Huddersfield 'mass exodus' expected as thousands of football fans head to London

Tens of thousands of fans are set to make the four-hour trip from Huddersfield to London this weekend as the town's two biggest teams head to the capital in search of glory.

Some 35,000 Huddersfield Town fans are expected to make the trip to Wembley on Sunday as the Terriers take on Nottingham Forest in a bid to reach the holy grail of English football - the Premier League. Huddersfield Giants have been unable to confirm how many tickets the club has sold to fans ahead of the Challenge Cup Final against Wigan Warriors.

The venue for the clash, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, has a capacity of almost 63,000. It means Huddersfield could resemble a ghost town over the weekend as fans head to the capital dreaming of silverware.

Huddersfield Town chief executive sent a rallying cry to Terriers fans this week and revealed ticket sales for the Play-Off final "have been really strong". "We’ll be around the 35,000 fans that supported us on that memorable day in 2017," he said.

"We all massively appreciate your support – we know times are still tough financially, and that the cost of going to London and supporting the lads is not insignificant. It will be great to see you all at the home of English football this weekend."

Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the weekend's two big games, Ian Watson, head coach of the Giants, said: "It's massive and you'd think Huddersfield would be empty come Saturday and Sunday. It's one of those where this doesn't normally happen, where two teams who share the same stadium in the same town and community get to two big finals."

The mass exodus of fans means there could also be some disruption to travel on both Saturday and Sunday as excited supporters clamber onto trains and coaches. Huddersfield