After a week when a five-mile stretch of the M25 in England was closed for several days for repair works – drivers were warned that extended, diverted journeys could take 10 minutes longer than their normal crawl ! – Real Mallorca fans have responded magnificently when tickets for the Copa del Rey final went on sale.
Tuesday saw a morning full of nerves and excitement building up to 10am when thousands of Mallorquinistas were able to log in to get one of the precious seats to witness first-hand the club’s fourth Copa del Rey (after a gap of 21 years) to be played in Sevilla’s La Cartuja stadium on April 6 at 10pm. By one o’clock 14,500 tickets had gone and when online sales closed that night, 15,765 tickets of the 20,698 available had been sold. The demand was so great that 10,000 tickets were sold in the first hour.
Online ticket offices of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) said there had been a few minor hiccups in the system but the flow was described as relaxed. By the close of day, only tickets in eight sectors of the stadium remained available, three of them marked as having reduced visibility but with more affordable prices. The call centre managing sales will continue selling to season ticket holders until 10pm on March 25. After that period another window will be opened so that non-season ticket holders can purchase a ticket, although it’s highly unlikely any tickets will be left long before then.
In just over a fortnight Mallorca supporters should complete the largest exodus of fans in the club’s 108 year history. Until now, the largest displacement of fans was achieved in 2003 for our last Copa del Rey appearance, when we played against Spain’s oldest club, Recreativo Huelva, in Elche. Mallorca won 3-0. On that occasion, 15,000 fans painted the south end of the Martinez Valero stadium red. However, it has to be said, getting over to Elche (Alicante) was a doddle compared to trying to get to Seville.
Tickets to the final are nominative and non-transferable. Season ticket holders wishing to sit together (up to six) can book seats via one person, who must enter each person’s name, ID and subscriber number when making the booking online, and will receive emailed confirmation of each seat which must be forwarded in turn to each of the group to be validated by the final recipient only and activated on the day of the match (Got all that ?!). No refunds are possible if anyone has to drop out for any reason.
The next step, if not already completed, is to find a means of transport to get to/from the game at an acceptable price. The semi-good news is that the local government backed a recommendation to apply the 75% resident’s discount to charter flights to the game, but Madrid (PSOE & Mes) have turned it down. Marga Prohens, president of the local government, stated this was another example of Madrid’s “lack of sensitivity with the insularity and with the Balearic Islands.”
One of the supporters’ organisations, Moviment Mallorquinista, having already secured travel options for hundreds of fans, released a new travelling offer on Tuesday and it’s not for “old duffers” like me. This involves an allocation of 98 seats on a direct flight leaving Palma at 05:00 on the morning of the match, arriving in Seville at 06:30.
The return would be at 02:30, right after the match finishes, arriving in Palma at 04:00. It’s been stated that if the final goes to penalties, the plane would wait for the fans. Despite the dreadful timings, it takes away the hassle of trying to find accommodation which is nigh on impossible for miles around, or at an extortionate price.
Mobile phones are unsurprisingly essential for ticketing purposes, and if batteries run out, there will be charging points in the fan zone near the stadium. A flat battery would result in no way to enter into the ground, as the scanner would not be activated! The RFEF recommends responsible use of the phone battery.
Our opponents, Athletic Club (Bilbao) – now with a huge mural of the Williams brothers gracing the facade of the Guggenheim (with two weeks to go, Palma still has nothing) – are in their 44th final and more than 50,000 fans are expected in Seville, although only 20,000 have “entradas.” With that in mind, their pre-match fan zone has changed location to a new venue that’s wider and with less trees, to squeeze more people in ! Add to that the crowds expected for the huge April Fair in the Andalucian capital, Spain’s fourth city is going to be “rammed.”
Whatever happens on April 6, Mallorca are guaranteed a place in January’s Super Cup to be played in Saudi Arabia, although the competition itself is currently under investigation for irregularities ! The Super Cup, which Mallorca will play in for the third time (if it goes ahead), and which we won in 1998 and lost in 2003, will see an important source of income for the club. If Mallorca win in Seville, we’ll be guaranteed a place in next season’s Europa League, something we haven’t been in since 2004 when Newcastle United gubbed us 7-1 on aggregate.
AND FINALLY, a farmer drove to a neighbour’s farmhouse and knocked on the door. He enquired to the nine-year-old boy who opened it if his mother or father were at home. The boy told the farmer “No, they went to town with my brother Howard.” The farmer stood there for a moment then the young boy offered “I know where all the tools are, if you want to borrow any ? Or can I give Dad a message ?” “Well,” said the farmer uncomfortably, “I really wanted to talk to your father. It’s about your brother Howard getting my daughter Lola pregnant.” The boy thought for a moment. “You’ll have to talk to Dad about that, but I do know he charges 500 quid for the bull and 50 for the pig. I don’t know how much he charges for Howard !”