𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗜𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗮𝘀𝘀𝘆 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗼𝗻

[AONISC]

Here's the information we've put together for those travelling to Southampton to support the ladies at Euro 2022.

We've met with the Irish FA a number of times in preparation for the tournament and also visited Southampton, where we met Council officials, the local police and the Stadium Manager. They're definitely looking forward to welcoming the #GAWA

Our Fans Embassy is an entirely voluntary service, operated 'By Fans, For Fans' and we work closely with the Irish FA, PSNI and Football Supporters Europe to deliver this initiative. We hope you find the information helpful...

𝗚𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲

At this stage, it’s safe to assume that fans will already have booked their flights for Southampton. If not, Aer Lingus this week announced a new route from George Best Belfast City to Southampton, so you may still find a reasonable option.

If you aren't flying there directly, Southampton isn’t too difficult to get to if you’re prepared to connect by train or coach and we’re aware of quite a few who are flying into one of the London airports or even to Bristol before making the onward journey to Hampshire.

We would recommend looking at www.nationalrail.co.uk to book your train travel or www.nationalexpress.com if you want to look at coach options. Be sure to check the train timetables if you plan to travel back to be near your airport after the match, as some services don’t offer late night options.

𝗢𝗻 𝗔𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹

The train journey from Southampton Airport to Southampton Central Station takes around seven minutes. You can buy your tickets from kiosks at the airport or alternatively online at thetrainline.com

As an example, an ‘Anytime Day Single’ was £4.40, an ‘Evening Single’ costs £3.90 and we were able to book a one-way journey to the airport for a group of three for £8.70. Have a look at the group discounts and even ‘buddy up’ with other fans making the same journey to save a little bit on the fare.

𝗚𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱

When travelling to Southampton for our pre visit, I travelled from Heathrow by National Express coach. It took around two and a half hours and the coach station in Southampton at Harbour Parade was located just a few minutes from the train station.

There’s a taxi rank outside the train station, but most places in Southampton are within reasonable walking distance from the train and coach stations.

If you’re staying at or near to Above Bar Street, which is known locally as the ‘High Street’, then you can walk from Southampton Central Station or Harbour Parade within ten minutes. St Mary’s Stadium is around twenty five minutes walk. Obviously, if you’re travelling with younger children, you’ll need to factor that into your journey time.

If you do choose to use the bus, From Southampton Central train station take a short walk to Civic Centre bus stop and catch Bluestar routes 3, 16 or 18 or City Red route 8, to Brintons Road, which takes you to within a short walk of the stadium. The journey will take you a total of 20-25 minutes.

Paying for buses is quick and easy with fares capped at £3.50 for all-day travel. Simply tap on the card reader when boarding with a debit or credit card that allows contactless payment. Cash payments are also accepted.

A free shuttle bus will operate between Southampton Central Station and Chapel Road, which is near St Mary’s Stadium on the day of the match against England. The last bus from Chapel Road departs thirty minutes after the final whistle.

𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗘𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 '𝗙𝗮𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀'

Southampton is a fairly compact city and an excellent match day venue. Above Bar Street is very much the place to be with a multitude of bars, restaurants, fast food outlets and plenty of places to shop.

The official ‘Fan Party’ venues are at Palmerston Park, off the bottom of Above Bar Street. The parties are free entry and will include live music, children’s activities including face painting and interactive games.

These will operate from 12pm-6pm on the Norway and England match days and from 12pm-3pm on the day of the Austria match, which has an earlier kick off.

You can bring food and drink along, but bear in mind that there’ll be lots of families in attendance, so behaviour should be in keeping with that ethos.

There’ll be ample toilet facilities, including accessible toilets and parking nearby.

𝗦𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘆'𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘂𝗺

St Mary’s Stadium has a capacity of just over 32,000 and is an all-seater stadium. It’s a walk of around twenty five minutes from the main train station and fifteen minutes' walk from the ‘Fan Party’ venues.

Your match tickets will be accessible via the UEFA Ticketing app. Activate your tickets the day before the match and follow instructions via the app.

Gates at the stadium open two hours before kick-off.

The kiosks and shops at the stadium are cashless, so you can only pay by using card or contactless. Unfortunately, you can’t bring in your own food, unless you have a genuine medical reason. More on that in a moment!

There are UEFA regulations regarding bags and flags. Bags can’t be any bigger than A4 size, while flags and banners are restricted to 2 metres by 1.5 metres. Flagpoles are restricted to 1 metre in length and 1cm in diameter.

You should also be aware that there’s quite limited space to hang supporters’ flags within the stadium, so if a steward advises you that you can’t hang your flag, then it’s best to respect that.

We mentioned that if you need to bring food into the stadium for genuine medical reasons, then special permission is required. The same applies if you have equipment that you need for medical reasons, such as a syringe for insulin.

You should email supporte...@saintsfc.co.uk to request permission and you may require evidence to support your request. We would strongly advise that you do this now.

𝗞𝗘𝗘𝗣𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗢𝗨𝗖𝗛

The Amalgamation of Official Northern Ireland Supporters Clubs will be operating our voluntary Northern Ireland Fans Embassy service at each of the matches, alongside Irish FA staff and volunteers who will be on the ground to assist the ‘GAWA’.

We’ll be located at the fan parties and around Above Bar Street.

You can also contact us via our Fans Mobile Network on  +447943542100 or you can register for free text updates by sending GAWA in a text to 88802. The text to register is charged at your standard network rate.

You can also contact us via Facebook (TheAmalgamation) or at Twitter (@AoNISC_Travel or @WGMac)

For ticket related enquiries, you should contact tic...@irishfa.com or WhatsApp a message to +447454226821

Finally, we recommend that you download the Guide to Southampton at https://www.uefa.com/womenseuro/event-guide/southampton/ which includes most of the above information and much more.

Stay safe, have a fantastic time and let’s get behind our girls! Please like, share, tag others. 💚