Happy New Year

And here's to more affordable football up and down the land in 2018.

Some things to look out for over the next month or so...

January 6: FA Cup Third Round weekend and Ipswich Town have reduced prices to £10 Adults, £5 for 65+ and Under-23's and £2 for Under-19's while Newcastle United have made it £10 and £5 for the visit of Luton Town if tickets are purchased before matchday. 

£10 Adult tickets are also available at Wembley where Tottenham take on AFC Wimbledon and Vicarage Road for Watford against Bristol City.

January 14: Manchester City visit Kingsmeadow for a Continental Cup semi-final clash with Chelsea Ladies. Admission to the 2pm kick-off is priced at £3 and £1. 

January 20: The New Saints meet Cardiff Met in the Nathaniel MG Cup Final. Tickets are priced at £7 for Adults and £3 for Juniors, Senior Citizens and Students.

March 27: Sheffield United host the European Championship qualifier between England Under-21's and Ukraine. Prices are £10 Adults and £5 Concessions with Family tickets also available and discounts for group bookings and Blades season ticket holders (until end of January).

April 6: England Women take on Wales in a World Cup qualifier at St Mary's in Southampton. An early-bird offer is available on adult tickets (£7.50 rather than £10) if purchased before 31 January. Children and Concessions are just £1.

The Coventry Derby This Weekend

Although Mark Robins is a popular figure among supporters and has put together a squad capable of challenging for promotion this season, thousands of Coventry City fans are simply out of the habit of going to home matches.

Last Friday, the Sky Blues played Wycombe Wanderers at the Ricoh Arena. Two teams in the play-off places with many people having finished work for the Christmas holidays.

Belatedly, the club put a ticket offer in place for groups of six or more (£15 each) or ten or more (£10 each) but only 7,234 watched an exciting game that ended 3-2 to the hosts.

Even promotion and a change of ownership is unlikely to change anything overnight and the issue has, in my opinion, been compounded in the past year by the abandonment of the £20 maximum ticket price that was introduced for the 2015/16 season and which, together with some exciting football on the pitch for the first half of the campaign, saw a steady increase in crowds.

Of course there are still many who need their football fix and back in the summer I wrote about local Non-League clubs Coventry Sphinx and Coventry United and their efforts to entice Sky Blues supporters with their season ticket prices.

Both sides are going along quite nicely in the Midland Football League at present and meet at Sphinx Drive this Saturday in an eagerly-awaited derby clash which should, with Coventry City away at Carlisle United, attract a very healthy attendance.

Admission is priced at £6 Adults, £4 Concessions and free for Under 16's.

National League Promotion Final

The 2018 National League Promotion Final will take place at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 12 May.

With the winners of the league having already secured their place in the EFL, a change to the format this season means those teams finishing between 2nd and 7th will then be battling it out to join them.

That battle ends at Wembley and, as I can testify having been to the last two finals, it will be a hard-fought occasion.

Supporters of the victorious club will be happy and their opposite numbers downcast (particularly as there has been some disquiet about the ticket prices charged for the two finalists).

Neutrals, however, can enjoy the day in some style for just £20 Adults, £10 Seniors and free for Under 16’s if they take advantage of the Early Bird ticket offer which runs until the end of February.

Last season these seats were excellent ones at Level 2 and provided a perfect viewpoint to watch the drama unfold.

Merry Christmas

A very Merry Christmas to anyone who has ever read the blog, who follows us on Twitter or who has sent through some information about upcoming matches, all of it is much appreciated.

An army of people will be out and about across the land on Boxing Day getting games on so enjoy your football wherever you may be going.

There's Football for a Fiver at Banbury United and it is 'Pay What You Want' as Saffron Walden Town host Haverhill Rovers and Stowmarket Town welcome Walsham Le Willows to Green Meadows.

Skip The Shopping This Saturday And Head For...

Ashford Town (Middlesex) where admission is free for the visit of Cambridge City.

Chipstead FC Surrey for free entry to the game against Herne Bay.

Hamworthy United and wear your Christmas jumper for free admission as Amesbury Town provide the opposition.

