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Chelsea has reportedly returned 800 unsold tickets to UEFA,
according to a report from the BBC, for the Champions League final against
Manchester City this weekend.
The report says the unsold tickets were part of a charter
package offered by the club, which included subsidised flights at £200 and a
24-hour trip to Porto and back on Saturday to take in the final.
Chelsea and City were each given 5,800 tickets for the game,
which will see the Estadio do Dragao at 30 per cent capacity after the final
was moved to Portugal from Turkey earlier this month.
Turkey was placed on the UK Government's red list for travel,
meaning it was almost impossible for fans to attend travelling from the UK,
with UEFA announcing Porto as the venue as its replacement.
Football.London understands the club has sold more than 5,000
tickets for the game and UEFA had placed more tickets on general sale on Monday
morning. It's understood that potential issues around the expense and number of
Covid tests, plus the price of a ticket, added to the hiked costs of travel and
accommodation in Porto.
Tickets that were sold independently, just under half, and not
part of the charter package were in very high demand and went quickly.
Portugal is currently on the green list for UK travellers,
meaning there is no quarantine needed upon returning amid coronavirus
restrictions. However, that doesn't mean getting there and back is
straightforward.
Supporters going to the final must have a negative Covid PCR
test within 72 hours of travel that are not cheap, and also fill out a
Passenger Locator Card, as well as taking a rapid antigen test to get back home
and then provide another negative test within two days of landing back in the
country.
UEFA's somewhat eyewatering ticket costs are also being given as
a prohibitive factor. The prices of tickets at Category 4: €70, Category 3:
€180 Category 2: €450, and Category 1: €600 were all made available.
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