Aberdeen put money on the line to secure 20,000 tickets for Scottish Cup final against Celtic

Aberdeen have announced that the club has managed to secure an allocation of 20,000 tickets for the Scottish Cup final – but only by agreeing to underwrite the cost of any empty seats.

A semi-final win over Hearts set up a showpiece final against Celtic on May 24, where Aberdeen will be looking to win their first major silverware since 2014, and earn their first Scottish Cup triumph in 35 years.

Manager Jimmy Thelin and his players will be hoping for noisy backing as they look to deny Celtic a treble and enjoy their own party at the national stadium, and the Pittodrie side have been in talks to negotiate as big a ticket allocation as they can get.

The Dons have now confirmed that 20,000 tickets have been allocated and urged fans to book their place at Hampden and avoid the club being out of pocket.

A club statement read: “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.

“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 May 24 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 May 5, as we aim to make history together.”