What 1,774 West Ham fans need to know before first Millwall trip in 15 years | OneFootball

It's been a long time since these two London rivals have faced off against each other, and West Ham's ticketing arrangements have been complicated.

Millwall and West Ham United face off against each other for the first time in fifteen years at The Den on Saturday, and away tickets for this match require careful handling by all concerned.

It was the first match that supporters of either club will have looked for when the Championship's fixture lists for 2026-27 were announced. West Ham United and Millwall hold one of English football's most bitter rivalries, and this rivalry is only amplified by its rarity value.

The last time the two sides met came in the Championship in February 2012, with West Ham winning 2-1 at The Boleyn Ground, and meetings between the two teams have always been sporadic. They didn't play each other at all, for example, between September 1947 and October 1978.

With West Ham regularly attracting crowds of 60,000 to their home matches, demand for away tickets has been incredibly high. And the advice for away fans making the trip to The Den on Saturday only demonstrates just how much careful consideration has been put into ensuring that the day passes off as peacefully as possible.

Millwall ticket availability has been limited to only the most loyal of West Ham fans

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The advice for West Ham United fans from the club's website ahead of Saturday's match makes it clear just how unique a fixture this is. West Ham have been allocated 1.774 tickets for the match in the North Stand, and these tickets were sold out to Bondholders, Away Scheme Members and Season Ticket Holders with 36+ Points.

The West Ham United Supporters Trust have a web page which details how the club allocate their away tickets and how points are allocated.

As can be seen, it's extremely complicated and determined by previous ticket purchasing history, but what is very easy to identify is that tickets for this match were never going to go on general sale. Tickets are also being issued digitally only, which makes illicitly transferring them to another person more difficult.

The advice is also very clear that tickets for this match cannot be transferred to another person, and that the sanction for doing so could even include a ban for anyone doing so.

It specifically references section 4n of their away match terms and conditions, which state that, "The Away Match Ticket is issued for your sole use, and you shall not sell, dispose of, assign, transfer, lend or otherwise deal with the Away Match Ticket or the benefit of it to any other person without the prior written consent of the Club"

The club also confirm that "There will be no Official Coach Service for this fixture." This will have been a logistical decision, as much as anything else.

Travelling from North-East London to South-East London by road can be a horrible journey to have to make at the best of times, and The Den itself is penned in on two sides by railway lines. Without major roads nearby, getting coachloads of away fans in and out of the ground could also be a potential flashpoint for trouble.

Careful consideration will have been put into the arrangements for such a potentially volatile fixture

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Policing and stewarding high-profile matches is a complicated and largely thankless task, but it's essential that it's carefully handled in order to prevent serious trouble from taking place. Those primarily motivated to act in this way may be relatively small in terms of numbers, but they have the capability of causing serious disorder and disruption if the day isn't managed successfully.

The lack of a coach service for this match is telling. A decision has clearly been reached by the police and the clubs that they would prefer away supporters to get to the ground by public transport, and there are clear logistical reasons for this.

South Bermondsey railway station is a four-minute journey from London Bridge and a five-minute walk from The Den. Upon arrival there, away supporters are funneled out from a separate exit and along a pathway which deposits them at the North Stand turnstiles.

It's proved to be a very efficient system, over the years. All of this means that London Bridge station is a potential flashpoint for trouble, but this will already be a known state of affairs for the Metropolitan Police, who have a responsibility to all Londoners, and not just those making their way to or from this one particular match.

The sale of tickets to long-time season ticket holders and bondholders has two primary reasons. Firstly, it's a common position that those supporters who've made the effort to invest in away matches which others may not have bothered with should get first call on matches when tickets are very much in-demand. And secondly, these fans are those with the most to lose should they be found to have broken the terms and conditions of having bought them in the first place.

Both Millwall and West Ham United have historically had elements in their support who are capable of causing significant disorder, and the aim of both clubs, the police and stewards that day will be to minimise any trouble that takes place. There is only so much that can be done to keep rival fans apart, especially in a city as congested as London, and the ticketing arrangements for this match have been put in place in order to ensure that as little disorder as possible takes place in or around The Den itself.

With this match being the first meeting of the two teams since 2012 and West Ham sitting atop the Championship table, there's much at stake beyond local bragging rights when Millwall and West Ham United meet on Saturday lunchtime. For the police and the clubs themselves, one of the bigger victories of the day will be determined by how peacefully it all passes off.