Wembley Stadium to Undergo Major Revamp, Impacting 10,000 Seats After England Fans Speak Out

FA CHIEFS have started to install nearly 10,000 standing places in Wembley’s upper tier.

The changes will mean Wembley has the largest standing area in British football, as the FA listens to the wishes of many supporters.

And it will mean more than one in every EIGHT fans at the Carabao Cup Final in March and future matches, including England’s World Cup warm-up games against Uruguay and Japan, will be able to stand.

Wembley introduced “railed seating” safe standing areas in 2023, with Newcastle and Manchester United each given 867 allocated positions for .

The move followed a 2022 change in the law – after intense lobbying by fan groups – ended the requirement for all-seater venues at major matches, introduced as a result of the Taylor Report into the Hillsborough disaster.

But fans continued to lobby the FA for more standing options.

In the autumn, proposals for an extension of standing were agreed by FA chiefs, with the measures forwarded to Wembley’s local safety authority at Brent Council.

With no planning consent required – although Brent officials and the Government’s Sports Ground Safety Authority must give final sign-off – work started on the upgrade in November.

The new standing areas at , with just under 5,000 places behind the goals at each end of the ground, are due to be completed in time for the first showpiece club game of the season on March 15.

With the initial batch of lower tier standing places remaining, it will mean around 13 per cent of the 90,000 capacity venue will not require fans to remain seated throughout the game.

A Stadium spokesperson confirmed: “We are currently in the process of installing railed seating on Level Five as part of a long-term plan to introduce an additional 10,000 licensed standing seats for football fans at Wembley Stadium.

“The initiative builds on a successful trial we started in 2023 after the Government’s revision of the all-seater policy, which allowed supporters the opportunity to stand in designated areas within the stadium.

“In March 2025, the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA) approved our application to expand the current licensed standing areas at Wembley Stadium.

“Around 5,000 seats have been installed so far, with the remaining seats scheduled to be in place for the 2026 Final.

“We have listened to supporters’ calls for more options about how they choose to watch a football match and are delighted to bring licensed standing areas into a secure environment that places supporter safety at its heart.”

It means 2026 will see the largest number of supporters standing at any game in for more than 30 years.

Eze Chidiebere Paul

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