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Rangers have booked their place in the Europa League final on May 18 after last night’s thriller at Ibrox.
But now that the dust has settled on the club’s 3-1 victory over RB Leipzig, the rush for fans to buy tickets and find a way to Seville for the side’s first European final in 14 years is well under way.
This morning Rangers assured supporters the club was working through the UEFA ticketing allocation process and travel options with tens of thousands expected to descend on the Spanish city.
The club tweeted: “After last night’s historic victory in the Europa League, we have begun planning for the final in Seville. The club is now working through the UEFA ticketing allocation process and travel options for supporters.
“We are already aware of the significant demand for tickets and will update supporters as soon as we have further information.”
When is the Europa League final and where is it being held?
Rangers will play Eintracht Frankfurt at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium in Seville, Spain, on Wednesday, May 18 with kick-off at 8pm UK time and 9pm local time.
The 42,000-capacity ground is the home of the Europa League’s most successful club, Sevilla FC.
Both finalists will receive 10,000 tickets for the showpiece clash with another 13,000 made available for fans and general public by UEFA.
It’s 19 years since Celtic fans descended on the same city for their UEFA Cup final vs Porto – though that game was held at the Estadio de La Cartuja when the Hoops were defeated 3-2 back in 2003.
Around 80,000 Celtic fans travelled to Spain for that game and similar numbers could be expected for next week’s final.
How can Rangers fans get to Seville?
It won’t be easy. Air fares have soared with the only remaining flights on matchday from the UK to Seville departing from Gatwick Airport.
Madrid and Malaga are other possible destinations to fly into – with relatively cheap train fares to Seville, but there are currently no direct flights to these airports from Scotland on the date of the final.
A look at Skyscanner at the time of writing throws up all manner of convoluted journeys with multiple stops and changes, with the fastest journey time averaging at over 14 hours – costing £1174.
It remains to be seen whether chartered flights could become an option for fans.
If air travel isn’t an option, there may be other ways to make the 1500-mile journey – the Channel Tunnel ferry to France followed by a long drive, for instance.
Of course, some football fans have gone to extreme lengths before – last year a plumber completed an epic run from Hampden to Wembley as part of a charity challenge just in time for Scotland’s clash with England in Euro 2020. Such a journey might just be out of the question this time round, however.
What about accomodation?
Then there’s accommodation – and unsurprisingly costs have shot up massively, with most AirBnb offerings in the city currently asking for over £1000 for a room on the night of the match. Even beds in hostel rooms are going for far over what would be expected normally.
But it seems likely that a big number of the club’s most devoted fans will – whether by plane, train, automobile or all three – find a way to see Rangers go for glory 14 years on from their last major European final.
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