Man Utd fans' plea to FA for Youth Cup final switch

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A leading Manchester United fans group has written to FA chief executive Mark Bullingham imploring him to switch the venue of next week's Youth Cup final.

Manchester City are hosting the game but say it cannot be held at Etihad Stadium because of construction work taking place around their three remaining home Premier League games.

City rejected an offer by United to host the final at Old Trafford and have arranged the match for their Joie Stadium, which has a capacity of 6,000.

United have received 968 tickets for the game. BBC Sport has been told the allocation means they will not be able to accommodate all the requests from players' families for tickets.

It is known United academy staff and players are annoyed at the decision, which they feel potentially denies some players of the biggest match of their entire careers.

This is one of the points outlined by the Manchester United Supporters' Trust in their letter to Bullingham.

"We implore you to personally intervene in respect of the venue choice and/or scheduling of the FA Youth Cup Final," it says.

"The FA Youth Cup is one of your great competitions. Legends of the game have played in its final. For others, is the biggest match they will ever play in and a source of pride for life.

"In recent years, attendances have regularly been 20,000-30,000 or more, and when Old Trafford last hosted the game we saw a record crowd of 67,000 people.

"It is a shame beyond words that this year's match is set to be played in front of just 6,000 spectators. This lets down the players and lets down the supporters.

"This is your competition. We implore you to personally intervene to protect it, and bang heads together to allow this game to be played at a suitable venue. Whether this involves changing the date to allow City to host, forcing City to allow United to host on the original date, or going to a neutral stadium in the north-west.

"All three options should be considered."