Local fans will make up half of tomorrow night's crowd

Following a report in today's Times newspaper, the distribution of tickets for tomorrow night's European Championship Qualifier against Macedonia has made some headlines. TheFA.com caught up with Paul Barber, The FA's Director of Marketing and Communications, to clarify the issue...

"As with all of England's matches on the road, The FA has had to strike a balance between making sure that fans from the local area get to see the game as well as those supporters who follow England on a regular basis," Barber explained.

"In the case of Wednesday's match, and indeed all of England's matches on the road, the tickets went on sale over a weekend in which the host club were playing at home.

"The FA advertised this fixture and the ticketing details in Southampton's home match programme that weekend and, as a result, we will see that more than 50% of tomorrow's crowd will be made up of fans from the local area.

"Southampton has not in any way been excluded from tomorrow night's game - quite the opposite. The club and the local supporters will be a key part of the fixture and the experience."

Barber was keen to pay tribute to both Southampton Football Club and the local community, saying: "The FA has thoroughly enjoyed working with Southampton Football Club and all of the local authorities in the build up to this game.

"The warmth of the welcome and the professionalism that has gone into helping us stage this very important match has been exceptional.

"I would also like to thank the people of Southampton for making all of the England players and the FA staff so welcome here. We are all really looking forward to being at St Mary's tomorrow night."