Will Matchday Football Programmes Be Scrapped For Next Season
We saw some disturbing news in the press the other day about the possible scrapping of the matchday football programme in the English Football League next season. At the EFL Annual General Meeting next month they are going to take a vote on whether the printing and publishing of a programme for each home game should still be mandatory for all football league clubs. Some football clubs don`t want the burden of having to produce one for each game.
Print The Programme For Blackburn Rovers & Accrington Stanley
From our point of view of course we have a vested interest in clubs producing a programme as we print the programmes for both Blackburn Rovers and Accrington Stanley. But besides that we think it would be a very sad day if the matchday programme were to be consigned to history.
The matchday programme is such a big tradition of the days experience of going to a football match and there are many avid readers and collectors out there that will be distraught at the prospect of the programme becoming extinct. Many clubs put a great deal into producing their programmes and the quality of the finished article is something that they can be rightly proud of. A decision to scrap them would be another blow to the printing industry and the printed word.
The EFL Explain Their Decision To Vote On This Matter
In explaining their decision to vote on this matter an EFL spokesperson is quoted in The Telegraph as saying:
“At it`s summer meeting in June 2018, the EFL will vote on a proposal that will determine whether or not it is an absolute requirement to produce a matchday programme from the start of the 2018/19 season onwards.
“A number of clubs have asked the EFL if the mandatory publication of a matchday programme can be addressed as a result of an overall decline in sales and the proliferation of digital and social media, which has the ability to deliver the same content in a more cost-effective manner.
“Irrespective of the outcome at June’s AGM, the EFL will continue to produce a match programme for its five competition finals – the Carabao Cup, Checkatrade Trophy and Sky Bet Play-Offs.”
Let us hope the people who vote see the value of tradition and history and vote to keep programmes as mandatory for the coming season.