Kirkley & Pakefield FC and Pay What You Want to watch the Royals take on Brantham Athletic.

Winchester City against Shortwood United. Keep your ticket from this game and watch the New Year's Day derby with AFC Totton for £5.

Keynsham Town, Hengrove Athletic

A nice example of working together from these two Western League clubs as they look to attract more people through the turnstiles next week.

With the top-of-the-table Championship clash between Bristol City and Wolves having been rescheduled for a 5.30pm kick-off on Saturday 30 December, Keynsham have moved their home fixture with Bishop Sutton to the Friday evening (29th at 7.45pm) and Hengrove have brought forward the visit of Odd Down (Bath) to 1pm on the Saturday.

Bristol City (and Wolves) season ticket holders can then gain entry to those games for just £3 each and the offers also extends to season ticket holders at Bath City and Yeovil Town.

Winchester City FC

Consistently voted as one of the best places to live in the UK, Winchester should be looking good on New Year’s Day when the city’s football club have a big local derby to look forward to.

The Southampton area and beyond seems to be a lively place for football at all levels and a number of clubs work hard to get people through their turnstiles, especially when the Saints are away from home or not in action.

AFC Totton, for example, offered free admission to their game against Bishops Cleeve this Saturday, combining it with a host of Christmas activities (and celebrating with a 6-0 win) and I have featured Sholing FC a number of times on the blog in the past.

Totton are the visitors to Winchester on 1 January, in the Evo-Stik League South West, and the hosts have a number of offers in place. 

Anyone coming to their game against Shortwood United on 23 December can come back on New Year’s Day for £5, season ticket holders at Southampton, Portsmouth, Bournemouth and Eastleigh will pay the same price and Under 16's are free of charge.

Festive Football In The Championship

Three offers for the upcoming Christmas period, starting this Saturday at St Andrew's where Birmingham City host Queens Park Rangers.

For the Blues' 'Festive Fixture' prices have been reduced to £10 for Adults in all areas of the ground while prices for Seniors, Students and 13-18's are £5. Under-13's can come for £1.

Norwich City entertain Brenford on Friday 22 December at 7.45pm and tickets are available from £10 Adults, £5 for 65+ and £1 for Under-18's. 

And Reading celebrate 500 matches at the Madejski Stadium when Burton Albion come to town on Saturday 23rd.

Tickets have been priced at 500p (£5) in all areas of the ground, including for away supporters.

Cirencester Town FC

The Centurions will be hosting their annual free entry match this coming Tuesday (12th December) when North Leigh are the visitors to the Corinium Stadium.

Collections will take place for Macmillan Cancer Support with the aim of breaking the £2,500 that two previous fundraising games have generated.

Non-League Finals Day

Dreams of Wembley are now tantalisingly real for those clubs who negotiated the Third Round of the FA Vase last weekend.

The Fourth Round fixtures, from Newport in the Isle of Wight to Newcastle Benfield, will take place on the first weekend of 2018 and there are a number of interesting stories to watch out for, such as whether record-breaking goalkeeper Paul Bastock can reach the final with Wisbech Town.

Both the FA Vase and FA Trophy finals will take place on the same day, for the third succesive year, at Wembley on Sunday 20 May 2018 and tickets for the double-header are available now, priced at £25 for Adults, £10 for Concessions and £1 for Under-16's.

The First Round Proper of the FA Trophy takes place this coming Saturday with National League clubs entering the fray.

Wrexham have reduced prices for the visit of Harrogate Town (£10, £5 and £1 for Over 80/Under 18) while terrace tickets just up the road at Chester are £8, £5 and £2 as they host AFC Fylde.

Ipswich Good, Coventry Bad In The FA Cup Pricing Stakes

Monday evening saw the Third Round draw for the 2017/18 FA Cup take place with Premier League and Championship sides entering the competition at this stage.

19 clubs from the top two divisions have been drawn at home and many will reduce prices for their respective fixtures.  

Ipswich Town were quick off the mark to announce that their game against Sheffield United will be priced at £10 for Adults, £5 for Seniors 65+ and Under-23's and £2 for Under-19's.

