Responses from the FA and TfL

Last week, following the announcement of the reduced allocation for our promotion final at Wembley, we issued a joint statement with Shrimpers Trust and wrote to four local MPs. All four MPs responded to our emails and made representations to the relevant authorities on our behalf. They shared the responses this morning which we wanted to share with all Latics fans.

Response from Transport for London

Claire Mann COO to Angela Rayner TfL Transport Planning for Nat League Play-Off Final FINA.

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Response from the Football Association

"Thank you for passing on the concerns of Angela Rayner and Oldham Athletic Supporters Foundation regarding this weekend’s Vanarama National League Promotion Final at Wembley Stadium.

For background, the planned works by TfL, which have resulted in Wembley Park Station being closed on 1st June, are significant engineering works that cannot be moved or accommodated on other weekends. 

Wembley Park Station is a key transport hub for Wembley Stadium, handling around 65% of all visitor movement on an event day (up to 60,000 people). With Wembley Park not operational the number of people who can attend an event at Wembley Stadium, safely, is severely affected.  We are dependent on Wembley Stadium and Wembley Central stations, which, due to their size, have limits on the number of people they can process efficiently and safely.

Given this, as a result of travel assessments carried out with key stakeholders including TfL, Chiltern Rail and National Express, we had to limit the capacity of the ground to ensure fans can safely arrive and depart the venue. 

Since then, having worked closely with TfL and Chiltern Rail we have been able to raise that capacity to 48,00, with each club receiving 21,500 tickets. In addition, we have set aside space for extra coaches at the stadium and arranged a park and walk system at nearby Fryent Park, which will enable extra supporters not travelling by rail to attend.

This will create further capacity for a crowd of around 56, 000 which we are expecting for Sunday’s final.

We acknowledge the frustration a limited capacity event means for supporters at Wembley Stadium.

However, the safety and security of fans is of paramount importance, and each event is assessed individually to ensure supporters can safely arrive and depart from the venue based on travel options.

We look forward to welcoming both sets of fans to the stadium on Sunday 1st June."