Fans Group Rails Against Kick-off Times

The gradual decline in Premier League matches scheduled for the traditional 3pm
Saturday kick-off time has prompted an angry response from the Football
Supporters’ Federation.

A new top-flight record will be set on Saturday 6th October when just one
Premier League match kicks off at the traditional 3pm time.

Only Aston Villa’s home game against West Ham will kick off at 3pm, with one
game starting at 12.45pm on Saturday and eight games taking place on Sunday.

‘This is a matter of great concern,’ said Malcolm Clarke, chairman of the
Football Supporters’ Federation.

‘It is extraordinary and it will be a dark weekend for football
supporters.It’s symbolic of the way things are going but the views of the
match-going fan seem to be bottom of the list of priorities. We will certainly
bring this up at our next meeting with the Premier League.’

Four of the games have been switched to the Sunday because teams involved are
playing in the UEFA Cup on the previous Thursday whilst Manchester City v
Middlesbrough has been moved for policing reasons.

A Premier League spokesman responded: ‘It is a combination of factors – teams
featuring in Europe, television games and policing issues. We always try to give
fans as much notice as possible as our research shows that if we do that, then
they can make the appropriate travel arrangements.’