Why Tottenham Fans Will Outnumber Manchester United Fans in Europa League Final
It is now less than a week before Manchester United take on Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final.
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The two will walk onto the San Mames turf in Bilbao looking to salvage what has been a pathetic 2024/2025 season.
United are currently languishing in 16th place on the table, with Spurs just a position below them. The Red Devils swapped managers midseason, firing Erik ten Hag and bringing in Ruben Amorim, but that hasn't panned out as expected.
Tottenham, meanwhile, have faded away under Ange Postecoglou despite the former Celtic manager making a strong start to his tenure in England last season.
Be that as it may, the fans of both teams are expected to troop to Bilbao in their numbers in the hope that their club will win a trophy and get into next season's Champions League.
The San Mames capacity is slightly over 53,000 people. Both clubs have been assigned 15,000 each, while the rest will be up for general sale and sponsors.
There had been concerns that the stadium couldn't match the demand of the fans who wanted to watch the final in person, but UEFA stood firm in its decision. It will be the first all-English final since the 2021 Champions League final.
Mail Sport reports that around 15,000 Spurs fans without tickets will travel to Spain compared to around 2,000 followers of United in a similar position.
The report states that the idea of a final is unusual for Spurs fans who want to maximise on the opportunity to sample out the atmosphere.
Spurs were the last in the European final in 2019 when they lost to Liverpool in the Champions League. Their other final was way back in 1984.
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Bilbao police have also conferred with their London counterparts to see how they secure the perimeter wall of Wembley Stadium. The Spanish police wanted to know how to deal with crowd trouble after the scenes during the Euro 2020 final at Wembley.
Two separate fan zones will be established to minimise any issues.
In a related report, a supercomputer predicted the Europa League final. Both teams have had poor seasons but have managed to reach the European final.
United beat Athletic Bilbao in the semi-finals after seeing off Lyon in the quarter-finals. Tottenham beat 2022 winners Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-finals before beating Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt in the semis.
The winner will qualify for the Champions League next season despite spending the better part of the season in the bottom half.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
