Posted online: Nov 18th, 2009

They are the hottest tickets in town, and thanks to the Sligo Post and the Football Association of Ireland, you can win a pair of tickets to the Ford FAI Cup final in Tallaght Stadium.
Sligo Rovers’ allocation of an estimated 4,500 tickets for the big game against Sporting Fingal on Sunday sold out in 24 hours, and another batch of tickets placed on sale nationally by Ticketmaster on Saturday morning were snapped up in a matter of minutes.
Any returned tickets from the Dublin club’s allocation are expected to be re-directed to Rovers on Wednesday evening, but we have managed to get our hands on two pairs of tickets to be given away to two lucky readers.
Rovers are back in the cup final for the first time in 15 years, looking to repeat the glory days of 1994, when a solitary goal from current assistant manager Gerry Carr was enough to see the Bit O’Red defeat Derry City in the decider, and spark memorable celebrations across the North West.
The excitement has been building steadily since Rovers booked their place in the final last month, with the FAI having to install temporary seating at Tallaght Stadium to increase the capacity to almost 8,500 to cater for the huge demand for tickets in Sligo.
Rovers boss Paul Cook said that he wants to see as many people as possible at the final.
“There should not be a person left in Sligo that wants a ticket but doesn’t get one. The FAI have to make sure that everyone from Sligo that wants to be at the game can get a ticket, and the same for Sporting Fingal.”
Supporters’ buses from all around the county will depart for Dublin over the weekend, with Bus Eireann running a special direct service to the game, and a number of supporters organising their own buses (see page 55).
Many fans will also be spending the weekend in Dublin for the big game, with Showtours organising a special celebration at the Red Cow Morans Hotel on Saturday and Sunday night.
Meanwhile, Ocean FM are building up to the big game all week, and, on Thursday, North West Today will broadcast live from Tohers The Chemist on O’Connell Street. Ocean will also have full live commentary from the final on Sunday.
Elsewhere, some lucky Rovers supporters will not have to worry about the burden of making the 250-mile round trip to the Tallaght, as sponsors Ford will provide transport to selected winners as part of their ‘Focus on the footy’ campaign.
All fans have to do is e-mail their name and address to fordfootball@ WHPR.ie and whether they want to travel with their family, group of friends or a busload of supporters, and a reason why they should be brought to the game by Ford.