The UCL final is a weekend festival of football, people travel from all over the world to attend. It wasn't when we went to Porto, but I went to Milan when Real played Athletico, and they had three fan zones, one for each team and one for neutrals. Throughout the city centre they had events on. It really was a great weekend.
I'll rephrase - You said that people need to secure tickets before being able to make travel plans. You also said that everyone is guaranteed a ticket. If people are therefore guaranteed a ticket, what is to stop them making travel plans now?
I'm sure you know best, but you're not going to the EU, it's the developing world, the middle east etc and children at 13/14 are often considered adults.
I bought an E bike during Covid, went on it a few times but last outing a hooligan driver doing about 70 miles an hour missed me by no more than 6 inches, so it’s been in the shed since, flogging it and will pay for my once in a lifetime trip with three of my good friends one of who has cancer so he’s taking the opportunity as well.
a supporters club member can request a ticket and get allocated one, without needing to be a season tik holder never mind being in the cup scheme. Thats the way it is and always has ben. As Didsbury has stated - everyone who wants a tik (or can afford one) will get one.
Because we let them! Those who control and supply the game, whether governing bodies or TV companies, have managed to package and market a sport that just 30 years ago was on its arse, and turn it into a world's most globally addictive drug! Even if those who were there years ago didn't attend, then the day trippers, who view their own presence at matches as a fashion accessory, would buy those tickets anyway.
If what you say is true that’s a fucking scandal. Why the club thinks a City fan in an SC is any better or worse than a City fan who chooses not to be (and vice versa) is fucking disgraceful in the extreme
I went to New York to see City.
I get the impression that the club finds it easier to administer ticket sales through the SC. I'm not saying that this is morally right, but it may explain this predilection.
Somebody who attended a meeting with the club yesterday
That's not subsidised though, that's only subsidised if they secured the planes today. Last week you could book travel for comfortably less than half that price. City would have, or should have secured planes well in advance of then for whatever the price was at the time before demand had an impact. if we were able to buy a single plane ticket last week for a few hundred, city should have secured entire planes for that price if not less, there's no reason why their costs should be reflective of current price hikes. The only possible reasons for city charging as much or similar to the current prices are they've had a monumental cock up securing planes in which case they really should be eating the cost themselves or they've decided to cash in on the demand themselves and charge closer to the current going rate.
Thousands of those 18,000 won’t go for numerous reasons
Maybe you’ve been unlucky but I’ve not seen anything major at away UCL for some time and even last two visits to Madrid police were not OTT other than unnecessary lock-ins. Ultimately our away fan base is fairly well-behaved in comparison to others, and Inter doesn’t have a massive hooligan problem anymore. For sure there might be a fair few local Turks who will try to stir things up but things are very different these days and also there will be thousands of people in Istanbul who are not regulars of either club so it will be a different atmosphere. Any junior who has been to Anfield or the rags etc shouldn’t miss out if they can afford to be taken.
Well I’m only speculating and basing it on what they charged for club trips to places like Munich and Madrid.. from memory these were £400 to £500 so it’s reasonable to assume a trip to Istanbul will be significantly higher
