The London derby between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur will no longer be played at Stamford Bridge alone. League officials confirmed on Saturday that the fixture has been extended to cover the entire length of the Fulham Road, with both squads, the match officials and a stadium-sized crowd required to take their positions along its nine kilometres from the Stamford Bridge end to the Fulham Broadway Underground station.
Under the new rules, possession is measured by the number of paving stones crossed, and a goal is scored each time a player reaches a lamppost marked with the club crest. Chelsea's head coach told reporters that his side had rehearsed the route for three weeks and had already replaced every bus shelter on the stretch with a dugout. "We have trained for the length of the road and we intend to defend all of it," he said.
Local residents have been asked to relocate their front doors to the pavement so that stewards can check tickets without entering private homes. Shops along the route have been converted into turnstiles, and the Metropolitan Police have deployed a line of officers every fifty metres to keep the touchline clear of traffic. A Tottenham spokesperson said the club would accept the arrangement on condition that the away end be placed at the Hammersmith roundabout, which has been fenced off for the purpose.
The Premier League has said the match will kick off at a time set by the last tram to pass the ground, and that the final whistle will be blown when the crowd reaches Fulham Broadway. Kick-off is expected to be called at dusk, and the result will be announced from a single microphone placed in the middle of the road.