Featured image credit: Samuel Regan-Asante on Unsplash
The English Football League (EFL) has confirmed that standing areas will be in place for this month’s Carabao Cup final at Wembley Stadium.
The match between Manchester United and Newcastle United will be the first major domestic English men’s final in almost 35 years where standing will be permitted.
The two clubs will receive an allocation of 867 standing-area seats at Wembley. The zones will be located behind each goal in the East and West Stands to accommodate both sets of supporters.
Teams across the Premier League and Championship have been able to introduce safe-standing areas since the start of the season after former UK Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston approved the wider roll-out last summer.
At the time, it was announced that Wembley would be able to offer small licensed standing areas for domestic matches this season, and plans for the Carabao Cup final on February 26 have now been confirmed. Wembley is not set to offer safe standing during England matches.
Five clubs – Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Cardiff City – were chosen to trial licensed safe-standing areas from January 1 last year, and since the start of this season all other teams across the top two divisions have been able to follow suit.
Premier League clubs Wolverhampton Wanderers and Brentford, along with Championship outfit Queens Park Rangers, have formally introduced safe-standing areas this season. Newcastle also committed to safe standing, initially for away fans, at St. James’ Park.
Standing had previously not been permitted in the top two leagues of English football since a law was introduced in the wake of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, which led to the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans.
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