VNUnet's Dave Friedlos reports today that Manchester City will become England's first football club to let fans use RF-enabled cell phones for entry to its stadium. The first use of the new system will be for the team's upcoming match against Arsenal on August 26th.

"The club has provided a small group of volunteers with near-field communication phones with embedded RF chips, and will make them generally available at Christmas," Friedlos writes. "Fans can use the phones to download tickets, open turnstiles when they pass the device over the reader, purchase merchandise and store electronic money."

"We tested the technology at the final three games last season to ensure it worked," says Duncan Martin, the club's head of retail. "This year, we contacted our top customers and asked them to take part in the next stage."

The new service, which uses an RF-enabled Nokia phone, will let the club promote special discounts and other offers. "The phones can open the turnstile and communicate to the back office to let us know exactly when a fan arrives," Martin says. "This will allow us to communicate with them directly and offer discounts if they arrive early."