Sponsored by
Clash with England may be costly to Bantams
Bradford City joint chairman Mark Lawn after the memorial service for Dean Richards at Bradford Cathedral, Bradford: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire.
BRADFORD City chairman Mark Lawn believes little thought is given to clubs in Leagues One and Two when England’s international schedule is drawn up.
The Bantams’ home game against Shrewsbury Town is the only Football League fixture that will kick off at 3pm on Saturday in direct competition with the Three Lions’ Euro 2012 qualifier in Wales.
City had wanted to move the match but their request was turned down by the Shrews unless the Yorkshire club offered to pay for an overnight stay on the Friday at a cost of around £2,000.
It means the game must now kick off at the same time as the qualifier in the Millennium Stadium that is being shown live on television – a clash that Lawn believes will cost Bradford vital income.
City’s joint-chairman said: “We asked Shrewsbury if we could change the kick-off. Ideally, we wanted it to be played on the Sunday but they said no due to having a game on the Tuesday.
“That is fair enough, so we asked about a 1pm kick-off and Shrewsbury said, ‘Only if you pay for us to stay overnight on the Friday’.
“The cost would be about £2,000, which is money we haven’t got. We are on a tight budget so had to say, ‘No’.
“It will definitely hit us. Not only will there be less away fans than if it had been on a Saturday without an international programme, but I would anticipate the home ‘gate’ being 10 per cent down.”
The stalemate between the two clubs means Saturday’s match is the only one of 23 scheduled fixtures this weekend in the bottom two divisions that will kick off in direct competition with the international in Cardiff.
Many clubs have chosen to move to either Friday night or Sunday afternoon, while the others still playing on Saturday will kick-off at either 1pm or 6pm.
Lawn added: “There is nothing we can do. It is Shrewsbury’s right not to agree to a move, but it is frustrating.
“The real problem, though, is in the scheduling of a game like this for 3pm on a Saturday when a full Football League programme is taking place.
“If the kick-off in Wales was at 5pm, for example, we could all play at 3pm and then keep the bars open for any fans who want to stay behind to watch the England match.
“That way, we might have a lower crowd than expected but at least the club could claw some money back.
“I don’t know whether the television companies have insisted on the England game kicking off at 3pm or the FAs. But, to me, it smacks of no one giving a second’s thought as to what impact it will have on the League clubs.”
Email to a friend
Print this page- Leeds lose Ward to Palace: Is there anyone they can afford now?
- Sheffield Wednesday leaving it late to hijack Leeds United over Ward
- As Snodgrass dithers over Leeds, Warnock throws a lifeline
- Ball is in Leeds United’s court over contract - Snodgrass
- Police turning blind eye to Asian voter fraud, says MP
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: East
Comments
There are 2 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
HG1lad
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 at 10:33 AMThe rest of the footballing world is sitting laughing at us not moving the match, even "lesser" clubs in our league have managed to overcome the "problem". The answer is above... move the match to 1pm, lose the £2,000 for the overnight, and claw it back by keeping the bars open for us to watch the England match on. Everybody happy and a feather in the cap for good customer relations. Stay at 3pm and all that happens is 10% loss on crowd (and gate fees) and a high proportion of the crowd actuallly there disgruntled and fed up at the lack of care from the team they care for. Come on, 3 days to sort it.
HG1lad
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 at 10:21 AMThe rest of the footballing world is sitting laughing at us not moving the match, even "lesser" clubs in our league have managed to overcome the "problem". The answer is above... move the match to 1pm, lose the £2,000 for the overnight, and claw it back by keeping the bars open for us to watch the England match on. Everybody happy and a feather in the cap for good customer relations. Stay at 3pm and all that happens is 10% loss on crowd (and gate fees) and a high proportion of the crowd actuallly there disgruntled and fed up at the lack of care from the team they care for. Come on, 3 days to sort it.
Page 1 of 1
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.