My very own Sky Blues may be in the basement division but they are charging a minimum of £22 for the visit of Stoke City to the Ricoh Arena.

Normal league match prices (which have attracted plenty of criticism in themselves) are in operation and my annoyance at that, when a maximum of £20 would have been plenty, has been compounded by how it was announced by the club.

"We're delighted to have been able to agree tickets prices at the level we normally would have for a League Two game for the visit of Premier League Stoke City, and thank the Potters for their co-operation," said chief executive Dave Boddy, quoted on the official website.

It is hard to imagine that Stoke would have objected to tickets being priced at £20, especially when their supporters will be handing over £25 if they opt to pay cash on the day.

Update: Newcastle United host Luton Town in the Third Round and tickets purchased before matchday are priced at £10 Adults and £5 for Juniors, Seniors and Students. 

Well Worth A Visit

The following sites have been invaluable to me in writing this blog and are well worth a visit.

The London Football Guide - James Doe is the man behind Non-League Day and set up TLFG to provide a comprehensive guide to football (at all levels) in the capital and its suburbs. On a weekly basis he runs through all of the fixtures of note and is also happy to answer queries from anyone coming to London and looking to catch a match.

With its focus on a similar patch geographically, The Cold End combines news and match previews with reports, highlights and some great photographs of Non-League football in London, Hertfordshire & Beyond.

If there is anything you need to know about football in Oxfordshire then the Oxon Football blog covers everything from Oxford United downwards while Football in Bracknell is an excellent not for profit site that doesn't leave a stone unturned when reporting on football at all levels in the Berkshire town.

Women’s football features regularly on these pages and the excellent She Kicks website has features, stats and regular fixture updates covering all levels of the game in the UK with Scottish Women's Football performing a similar function in its area.

The official FA WSL site also has an easy-to-navigate fixture list with ticket info and links.

Non-League Matters is a good resource for fixtures, tables and stats from all levels of the game below the Football League and the Forum part of the site has a section where special ticket offers, free and reduced admission and ‘Pay What You Want’ fixtures can be publicised.

The Northern Counties East Football League is my local Step 5 league and the home of Hallam FC who have featured regularly on the site. The NCEFL website is an excellent resource for results and fixtures while many of the clubs in the league feature on the Non League Yorkshire website which has a wealth of news, match reports and opinion from across the county.

North of the border, Scottish Football Fixtures does exactly what it says in the title with day-by-day fixtures from all levels of the Scottish game and regular Twitter updates.

And a quick word for Partizan Bristle and it's cracking tales of groundhopping in the West County and beyond.

Cray Wanderers FC

Tracing their history back to 1860, the Wands describe themselves as the oldest association football club in London and, in a nice link to my local club, took part in a three-team tournament of the oldest football clubs in the world with Hallam FC and Sheffield FC in 2010.

The focus at the moment is very much on the future and the continuing pursuit of a new home ground (Cray currently share Hayes Lane with Bromley) at the Flamingo Park site.

Next Saturday, 9 December, sees the club launch their new planning application with free entry to the league game against Hythe Town, accompanied by an exhibition of plans for the stadium and activities such as a bouncy castle and children able to train on the pitch with the first team.

FA Youth Cup

A handful of ties to watch out for, chosen as they are being played at the main ground of a Premier League or Championship club which is something I feel the Youth Cup deserves, being the flagship competition for this age group, and the youngsters themselves deserve.

Watford host Sunderland at Vicarage Road on Sunday 10 December, at 1pm, with tickets priced at £3 for Adults and Over 65's and £1 for those aged 18 and under.

Villa Park under the lights is still one of the great sights of English football and there is a Midlands derby between the hosts and Coventry City on December 13th, kick-off 7pm. Tickets are priced at £4 Adults and £1 Concessions.

Just down the road, West Bromwich Albion meet Leyton Orient at the Hawthorns on Tuesday 5th, 7pm. Tickets are £5 Adults, £1 Concessions.

On the same evening it is Bristol City against Birmingham City at Ashton Gate. Entry prices are £3 Adults and £1 Concessions.

And Newcastle United visit the Amex to face Brighton & Hove Albion on Thursday 7th (6pm kick-off). Tickets are priced at £5 and £2.

