The Arsenal Supporters’ Trust has expressed its disappointment with UEFA’s ticket allocation for the 2026 Champions League final.
UEFA has confirmed that the finalists — Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain — will receive 17,200 tickets each, which amounts to around 28 per cent of European football’s governing body’s stated capacity for the host stadium, the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary.
UEFA has stated that 39,000 out of the 61,400 tickets are available directly for fans and the general public to purchase.
The Puskas Arena has a listed capacity of 67,215 but also had an attendance of 61,476 for the 2023 Europa League final between Sevilla and Roma.
“The AST has been campaigning for many years to get UEFA to treat fans of the competing finalists better,” a statement from the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust read.
“This stems back to the debacle in Baku (the 2019 Europa League final). There has been some improvement but this year we are disappointed to see an allocation of only 17,000 tickets.
“We have also raised this with Arsenal who say they will convey this to UEFA. But it won’t change matters for this year.
“UEFA needs to remember it is the fans who support the competition throughout the group stages and knock out rounds and show more respect to our role when making plans for the final.”
The Athletic approached Arsenal and UEFA for comment. UEFA has previously stated “more than 40 per cent of the stadium capacity will be offered to the finalists’ supporters in the most affordable categories, i.e. ‘Fans First’ and category three.”
‘Fans first’ seating refers to each finalist’s ticket allocation, while category three tickets are €180 (£155; $211). As for the rest of the stadium, category two tickets are €650 (£561; $765) and category one tickets are €950 (£821; $1,117).
All sales windows will be run via the UEFA ticketing portal.
For those who will miss out on tickets to the final, Arsenal have confirmed they will hold a screening of the game at the Emirates Stadium, with more updates on ticketing for that expected in the near future.
Arsenal secured their pathway to the final via a 1-0 semi-final victory over Atletico Madrid at the Emirates on Tuesday. A first-half goal from Bukayo Saka was enough to earn the victory and confirm the north London side’s place in the Champions League final for the first time since 2006.