Salford City fans are “over the moon” to hear the news that their team will be playing Manchester City in the third round of the FA Cup.
The third round draw was made live last night on BBC Two at Old Trafford, as Manchester United won the FA cup last season.
The draw, which saw Salford City pulled out as ball number 45, will see the Ammies travel to the home of Premier League Champions, Manchester City.
The excitement of fans was shared last night, with fans celebrating at the prospect of seeing their club play at the Etihad Stadium in January.
Following the draw, Daniel Shepard, host of the One Up Front Salford City FC podcast spoke ahead of the fixture and what this will mean for the club.
He said: “What does it mean? I think it means probably about a million quid. It’s massive in terms of finances, but in terms of last night, watching the draw, I had a feeling that it was going to be someone big, and it is.
“It’s the biggest game we ever had.”
He continued: “The fan base is over the moon about it, and it’s a local rival city. This is going to be a massive experience, seriously, for all of us.”
With thousands of fans excited to go to the Etihad, this will be a historical moment, as this will be the clubs first taste of Premier League football ground.
And this will be the Ammies first competitive fixture against Premier League opposition since a 4-0 defeat to Burnley at home last season.
But with this fixture being held at 53,400 seater stadium, it seems that the allocation may triple their usual allocation – and will hopefully draw larger numbers of the Salford City fan base.
The moment we drew @ManCity in the @EmiratesFACup 😳🏆
Happy with that one then Ammies?! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/vSaidwjpMS
— Salford City FC (@SalfordCityFC) December 2, 2024
As Daniel continued: “We don’t have a massive ground I think we could fit about 6000 in on a good day.
“We had a similar crowd to that against Everton in pre-season. So I don’t think there’s that much room for, like, doubling the crowd. Maybe we can get another few 100 people on a regular basis.”
Although it seems unlikely that Salford City will progress through the competition as they prepare for Premier League and European champions Manchester City.
However, Karl Robinsons side have showed supporters that there is still magic in the FA cup, with travelling fans hoping to eclipse the home sides ‘Blue Moon’ and complete a memorable ‘giant-killing’.
As an avid fan, the podcast host doesn’t feel as though his team has taken things very seriously so far but now, he hopes they start to.
He added: “We’ve not really took it, in my view, that seriously until now. I’m not even sure it will come the day.
“I hope we do, because to actually be able to win, even if we’re playing against a lot of 18 year old lads for city. In that environment, it’s going to be life changing.”
And despite fans originally hoping to draw Manchester United, fans all over are still thrilled to be playing The Cityzens and have their chance of battling against one of the world’s best.
Daniel finished by showing his excitement: “I was ecstatic, it means the world to everyone, and I wish it wasn’t so far away, its like two months away. I wish it was now.”
Currently information surrounding the set dates and fixture scheduling is yet to be announced – with additional information from the club on the historic draw can be found here.
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