Ulster Championship: Armagh set for majority crowd at Corrigan Park

There will be nearly 3000 Armagh fans at Corrigan Park on Saturday for the Ulster Senior Football Championship quarter-final with Antrim.

With capacity at 4000, sources close to the ticketing arrangements have confirmed to BBC Sport NI that the All-Ireland champions will have a larger allocation than the home side Antrim – outnumbering their hosts supporters by approximately three to one.

No tickets will be available on general sale for the match and neither Antrim GAA or Ulster GAA have commented on the breakdown of tickets.

BBC Sport NI has learned that first preference for tickets went to Armagh’s existing season ticket holders – approximately 2000 – with the remaining tickets distributed evenly between both counties.

The west Belfast venue was eventually confirmed as the host for the quarter-final in March after the Ulster GAA initially stated that the game would be played at Newry’s Pairc Esler.

Antrim’s players had been resolute with their stance of playing at their designated home venue, and said that they would not play the game unless it was at Corrigan Park.

Ulster GAA agreed to reverse their earlier decision for the game to be played in Newry after being “satisfied with further assurances given by Antrim GAA”.

It is understood the responsibility for stewarding the match shared between Antrim GAA and Ulster GAA and that there will be a presence from Belfast City Council at the venue on Saturday with sources at Antrim telling BBC Sport NI they are “confident everything is robust”.

Corrigan Park has undergone some remedial work to help prepare for the glamour tie with Armagh, with new media facilities installed while fans will be housed behind both sets of goalposts to maximise capacity.

The match, which will be the first Championship outing for Kieran McGeeney’s Armagh side since winning the All-Ireland final last July, will be broadcast live on BBC Two NI, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website from 12:10 BST.