A Positive Premier League Piece

I don't feature the top-flight too often on Affordable Football but there is some good stuff going on there, as evidenced by this interesting blog post from the Football Supporters' Federation which details initiatives that are in place on top of the £30 cap on away ticket prices.

Beaconsfield Town FC

There is free football on offer in Buckinghamshire this coming Saturday, 2 December, as Beaconsfield Town host Northwood in the Evo-Stik League South, East.

The Rams are offering free entry to anyone who brings a new or unused gift to donate to the Children's Ward at Wexham Park Hospital.

Manager Gary Meakin told the club website: "We felt it would be a nice gesture from the club to do something nice at Christmas for those who are maybe a little less fortunate than most or are having a bad time. 

"I have a child of my own and work in a primary school and, at this time of year, we see a lot of children go without and its heartbreaking. The size or cost of the present is not important, it is the gesture of giving that will make that one child a little happier."

Your Day At The Match For £10 In The NCEL

The Northern Counties East League, formed in 1982 from a merger of the Yorkshire and Midland Leagues, currently has 44 teams in its two divisions and is always an affordable place to watch your football with plenty of clubs offering admission for a fiver or less.

Two teams who have taken things a step further and come up with match day packages are Barton Town and AFC Emley.

At Barton's Easy Buy Stadium in North Lincolnshire, 'The Perfect Ten' covers admission to the game, a programme and food and bar vouchers worth £3 each.

It's available on the gate with the next home fixture scheduled for Tuesday 28th November against Staveley Miners Welfare.

At AFC Emley, in West Yorkshire (look for the mast and you won't be far away) an online ticket is available to buy in advance for £10 which gets you admission, programme, a raffle ticket, hot food menu item and a hot drink.

They take on Retford United on Saturday 2 December. 

Football for a Fiver at Reading FC

Affordable football at the Madejski Stadium has been a theme since I started writing this blog in the summer of 2013.

Not just the occasional reduction in ticket prices but a consistent package, £10 tickets (or less) for cup matches, free admission to Under-23 games at the ground and a ‘Twenty’s Plenty’ initiative that covers both home and away supporters.

It points to a level of stability behind the scenes (regardless of ownership) and an engagement with the fan base that many other clubs pay lip service to but still do not have.

This coming weekend, for example, supporters have been given the chance to buy tickets for the double-header against Sheffield Wednesday (on Saturday) and Barnsley (on Tuesday) at two for the price of one.

A record crowd also watched Reading FC Ladies at the Madejski recently.

And, for what the club have calculated will be their 500th match at the stadium, against Burton Albion on 23 December all tickets will cost £5 (or 500p) which is applicable to travelling Brewers as well.

From The Archive: Inverness Caledonian Thistle

On this day in 2014 in 2014 I wrote about Caley Thistle and their 'Pay What You Want' offer for their upcoming Scottish Premiership game against St Johnstone as well as a number of other ticket initiatives.

There is free football on offer at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium this coming Sunday, at 1pm, for the Scottish FA Youth Cup match against Hibernian.

£10 Tickets At Notts County On Saturday

Notts County have featured many times on the Affordable Football pages in the past but, a little like Hartlepool United who I wrote about last week, it has mainly been in adversity as the Magpies have attempted to drum up support for a big relegation clash.

Different times at Meadow Lane at the moment, of course, under the stewardship of owner Alan Hardy and manager Kevin Nolan.

The Magpies stayed on top of the League Two table with Saturday's 3-1 victory against Cheltenham and they will be looking to maintain their excellent home form when Colchester United are the visitors this coming Saturday (November 25).

Ticket prices have been reduced to £10 Adults, Under-18's £5, Under-12's £1 and Under-7's free while season ticket holders can bring a friend for free.

Before then a Notts County XI visit Radford FC on Wednesday evening (22nd, 7.45pm) to celebrate the opening of a new clubhouse.

Admission to the game is priced at £5/£3 and free for accompanied Under-16's.

FA Youth Cup Third Round

Premier League and Championship academy teams enter the competition at this stage and it offers a good opportunity to watch a match at one of the major grounds for a fiver or less.

