Clash with England may be costly to Bantams

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.”