Huge cost of FA Cup for Stoke City fans

Apr 24 2011 by Ben Goldby, Sunday Mercury

STOKE City fans are already paying up to £1,200 on the internet for FA Cup final tickets – before they have even been released for sale.

Websites are selling seats for next month’s clash with Manchester City above face value in the hope that desperate fans will pay over the odds to reserve a ticket for Wembley.

The resale of tickets is illegal and websites offering them can be shut down.

An allocation of 25,000 from the FA means all of Stoke’s 21,000 season-ticket holders are guaranteed a seat when they go on sale a week tomorrow.

The club say they don’t expect to have any left over for general sale.

Only the clubs can sell tickets to the final.