A full list of fixtures is available on the FA website and must be played by Saturday 16 December and, amongst the details confirmed so far are matches at Ewood Park (Blackburn v Stoke on 13 December, £4/£2), Loftus Road (QPR v Charlton on 12 December, £3/£1) and Turf Moor (Burnley v Leeds on 27 November, £4/£2 and £1 for season ticket holders of both clubs)

Everton have also confirmed that their tie against Ipswich will be played at Goodison Park on Friday 8 December (no ticket details as yet) and Middlesbrough will take on Bolton Wanderers at the Riverside on Tuesday 12 December.

Non-League Finals Day 2018

The third FA Non-League Finals Day will take place at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 20th May 2018 and tickets are now on sale.

Featuring a double-header of both the FA Vase and FA Trophy finals, the main driver behind a day showcasing Non-League football was to keep alive the tradition of both competitions ending at the national stadium.

When they were being staged separately it seemed to be becoming harder to justify that, especially in a crowded football calendar, but the move has been a success.

The presence of Hereford in the 2016 FA Vase final may have skewed the attendance figures slightly but more than 38,000 brought tickets in 2017 to see South Shields and York City win the honours.

Prices are £25 for Adults, £10 for Concessions and £1 for Under-16's.

The FA Trophy Third Round Qualifying will take place on Saturday 25th November, York beginning their defence of the cup at home to Coalville and the Third Round Proper of the FA Vase will be on Saturday 2 December.

Hartlepool United FC

Pools have featured on the Affordable Football pages before with reduced prices for games at Victoria Park but it has usually been as a rallying cry ahead of a big six-pointer at the foot of League Two.

They may be a division lower these days but there is plenty of optimism in place as Craig Harrison's side slowly put together a promotion bid in the National League.

Fans seem to be enjoying the opportunity of seeing some new grounds as away supporters have been travelling in good numbers and the club want to recreate the positive atmosphere at home this weekend.

Tickets for the match against Aldershot on Saturday have been reduced to £10 Adults, £5 Concessions and £1 Under-16's and if you buy in advance you will get the same prices for the visit of Halifax Town on Tuesday 21 November.

And, they may hope it is their only season in Non-League football but that won't stop Hartlepool hoping to lift the FA Trophy at Wembley on Sunday 20 May.

Tickets are on sale for the third Non-League Finals Day, which combines both the Trophy and FA Vase showpieces, priced at £25 for Adults, £10 Concessions and just £1 for Under-16's.

Hallam FC Versus Dronfield Town

A bright, late Autumn afternoon at Hallam FC where it was free admission for all veterans and members of the armed forces for the local derby against Dronfield Town in the Northern Counties East League Division One.

A very healthy crowd of 384 (with usual admission prices of £5/£2.50) were in attendance as the visitors plundered three early goals to set themselves on the way to a 4-1 victory.

A special programme was produced for Remembrance Day and the teams were led out onto the field by members of the local British Legion.

The 'Last Post' was also played as the crowd fell silent before kick-off, scenes I'm sure were replicated up and down the country today.

International Break Weekend Action

A third international break of the season will see some familiar grumbles about the lack of Premier League and Championship fixtures but there are a host of attractive matches taking place up and down the land this weekend.

Three different roads to Wembley are at their next step with matches in the FA Trophy Second Round Qualifying, FA Vase Second Round Proper and the Women's FA Cup First Round Proper.

The official FA website has full fixtures for all three competitions. 

Plenty of FA Vase ties will be £5 admission, such as the local derby between Sporting Khalsa and Bromsgrove Sporting.

Kids go free to this season's Women's FA Cup Final at Wembley on Saturday 5 May 2018 with Adult tickets £15 and Concessions just £5.

A new group of England Under-17's will hope to match up to the recent achievements of the World Cup winners and they face Russia at Burton Albion on Saturday (1pm) with tickets priced at £3 Adults and £1.50 Concessions.

Four matches take place in the Essex Senior League Groundhop, starting at Barkingside on Friday evening when admission for the visit of Clapton is £5 including a commemorative progamme. 

