Almost 7 in 10 football fans in England and Wales support future FA cup semi-finals being held outside London
Ahead of the FA Cup semi-finals this weekend, where Manchester City and Liverpool will have to travel down to London over the Easter weekend, new research by Ipsos shows strong support amongst football fans in England and Wales for moving future FA Cup semi-finals to neutral venues out of London.
When asked 68% of football fans in England and Wales support future FA cup semi-finals being held at neutral venues outside London. Just 11% oppose this. One in five (19%) neither support nor oppose and 2% don’t know.
A majority of football fans of all ages support this move but it is notable that older fans are more supportive than younger fans. 74% of those aged 55-75 support such a move compared to 63% of fans aged under 35. Some 7 in 10 fans in London support the move, even though semi-finals are currently played at Wembley.
Keiran Pedley, Research Director at Ipsos, said:
There is clear support amongst football fans in England and Wales for future FA cup semi-finals being held at neutral venues outside London. It is interesting that support is strongest amongst older fans, which may reflect the memory some have of this happening in the past. Of course, how likely this is to ever happen in the future is another matter entirely.
Technical note
Ipsos interviewed 831 football fans in England or Wales as part of a representative survey of 2,051 adults aged 16-75 in Great Britain. Interviews took place on the online Omnibus using the Ipsos.Digital platform on 8th-11th April 2022. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.
