- Title: Fans return to English Cup soccer's showpiece event
- Date: 15th May 2021
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (MAY 15, 2021) (REUTERS) OLYMPIC WAY LEADING TO WEMBLEY STADIUM FRONT OF STADIUM VARIOUS OF BANNER FEATURING CHELSEA FOOTBALL CLUB BADGE VARIOUS OF BANNER FEATURING LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB BADGE POLICE OFFICERS POLICE OFFICERS ON HORSEBACK FANS IN FRONT OF WEMBLEY VARIOUS OF LEICESTER FANS CHANTING LEICESTER BANNER READING (English): "FOXES FOREVER" CHELSEA BADGE ON JACKET (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHELSEA FAN, JOHN BEWLEY, SAYING: "It's brilliant, it's fantastic. I've got to say, I must admit it's just great to be back. We only live around the corner, basically, so we walked here today and it's fantastic. Just brilliant. It's great that all the Leicester fans and all the Chelsea fans are all mixing. Just great." (SOUNDBITE) (English) LEICESTER FAN, KEVIN (LAST NAME NOT GIVEN), SAYING: "It's a start, and as for Leicester, we've been in lockdown the longest of any of the people in the country. If we can lead the way and we can win this... if we win this as an underdog today, doesn't that say a great deal about beating the virus?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHELSEA FAN, JONATHAN LIPSCOMB, SAYING: "It's great, obviously. I mean, we've been waiting so long, but it is a bit strange, You must admit. You know, you've got used to this experience of seeing everything third hand on the television, you know. So it is a little odd and it doesn't feel like a big Wembley crowd yet as it obviously won't be. But no, of course, looking forward to it. Great to be here and hopefully a good result." LEICESTER FANS CONGREGATING CHELSEA FANS WITH FLAG CHELSEA FANS WITH BANNER CHELSEA BADGE ON CAP LEICESTER FANS HOLDING A LEICESTER-THEMED ENGLAND FLAG (SOUNDBITE) (English) LEICESTER FAN, KEVIN (LAST NAME NOT GIVEN), SAYING: "This is what football is all about, and if you don't enjoy a day like today, you'll never enjoy football. It's about football fans and as Leicester fans, we've never won this thing. It's the only thing we've never, ever won" (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHELSEA FAN, JONATHAN LIPSCOMB, SAYING: "It's still very important. I mean, it's the oldest competition in the world and it's the one you grow up - certainly if you're our age, about 60 or whatever - it was the core of your first experience of the club when you were about 10 and you saw it on TV, and then there was a huge gap and we didn't win anything, you know. And then it was the first thing we won again. I mean, it's very important, yeah." (SOUNDBITE) (English) LEICESTER FAN AND FRIEND OF THE CLUB'S LATE CHAIRMAN, RICHARD MOBBS, SAYING: "Well, to Leicester City it's really important. It's the one thing you've always dreamed of winning. When you win the Premiership, you don't dream about, that just happens, that's magical, but this... this you do dream about, so it's a dream come true if you win it." (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHELSEA FAN, JOHN BEWLEY, SAYING: "For me personally, and I say this from my heart, this is the best cup. Best cup. I mean, the European Cup is fantastic as well, but that's so corporate. We've got tickets to Porto, we've bought flights. We've got car hire, we've got our hotel, well we've got a B and B, and we don't know if we're going to be able to actually go in the stadium because of what's going on, so I don't know what to do!" CHELSEA FANS LEICESTER FANS SIGN READING (English): "WELCOME TO WEMBLEY" / FANS CLIMBING STEPS TO STADIUM FANS ARRIVING AT STADIUM STEPS VARIOUS OF STAFF MEMBERS CHECKING TICKETS AND CORONAVIRUS TESTS VARIOUS OF FANS WALKING CHELSEA SCARF SOLDIERS LEICESTER BANNER READING (English): "FOXES FOREVER" FANS WALKING UP TO STADIUM STEPS VARIOUS OF FANS WALKING UP STEPS LEICESTER FANS TAKING SELFIES FAN HOLDING TICKET VARIOUS OF LEICESTER FAN HOLDING BANNER PAYING TRIBUTE TO CLUB'S LATE CHAIRMAN, VICHAI SRIVADDHANAPRABHA FANS WALKING UP STEPS
- Embargoed: 29th May 2021 19:22
- Keywords: Chelsea FA Cup Leicester Wembley coronavirus fans final
- Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- City: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Europe,Soccer,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA002ED2NUIN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Around 21,000 fans of English teams Chelsea and Leicester City were able to watch their teams battle it out at the FA Cup final on Saturday (May 15) in a refreshing return to some form of normalcy after coronavirus had crippled spectator sports since early 2020.
A magnificent long-range strike from Youri Tielemans gave Leicester City their first FA Cup triumph with a 1-0 victory over Chelsea at Wembley, in front of the biggest crowd in England since March 2020.
Even after a loss, however, the Chelsea supporters will surely look back with fondness on a day when for the first time in over a year, there was a real football atmosphere with 21,000 fans filling the 90,000-capacity stadium with noise.
Police were out to keep the peace but the atmosphere was largely cordial.
Fans welcomed the return to stadiums after much of the past year has seen games worldwide played with no fans in stadiums out of a fear of spreading coronavirus during the pandemic.
Leicester's win follows their miraculous 2016 Premier League campaign and it was a first trophy for Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers in English football to follow his successes in Scotland with Celtic.
Tuchel still has a chance of lifting silverware when Chelsea face Manchester City in the Champions League final on May 29 in Porto.
(Production: Gerhard May, Ben Dangerfield) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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