EFL reject request for Papa John’s Pizza Trophy finals to be played in front of fans in May

Salford City’s rescheduled 2020 Papa John’s Pizza Trophy final will not take place in front of 10,000 people at Wembley.

The game against League One Portsmouth, set for Saturday, March 13th, is part of an ‘EFL Weekender’, will see last year’s Papa John’s Pizza Trophy final and the 2021 final between Sunderland and Tranmere Rovers played over two days.

Tranmere Rovers submitted a formal request to the EFL to push back the final.

The request would have seen the game moved beyond the potential date of lifted restrictions on crowd attendance on May 17th.

The date recently set by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The PM’s announcement detailed provisional plans to welcome 10,000 fans back into grounds of 40,000 capacity or lower. Or a quarter of the capacity in smaller stadia, whichever is the lowest.

Would be fantastic if the Papa John’s Trophy final could be pushed back to allow fans in too … we asked informally last week and have formalised the request today. Govt are saying 10,000 allowed in Wembley from 17th May🤞#TRFC https://t.co/1nyyDib4gQ pic.twitter.com/yXiaP7wXfJ

— Nicola Palios (@NicolaPalios) February 22, 2021

Nicola Palios, Tranmere Rovers co-owner alongside husband Mark, tweeted after the announcement to confirm that they had formally submitted a request to postpone their Papa John’s Pizza Trophy fixture after informally suggesting the idea last week.

The EFL has since rejected Tranmere’s request.

The route to the final

Up next…

The Ammies will be looking to get back to winning ways after their devastating stoppage time 2-1 loss to Morecambe and drab 0-0 outing against 22nd place Southend United.

Salford could move up to 5th place with a win if results go their way elsewhere.

Kick-Off is at 19:00. Match passes are £10, and streaming of the match is available at www.live.salfordcityfc.co.uk.