Swans to allow City to keep gate receipts from friendly fixture

Exeter City Chief Executive Julian Tagg has given his thanks to Swansea City for allowing the Grecians to keep all the gate receipts from the upcoming friendly fixture at the Park on Sunday – and is urging fans to come along to enjoy the match and help the club financially.

In normal circumstances, it is commonplace for teams to share the proceeds of the gate in cup and friendly fixtures. However in this instance, Swansea have magnanimously allowed Exeter City to keep the gate takings – therefore meaning that every pound that is paid on the day will be of benefit to our club.

The Swans avoided relegation out of the Football League ten years ago by the narrowest margin, as the Grecians instead dropped into the Conference on the final day of the season. That skin-of-the-teeth survival triggered what has proven to be an inexorable rise for the Welsh side, who last season won their first major silverware and awed supporters in the Premier League.

While the reigning Capital One Cup holders have reportedly parted with in excess of £20 million this summer to tinker their squad (including the recent £12 million transfer of Ivorian striker Wilfried Bony), the matter of resource is clearly disparate between the two clubs. So Tagg expressed his thanks for the side taking up the invitation to allow City to host a marquee friendly at St James Park – and paid tribute to the Swans for remembering how close they were to the brink a decade ago.

He said: “We’re hugely grateful to Swansea – not only for agreeing to put on an exhibition here at St James Park, but also for allowing us to use this as a much-needed fundraiser for our football club.

“Thanks to Swansea’s generosity, all Exeter fans that come to the game will not only be treated to a chance to see Swansea’s superstars, but also to help out their own club financially in what we all recognise as challenging times. This shows an understanding and camaraderie between two clubs that had contrasting emotions at the end of that mutually gruelling campaign ten years ago.

“Swansea have been a shining light in the past few seasons in terms of their ability to play the game in an attractive style and they have reaped the rewards by winning matches in that way.

“So this is a real marquee friendly fixture for us, to see such talented individuals and such a brilliant brand of football that Swansea can offer, and a true great of world football in their manager Michael Laudrup.”

We look forward to welcoming Swansea City and their supporters to St James Park, to enjoy our generous Devonian hospitality. We hope the Swans fans will join Grecians in the Centre Spot for a drink before and after the game and to share anecdotes from the past decade.