The
Football League is giving fans on Twitter around the world the chance to
decide the colour of the Wembley arch as part of a unique first in the
build-up to Sunday’s Capital One Cup final between Chelsea and Tottenham
Hotspur.
The innovative social media vote is the first time the iconic arch has been
utilised in this way to let fans decide how the national stadium looks ahead
of a major cup final. It will also be the first time it has ever been lit up
in a football club’s colours.
The League is tracking the use of two designated hashtags on Twitter
throughout this week - #ChelseaAtWembley and #SpursAtWembley. The hashtag
that receives most use on the social network before 6pm on Saturday will be
declared the winner and the arch will be lit up in that club’s colours the
night before the Capital One Cup final.
Updates on the #OwnTheArch vote standings will be provided via the
@CapitalOne_Cup Twitter account throughout the week, with the arch itself
lit up to show the latest standings from Thursday evening. As well as fans
of the two finalists, supporters of other teams can get involved and vote as
to who they think will win the trophy by tweeting the relevant hashtag.
Commenting on the activity, Drew Barrand, marketing director at The Football
League said: “The Football League is always looking at innovative ways to
bring fans closer to the action and this vote really does allow fans to play
a visible part in the build-up to the final.
“We are delighted to be able to bring this unique first to Wembley and are
looking forward to seeing what colour the arch will be."
Alex Trickett, head of sport Twitter UK, added: “Twitter is the place where
people come to share in the biggest moments in the football calendar, in
fact eight of the 10 most-Tweeted-about UK moments in 2014 were
football-related.
“It will be incredible to see fans from the UK and around the world reaching
for their devices to light up the Wembley arch this weekend.”
The #OwnTheArch Twitter vote is part of a range of activity taking place
around the final that will help to make it the most socially-engaged League
Cup final ever.
Supporters can submit motivational messages for the two teams via the
Capital One Cup official Facebook page, with one message for each team being
selected to be displayed in the tunnel as the last thing the teams see
before they walk out at Wembley.
On match day itself supporters around the world not lucky enough to have a
ticket for the match will be given the chance to have their photo featured
on the giant screens at Wembley with fans encouraged to post a #FinalSelfie
on Instagram and Twitter.
The Capital One Cup final kicks off at 4pm on Sunday and is exclusively live
on Sky Sports 1 with coverage from 2:30pm. Past League Cup winners Thierry
Henry and Jamie Redknapp will be joining Glenn Hoddle in the studio to share
their insight and knowledge with viewers.
Sunday’s final will decide the winner of the first major domestic silverware
of the season and is the first one of a record 13 trophy lifts across Europe
that will be live on Sky Sports over the next 14 weeks.
To celebrate the Capital One Cup final, Sky Sports will have a day of live
Sky Sports programming from Wembley Stadium with ‘Sunday Supplement’ (Sky
Sports 1, 8:00am) and ‘Goals on Sunday’ (Sky Sports 1, 9:30am) also enjoying
the backdrop of the home of English football.
In addition, the match has attracted global interest and will be broadcast
around the world, with a record number of over 200 territories showing the
game this year.
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