Manchester City: Fire Shifles Kiosk at Etihad Stadium before Champions League Tie

A fire enveloped a merchandise stand outside Etihad Stadium as fans gathered two hours before Manchester City’s Champions League home match against Club Brugge on Wednesday.

The fire started at the kiosk near the main entrance of the stadium just before 18:00 GMT when fans gathered for a presentation of the club’s January signings on a stage.

The event was stopped and the area evacuated by stewards and security staff before the fire department arrived and quickly extinguished the fire near the entrance to Colin Bell West Stand.

City, which was posted on x at. 19.11 that the match would start at. 20 as originally planned, all entrances to the stadium were open and fans could move as usual.

Government of the Premier League Champions City has to win the match to reach the competition’s play-off round.

In a statement released just after 6:30 pm, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said its firefighters were still on stage and “is currently damping all hotspots and making the area safe”.

The presentation had already started when the fire broke out, with women’s players Rebecca Knaak and Aemu Oyama on stage at the time.

Men’s players Omar Marmoush, Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov were set to follow them.

City canceled the welcome event for the new signings and the first team’s arrival, but the players were later depicted arriving at the stadium.