Keep an eye out for clubs, such as Padiham FC, of the North West Counties Football League, where your season ticket for a Premier League or EFL club could get you reduced admission this weekend.

And Padiham are joined by a number of clubs, including Hallam FC and Mickleover Sports, in offering free admission to current and former military personnel to mark Remembrance Weekend.

Ramsbottom United FC

Players warming up at the Harry Williams Riverside Stadium ahead of the re-arranged Integro League Cup tie between Ramsbottom United and Stalybridge Celtic on Tuesday evening.

With the floodlights having failed during the original match, free admission was offered to all for tonight's game.

It's a while now until the next scheduled home fixture, against South Shields on Saturday 2 December, but this market town is always well worth a visit.

Cup Football Around The Counties

I was weighing up an article on the various County Cup competitions that form part of the fabric of the game across the country when I saw an excellent piece in today's Non-League Paper from Nige Tassell, author of the excellent 'The Bottom Corner' book about the game outside of the Football League.

He sings the praise of such competitions (and the various League Cup knockouts that each of the various Non-Leagues have) and rightly sees them as a great opportunity for players of all levels to experience both the thrill of lifting silverware and potentially playing against league opposition and/or at a major ground, especially if they reach the final.

This week's calendar is packed full of County Cup matches across England and there's plenty of affordable football in there too, including Football for a Fiver at Hendon and Colchester United and £3 Adult admission at Barnet.

Check out your local club (or local FA) website to see if there's a match near you this week.

Squires Gate FC

A very nice evening in Blackpool on Thursday was a good reminder to write about a local club in the town who work hard to attract new spectators and play a part in their local community.

Squires Gate FC, of the North West Counties Football League, charge £6 and £3 admission to the Brian Addison Stadium with Under 12's free. During the summer they hosted a number of 'Pay What You Want' friendlies as well.

The next scheduled home fixture is on 14 November when Irlam FC are the visitors. If you're by the seaside, try and pay them a visit.

Chesterfield FC

There were a few tears, some disagreements and a couple of injuries at the Proact Stadium on Wednesday, but that was mainly because I was in the soft play area that is located within the ground!

Home to the Spireites since 2010, on one side the stadium looks to be the perfect example of a soulless modern ground, hidden as it is by a busy road and a huge supermarket. On the other side, however, there are shops, cafes and life and it remains walkable (albeit a decent distance) from the town centre.

It looked for a while as though the move from Saltergate was going to be the catalyst for Chesterfield being able to emulate the likes of Barnsley and Rotherham and spend at least a couple of seasons in the Championship but the club currently occupy bottom spot in League Two.

There have been a couple of small, positive steps in recent weeks, however, with fans favourites Jack Lester coming back to the club as manager and owner Dave Allen, who seemed keen to sell the club not so long ago, set to back the new man in the January transfer window.

The Proact Stadium hosts England Under-17's against Portgual on Wednesday 8th November, part of a four-team tournament that will act as a warm-up to the UEFA Under-17 European Championships in 2018 for which Chesterfield will stage the opening match.

Tickets are priced at £3 Adults and £1.50 Concessions.

Happy Halloween

Spooky football on Tuesday https://t.co/mKqXFfqmaC pic.twitter.com/XIjJZ42E5l

— Bishop'sStortfordFC (@BSFCTheBlues) 29 October 2017

November's Affordable Football

November 3: The FA Cup First Round takes place across three days. Can Truro City cause an upset at The Valley? Tickets for the Cornish club's trip to face Charlton Athletic on Sunday 5th are priced at £10 Adults, £5 Over 65's and Under 21's and £11 for an Adult + Under 18.

November 8: The first leg of Chelsea Ladies Champions League tie against Rosengard takes place at Kingsmeadow. Tickets are priced at £6 Adults, £3 Concessions. The home leg of Manchester City's clash with LSK Kvinner of Norway will be played on 15/16 November.

November 10: Bangor City play host to Wales Under-21's as they take on Bosnia & Herzegovina in European Championship qualifying. Tickets are priced at £5 Adults and £2 for Senior Citizens and Juniors.

