Champions League: FA has 'healthy paranoia' for Wembley 2024 final
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Wembley last staged the Champions League final in 2013 when Bayern Munich defeated Borussia Dortmund 2-1
Ensuring the 2024 Champions League final at Wembley is a success is giving the Football Association "healthy paranoia", says chair Debbie Hewitt.
Fans at this month's final between Manchester City and Inter Milan in Istanbul reported issues with transport, water and toilet facilities.
Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin admitted on Thursday that "not everything was perfect".
That followed major crushing at the 2022 final in Paris.
Uefa's own investigation found it "remarkable" there had been no deaths at the final between Real Madrid and Liverpool, when fans were penned in and teargassed outside the Stade de France.
There were scenes of major fan disorder and security breaches when Wembley hosted the Euro 2020 final in July 2021, when England lost to Italy.
"There is pressure on every event we hold," said Hewitt. "We are running the national stadium. If something happens in that arena… we have paranoia. It is healthy paranoia I would say."
Uefa will decide on hosting rights for Euro 2028 later this year, when a combined United Kingdom and Ireland bid will face competition from Turkey.
That means the success of the 2024 Champions League final will have no material impact on the bid decision.
However, Hewitt is keen for the lessons of Paris and Istanbul to be learned - and also from the Euro 2020 final, when turnstiles were stormed by ticketless fans who entered the stadium in huge numbers.
"You have to search for the thing that is different," said Hewitt. "It isn't the regular stuff that goes wrong. It is the stuff that hasn't happened.
"That night was the first time we had 30,000 empty seats. It is easy for me to stand here and say that is obvious, that is the thing that was different. You have to search for it.
"Secondly, it is absolutely crucial that all the stakeholders who are going to make a difference are in the same room. It is no good the police doing their bit in one room, the stewards doing their bit in another, us doing our bit in that room and Uefa doing theirs in that room.
"It is about getting everyone in the same room and testing each other's plans to destruction. I believe in a process called pre-mortem, not post-mortem."
'FA made right Community Shield kick-off call'
The Football Association moved the kick-off time of the pre-season Community Shield between Manchester City and Arsenal on Sunday, 6 August from 17:30 BST to 16:00 following complaints by fans over concerns about travel on public transport.
Hewitt believes the move was proof of an organisation being willing to listen to complaints and factor those in with the competing demands of numerous stakeholders, including the broadcasters.
"Whenever we set a kick-off time, we have a multitude of stakeholders, many of whom people won't even know," said Hewitt.
"Everyone talks about the broadcasters because they are an important stakeholder. But it is the local communities, it is the police, what else is happening on the day. It is never that easy to say 'one voice trumps all'.
"This is a good example of where we listened and corralled the stakeholders to say 'this is important to make a change'."
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