Aberdeen’s 20k ticket deal with SFA for Cup Final is bad news for Celtic Supporters | OneFootball

Despite bringing only 12,000 supporters to their Scottish Cup semi-final against Hearts, Aberdeen have managed to convince the Scottish FA to part with 20,000 tickets for the final against Celtic on Saturday 24 May…

St Johnstone v Celtic, Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden Park on Sunday 20 April 2025. Photo by Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Aberdeen successfully argued that they brought 19,500 supporters to the League Cup Final last season against theRangers and they also offered to underwrite the cost of the tickets so that the SFA will get paid even if there are empty sections at the Scottish Cup Final.

What this means is that all of Aberdeen’s season ticket holder will be guaranteed a couple of ticket each while in sharp contrast Celtic will be able to facilitate around half of season ticket holders a ticket – if they are on the home cup ticket scheme, thus paying to go to every round of the Scottish Cup this season, including the semi-final against St Johnstone.

Celtic supporters shows their support at full-time following the team’s victory in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup Semi Final match between St Johnstone and Celtic at Hampden Park on April 20, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

In recent years both the SFA and SPFL (who organise the League Cup) have worked to ensure that Hampden is as full as possible and that would have been the case in this instance had the Aberdeen guarantee not been put in place.

Once their money was assured we got the message that the interests of the ordinary supporter means little or nothing to the powers that be at Hampden.

Aberdeen will now have a marketing job on their hands trying to sell tickets to fair weather supporters. Had the SFA’s initial plan been implemented all Aberdeen supporters wanting a ticket would have got one and Celtic Supporters would have had to wait for the dreaded ballots to see if they were successful.

St Johnstone v Celtic, Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden Park on Sunday 20 April 2025. Photo by Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

If Aberdeen failed to sell a section or two then these could have been handed over to Celtic who would have no problem selling them out. That was shown at the semi-final when the Celtic support bailed out the Scottish FA by snapping up every ticket the SFA desperately sent our way given the embarrassingly tiny support that St Johnstone brought to Hampden.

This deal is bad news for Celtic supporters and those who miss out will end up watching on television cursing the SFA as they look at empty seats.

Aberdeen confirmed the arrangement that they have struck with the Scottish FA today via a statement on their official website:

We can confirm that an allocation of over 20,000 tickets has been secured for Aberdeen supporters for our forthcoming Scottish Gas Scottish Cup Final with Celtic.

Celtic Huddle. St Johnstone v Celtic, Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden Park on Sunday 20 April 2025. Photo by Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

“This will be the largest allocation we have received for a final in recent years and was only secured after agreeing to underwrite the cost of any unsold tickets.

“After extensive discussions, we were initially faced with the option of accepting a guaranteed 16,800 tickets, with a potential (but not guaranteed) additional 2,000 tickets.

“However, driven by our collective belief and confidence in the Red Army, and wanting to give every Dons supporter the best opportunity of being there to back Jimmy and the team on Saturday 24th May at Hampden, we agreed to underwrite a larger allocation which includes the North Stand up to the halfway line.

“We believe this significant allocation is a testament to our commitment to ensuring as many fans as possible can support the team at this crucial match, our first Scottish Cup Final since 2017.

“Ahead of the League Cup Final with Rangers in 2023, which was our last final at Hampden, our allocation sold out within a matter of hours, and we expect demand to be similar this time round as we look to bring the Scottish Cup back to Aberdeen for the first time since 1990.

With the above in mind, we advise all Dons supporters to use the coming days to organise friends and family to be ready to secure your tickets on Monday 5th May, as we aim to make history together.

Ticket prices have been frozen from last year’s final with concession pricing in place in all areas of the stadium. Full ticket information can be found below.

Sales Process

Phase 1 – 300+ priority points from 8am on Monday 5th May (Online Only) Phase 2 – 150+ priority points from 11am on Monday 5th May (Online Only) Phase 3 – 40+ priority points from 2pm on Monday 5th May (Online Only) Phase 4 – All supporters with a previous buying history from 5pm on Monday 5th May (Online Only) and in-person and over the phone from 1pm on Tuesday 6th May.

Key Points

– 4 tickets per qualifying account can be purchased during phases 1-3 – 2 tickets per qualifying account can be purchased in phase 4 – You can check your Priority Points balance

Priority Points

1 priority point per allocated ticket

Pricing

North Stand Adults – £50 Over 65’s & Under 16’s – £30 South Stand Adults – £50 Over 65’s & Under 16’s – £30 West Stand Adults – £40 Over 65’s & Under 16s – £25

Help raise funds for Celtic Youth Academy by playing the Celtic Pools Weekly Lottery and you could win up to £25,000. The lottery is £1 per week. Click on image above to join.

More Stories / Latest News

Aberdeen’s 20k ticket deal with SFA for Cup Final is bad news for Celtic Supporters

Apr 30 2025, 13:32

Six new Celtic signings – “It wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest,” David Friel

Apr 30 2025, 12:14

Celtic closing in on Al-Ahly’s ‘Most Successful Club in World’ record

Apr 30 2025, 10:38