One of UEFA's three European finals is already getting slammed - over its odd planning. West Ham United will play Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final on the 7th of June at Prague's Fortuna Arena - the home of Slavia Praha. There's just one problem. Tickets. Only a select few West Ham fans will get the chance to see their club battle Fiorentina for a European trophy. Just under 5,000 to be exact, which is under ten percent of West Ham's season ticket count. While the Fortuna Arena (formerly the Eden Arena) lays claim to be the largest and most modern footballing venue in the Czech Republic, it's not exactly amongst Europe's biggest - and 'only' seats 19,370 supporters, of which under 5,000 will be Hammers fans, with Fiorentina gaining an equal allocation - with UEFA keeping/doling out the remainder. Of course, this isn't at all the fault of West Ham - but their ticket plan has slammed because of UEFA's choices. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter To put it in perspective, there are only two smaller Premier League stadiums than the Fortuna Arena - Bournemouth's Vitality Stadium and Brentford's Gtech Arena. It'd still be amongst the smaller stadiums in England's second tier of football. Fortuna Park would actually land at around 50th place in a list of biggest stadiums in England if it was suddenly plonked down in Blighty - and is barely bigger than Port Vale's Vale Park. There's a bit of form for UEFA here. Last season's Europa Conference League final (the competition's first) was held at the 22,500 capacity Arena Kombëtare in Albania. However, next season's is a bit of an upgrade, as 32,500 will fill Athens' Agia Sophia Arena. It goes without saying; all countries have a right to host great European competitions - but having under twenty-thousand supporters at a final puts fans out. So, for one of the biggest days in West Ham's recent history, only 4,890 will be able to attend. And although fans knew the low allocation was coming (the venue has been known for a while), it's still upset them to know just how few tickets will be available: In other news, a West Ham fan went viral for holding off an assortment of hooligans at the Irons' last UECL match - against AZ Alkmaar. Known as Knollsy, the supporter handled a bunch of encroaching thugs who sought to gain their way into what is said to be the 'family section' at the stadium. Let's hope he gets his ticket for the final. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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England coach Sarina Wiegman says the Lionesses are under no illusions about what is expected of them these days, insisting England are ready to keep producing victories game after game. A stellar run over the past few years has seen the women’s national team win the European Championship and reach the Women’s World Cup final, where they lost to Spain. Now they are targeting success in the Uefa Nations League – and a place at the 2024 Paris Olympics too for Team GB – and face Belgium in their fourth Group A1 game. Wiegman says the squad are comfortable with the pressures on them, and believes they can improve on the 1-0 victory over the same opposition last week. “The expectations are very clear. Everyone expects us to win,” said Wiegman ahead of the game in Leuven. “We expect ourselves to win but we want to improve on our game. That makes the chances of winning higher. “I was happy with how we played Friday. We could have made it a little bit easier for ourselves, but how we were on the pitch, how we wanted to play out of possession and in possession, we did really well. “What we want to do in possession is be a little better in the final third. We create chances but the final pass, the final position and the execution, we want to do better. “What I really liked on Friday, there was so much energy in the team. You saw real intention. If we lost the ball, we really wanted to win it back. We had only one stage in the game [where] we dropped a little bit, then picked it up again. I want to see the same energy, intention of the whole team and the togetherness.” England are two points ahead of Belgium heading into the match and level with Netherlands, with Scotland bottom. Meanwhile, midfielder Georgia Stanway suggested the Ballon d’Or ceremony must be better planned in future to allow the top women to attend, given many are preparing for an international match on Monday night when the awards are dealt out. Regarding the upcoming match, she noted that England’s progression play was impressive, but more could be done in the final third to improve further. “The Belgium game we played the other day was a real show of who we are,” said Stanway. “We dominated possession and created a lot. But we didn’t get it over the line as many times as we wanted to. “After losing a [World Cup] final, it’s sometimes not motivating to turn up to training every day, but I think we hit the ground running. “Everybody has been firing in training. We have Fran Kirby back, which is also a real highlight. I love playing with her, so it’s important to have numbers all over the pitch.” Read More Fran Kirby felt like she’d never been away on return to England side England come out on top but it’s far from a complete performance against Belgium Mary Earps reveals difficulties with fan relationship with rise of women’s football England vs Belgium LIVE: Women’s Nations League latest updates Beth Mead ‘not close’ to England recall, Sarina Wiegman admits Fran Kirby returns to Lionesses squad as Sarina Wiegman reveals Beth Mead decision

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