened on Thursday and couldn’t believe how few options remained. With pretty much all of the better tickets already gone/unavailable in the NUFC sections.
If cup final tickets were handed out all over the place to any ‘corporate’ who went to one or two matches, then that would be scandalous.
However, as I understand it, many of the NUFC box holders have had them for years and as Craig Hope says, use them for family and friends every match.
Even without that, I think if you are paying say fifty grand or more for the same ten seats every match (in a box), then not unreasonable that you could expect ten Carabao Cup final tickets.
If you expected more than ten, fair enough if other fans would have no sympathy.
However, in the sales process for season ticket holders, the Pot Two that went on sale on Thursday with all qualifying ST holders guaranteed a ticket, this looks to me as though what box holders could have reasonably expected for themselves.
‘Pot 2: Seat selection opens Thursday, 13th February at 12 noon to season ticket holders enrolled within the cup scheme who attended four Carabao Cup matches.’