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Hereford fans at the FA Vase Final in 2016 |
Hereford will once again grace the hallowed turf of Wembley after reaching the FA Trophy Final. The Bulls saw off National League side Woking in the last four to reach Wembley for the second time in five years. However, it will be the first time that any Hereford side will be competing in the FA Trophy Final after Hereford United only reached the semi finals on two occasions. Below we look towards the final and try and answer some questions that fans have been asking.
WHEN IS THE FINAL?
The final will be held on Saturday, May 22 - exactly five years after Hereford competed in the FA Vase Final. The match will follow the FA Vase Final as part of the FA's Non-League Finals Day, kick off times for both matches are yet to be decided.
WHO ARE THEIR OPPONENTS?
Hereford will face Hornchurch of the Isthmian League Premier Division. The Essex side have had a remarkable run in this season's FA Trophy, seeing off three National League sides along the way. In the semi finals, they beat Notts County in a penalty shoot out after a thrilling 3-3 draw.
WILL I BE ABLE TO ATTEND?
Hopefully. The Government's roadmap out of lockdown states that after May 17, in the largest outdoor seated venues, where crowds can be spread out, up to 10,000 people will be able to attend (or a quarter full, whichever is lower). However, there are far more questions than answers at this stage. There will be two games staged at Wembley that day. Previously, supporters can buy tickets for both games if they so wish, although that looks highly unlikely this time because of the global pandemic. The FA will have to take into consideration that four sets of supporters will be attending Wembley so the kick off times will have to be staggered enough to ensure that any mixing is kept to a minimum. Scrapping extra time - as has happened throughout this season's competition - will help. Regarding how many tickets Hereford may receive, what will help their cause is that there will be far less demand from the three other teams, meaning that more may be given to the Bulls as long as it is safe to do so. If Notts County were in the final, then the chances are that far more fans will miss out on a ticket. The FA Cup Final takes place the week before and has been earmarked as a pilot event. There has been rumours that up to 20,000 could attend that game, so whether more fans will be allowed to attend Non-League Finals Day remains to be seen. Wembley will also be the home of a lot of matches during the delayed Euro 2020 tournament that takes place in June and July. Therefore, the FA and the Government may be open to having more fans attend Non-League Finals Day to see how safe it is with the Euros on the horizon.
HOW WILL TICKETS BE DISTRIBUTED?
Again, who knows. It looks highly likely that each competing club will receive an allocation to sell themselves, like what will happen for the Carabao Cup Final. If that is the case, then it will be up to the individual club's discretion as to who gets priority and how many tickets each person can buy.
WHEN WILL THEY GO ON SALE?
After reaching the FA Vase Final in 2016, an initial allocation of 3,000 tickets per club immediately went on sale before more were distributed according to demand. However, due to the pandemic there will be a lot of dialogue taking place between all parties, so it may be a few weeks before fans can start purchasing them.