November 11: Burton Albion host England Under-17's against Russia in a 1pm kick-off. Tickets are priced at £3 for Adults and £1.50 for Concessions and Students.

November 14: England Under-17's take on Germany at the New York Stadium, home of Rotherham United. Tickets for the 7pm kick-off are priced at £3 for Adults and £1.50 for Concessions and Students. The Millers also have a Kids for a Quid offer in place for their League One game against Wigan Athletic on Saturday 25th.

November 15: Reading FC Women take on London Bees at the Madejski Stadium with general admission priced at £5 Adults, £2 Concessions and £12 for a Family.

November 18: The U23 derby between Manchester United and Manchester City takes place at Leigh Sports Village, kick-off 1pm, with free admission via the LSV website.

November 24: England Women take on Bosnia & Herzegovina at the Banks's Stadium, Walsall, in World Cup qualifying. Tickets are available, priced at £10 for Adults and just £1 for children and concessions.

November 28: Colchester United is the venue for England Women v Kazakhstan in a World Cup qualifier. Tickets are available, priced at £10 for Adults and just £1 for children and concessions.

There are also three Under 23 fixtures scheduled for Pride Park, where Derby County usually offer free admission (please check). The Rams youngsters are due to take on Wolfsburg on Wednesday 1st, Nottingham Forest on Monday 6th and Leicester City on Friday 24th.

And the FA Youth Cup reaches the First Round stage with a number of matches scheduled for League One and Two grounds, such as Oldham Athletic v Bury on Wednesday 1st at 7pm. Admission to that one is priced at £4 Adults and £2 Concessions.

Winchester City FC

Following on from the Hampshire theme of this recent article, Winchester City FC are offering £5 admission to Southampton, Pompey, Bournemouth (and Reading) season ticket holders for the big Friday evening clash against Salisbury in the Southern League this week.

The offer also extends to Eastleigh season ticket holders (the Spitfires are offering free admission to their game against Solihull Moors tomorrow night, Tuesday 24th) and anyone who holds a ticket from either of Winchester's recent games against Bristol Manor Farm or Paulton Rovers.

Add in a local derby, a big following from Salisbury and free entry for Under 16's and it should be a lively evening in the beautiful cathedral city.

Update - Wednesday 25th October: And the Hampshire offers keep on coming as there is free admission this coming Saturday for Sholing FC against Fareham Town, kick-off 3pm.

Northwood FC

I get more annoyed than perhaps I should when I miss out on the chance to publicise a 'Pay What You Want' game and that's what happened on Saturday as I read about Northwood FC's 'Pete Barry Day' in memory of their late committee member and father of chairman Ian Barry.

To mark a year since his passing, Woods' offered PWYW admission for the fixture against Aylesbury United and those who did come to Chestnut Avenue saw a 3-0 victory for the hosts in the Evo-Stik League South, East Division (the league names at this level of the pyramid never cease to confuse).

Northwood have featured on these pages before with their season ticket offers (just £40 for the current campaign) and they are clearly a club rooted at the heart of their local community.

Bath City FC Community Day

Having completed their transition to being a community owned club in the summer, these are positive times for Bath City FC with a proposed redevelopment of their historic Twerton Park home being another important milestone to come.

The stadium hosts this Saturday's (21 October) Community Day with 'Pay What You Want' admission to the National League South fixture against Braintree Town, kick-off 3pm.

10% of gate receipts go to club charity, Age UK, and there will also be plenty of other things going on, including live music and half-time youth games.

As the club themselves say, 'Invite friends, bring along the kids, bring back people who used to come to City, and make this a great day.'

Eastleigh & The Saints: South Coast Special

Some matches that may be of interest in the Southampton area over the next few weeks.

Starting at Eastleigh, where there is free entry on Tuesday 24 October to the National League game against Solihull Moors at the Silverlake Stadium.

The Spitfires have come in for quite a bit of criticism recently over the very late postponement of a home match against Chester, the letters page of last week’s Non-League Paper containing quite a few unhappy missives.

But the offer of free football is one that has been made regularly in recent seasons as Eastleigh look to build up their supporter base.

