Sunderland set for record-breaking Wembley crowd as Portsmouth sell-out Checkatrade Trophy allocation

A crowd of over 80,000 is set to descend on the national stadium for the clash between the League One promotion chasers, in what will be the highest crowd the competition has witnessed since its inception in 1983.

Sunderland quickly sold-out of tickets for the showpiece final and are set to be backed by almost 40,000 fans after receiving an additional allocation from the EFL.

And Portsmouth have now followed suit, as their allocation of 40,300 was snapped up within the first day of tickets going on general sale.

That means a bumper crowd will watch on as the two sides do battle on Sunday, March 31.

Such numbers, when added to corporate, EFL and hospitality attendees, will see the two teams smash the competition record attendance - which currently stands at the 80,841 fans who watched Wolves beat Brentford in 1988.

The highest-ever attendance seen for the final at the new Wembley Stadium came in 2017, when 74,434 fans saw Coventry City beat Oxford United.

Pompey offered season ticket holders a full week to purchase their tickets before opening up a general sale period, hence why their sales seemingly progressed at a slower rate than those of Sunderland.

And Mark Catlin, the club's chief executive, has praised the Portsmouth support ahead of what looks set to be a memorable afternoon.

"We have completely sold out our allocation," he said, speaking to The News.

"However, we are getting odd tickets that the EFL are returning to us for different reasons – and as soon as we get them they will also go on sale.

"We’ve had a phenomenal day, I believe we've sold 6,000 alone. If you take it from Monday to Monday, we have sold in excess of 40,000 tickets.

"That is a magnificent achievement from our supporters.

"I believe that is probably the highest-ever amount we have sold for a Wembley appearance, quite possibly in the history of the club."