Football Ground Map
Football Ground Map
Thanks to the new Sky Sports TV deal, things are going to be looking very different for EFL fans this season. Far more games than ever will be broadcast live, a decision that has been met with a mixture of euphoria and dread by fans.
If you're an armchair supporter, then the dent in your sofa is going to be bigger than ever, But if you are a season ticket holder, follow your team around the country or just love visiting new grounds, things are getting a lot more complicated. Here's what you need to know.
From the start of the 2024/2025 season, each Championship club will have at least 24 games live on Sky. In addition, every League One and League Two club will be featured in a minimum of 20 live matches.
Because of the huge number of live games being televised each week, Sky are launching a new Sky Sports + platform, which has the capability to show 100+ live events simultaneously. If you are a Sky customer, Sky Sports + will automatically be added to your service from the 1st of August.
Now for the nitty gritty, when will the teams be playing? For a start, every Football League game on the opening weekend of the season will be broadcast live. In addition, every midweek game will be broadcast live, as well as all games taking place on Bank Holidays, international weekends and on the final day of the season. On these dates, the 3pm blackout rule will not be in place, giving fans a rare chance to watch Saturday afternoon games live on TV. All League Cup and EFL Trophy games will also be broadcast live on Sky Sports +.
On every other weekend of the season, there will be 10 EFL games shown for live broadcast. This will include three Championship, two League One and two League Two games kicking off at 12:30 each week. Additional live games on those weekends will be in other TV slots such as Friday night, Sunday lunchtime and Monday night.
Sky have already announced their live games for all weekends up to the end of September. That period obviously includes the opening weekend of the season and an international break. On both these weekends, the 3pm Saturday blackout rule will be shelved, so the majority of League One and Two games will be kicking off in a familiar timeslot.
The broadcaster has also pledged to release all TV selections, up to the beginning of January, before the season kicks off on the 9th of August.
Clearly, these changes are going to have a big impact on how we visit football grounds this season. Gone are the days of Football League fans being confident that their team will be kicking off at 3pm on Saturday. That means there are a number of important things you need to consider before ordering football tickets.
A big negative for fans travelling long distances to games is that the new 12:30pm kick-off window will mean extremely early morning starts. In some cases, it won't be possible to travel by public transport on the day of a game. Although looking at the current list of live games, it appears that Sky have factored this into their planning.
So whilst (for example) Colchester fans probably won't be relishing the prospect of getting to Walsall for a lunchtime kick-off on September 28th, it is possible. We can't see any Gillingham v Carlisle-type games selected for live coverage at this stage, so hopefully that will continue through the campaign.
The most important thing you need to do before booking any matchday tickets, public transport or even accommodation, is to double-check the fixture schedule. Don't assume the game you are going to is kicking off at 3pm on Saturday.
A big concern that many fans have about the new TV deal is whether it will lead to fewer people going to games. Will casual fans seek the comfort of their sofa rather than making the journey to the ground? What will this mean for the atmosphere at games?
Whilst we cannot answer this for certain, one thing we do know is that football fans are a very loyal bunch and they (quite rightly!) love the excitement of attending games. Some of the kick-off times may test your patience and there may even be fixtures that become impossible for you to attend. But in the main, we are confident that the experience of visiting football grounds will be as great as ever. Just make sure you do the appropriate planning!
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