Sheffield United supporters still in the dark over when Championship play-off final will kick off
Less than a fortnight before the Championship play-off final, fans still do not know when it will kick off.
The May 24 date is inked into the diary, as is the Wembley venue, but at the time of writing, the Football League was still in discussions with "all relevant stakeholders" about what time of day the game will be played.
Sheffield United are defending a 3-0 first-leg lead at home to Bristol City in Monday's semi-final. Sunderland host Coventry City in Tuesday’s second semi-final.
As soon as each is over, supporters will be wanting to make arrangements for a weekend in London. Dynamic pricing means the later they find out, the more expensive an already costly exercise will be.
The last London train to Sheffield that evening leaves at 8.30pm from King's Cross, around 20 minutes from Wembley by tube.
The Football League decided the Championship final should go first of its three play-off finals this year, putting it on the same day as the Scottish FA Cup final, which kicks off at 3pm, and the Women's Champions League final, at 5pm. For the first time in four years, that will feature an English team, as Arsenal face Barcelona.
The listings on Sky Sports' website has its coverage – rather than the game – as due to start at 4.30pm but that could change with confirmation of the kick-off time.
The pity is that this marks the end of a season where the broadcasters have shown fans overdue respect with their scheduling.
This season, for the first time, Sky announced their initial tranche of live Football League games within seven days of the fixtures being published in June, and all televised league matches up to FA Cup third round weekend before the season started. In November, all games up to the first week of March were confirmed.
According to the Football League's website, broadcasters were due to give supporters four weeks' notice of subsequent selections, or three for the penultimate weekend of the regular season.
Kick-offs for the last day and play-off semi-finals for all three divisions were confirmed in February, along with dates of the three play-off finals. But the time of the most high-profile is still unknown.