Many of those supporters will also be regulars at St Mary’s and anyone buying a ticket for Southampton’s televised home clash with Burnley on Saturday 21 October (kick-off 5.30pm) will get 50% off a brief for the West Bromwich Albion fixture on Saturday 4 November.

And Premier League 2 matches that are played at the Saints stadium will continue to be free entry for all spectators, although a ticket will be required.

Next up for the Under-23’s is the visit of Newcastle United on Monday 16 October for a 7pm kick-off.

Maine Road FC, West Didsbury & Chorlton FC

The teams come out at Maine Road FC on Monday evening for a North West Counties League clash with Padiham which the visitors won 3-1.

Both Maine Road and their local rivals West Didsbury & Chorlton offer Football for a Fiver and a warm welcome to their respective parts of South Manchester.

The two sides are scheduled to meet in the league on Boxing Day and Easter Monday and both should be enjoyable occasions.

I'm also pleased to say that this blog will be sponsoring a player at West for the remainder of the campaign to go with our sponsorship of a player at Sholing FC.

Yeovil Town Ladies FC

In one sense it is an ordinary matchday for Yeovil Town Ladies FC, when Sunderland the visitors to Huish Park this Sunday for a 2pm kick-off in FA WSL1.

Advance admission is priced at £5 for Adults (£7 on the day) and £2.50 (£3) for Concessions, with Family Tickets £12 (£16) and a host of activities going on before the action begins.

But the club are taking the next step in what become a fight to preserve their hard-won status in the top-tier of the Women’s game being lost, to yet another off-field reorganisation of the WSL, and are hoping to 'Pack the Park' for the game but also for a Forum event immediately afterwards.

I've been writing this blog for a little over four years and have probably been through as many WSL reshuffles during that time.

Most recently came the move to a winter schedule, a positive move I felt, but barely had Yeovil finished their pre-season preparations then came the news that the FA wanted to move to a full-time, fully professional WSL1 for the 2018-19 season with anything from 8 to 14 clubs included.

All clubs currently in the division will have to re-apply for entry and the criteria that will need to be met will cost Yeovil in the region of £350,000 according to a recent BBC article, with Yeovil Town FC unable to provide anything other than their support, with matches played at Huish Park for example.

It is not the principle of a fully professional league that Yeovil object to, rather the speed of the proposed changes and the short time-frame given to meet them.

As the author Carrie Dunn argues on the She Kicks website, constant changing of the league set-up is not helping to establish it in the minds of the football public and from my perspective that is a shame when so much hard is done at each club to try and attract supporters through the turnstiles.

Eastbourne Town FC

This Saturday at the Saffrons, Eastbourne Town v Loxwood

Free entry for all spectators #NonLeagueDay

Collection on gate @DemelzaHospice 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/3x7mT6zyin

— Pier Pressure (@ppETFC) 3 October 2017

A great picture and a nice gesture from supporters group Pier Pressure who are meeting all of the costs of this Saturday's game between Eastbourne Town FC and Loxwood in the Southern Combination Football League.

That has allowed the club to offer free entry to all on Non-League Day with a collection also being held by local charity Demelza.

Non-League Day 2017

Non-League Day 2017, the eighth staging of the event, takes place this year on Saturday 7 October to coincide with the next break in the action in the Premier League and Championship.

This is far from a definitive list so please check out the official NLD Twitter page and also your local club to see if there is anything happening.

Announcing their plans very early were Dulwich Hamlet FC where it will be 'Pay What You Want' for the visit of Needham Market. Last season more than £3,000 was given to charity and all profit after the usual match costs will this year benefit two more local causes.

At Top Field where Hitchin Town host Stratford Town in the Southern League Premier Division it will also be 'Pay What You Want' admission. Hitchin have used PWYW on a number of occasions over the past couple of seasons and secretary Roy Izzard wrote in his weekly update recently that they had always 'produced more income than was budgeted for full price admission.'

An attendance of 1,000 is the aim at Hitchin while Paget Rangers of the Midland Football League are looking to get 200+ through the gate when they entertain Uttoxeter Town on Non-League Day. Again, this game is 'Pay What You Want' at the turnstiles.

Newmarket Town are offering admission of just £2 for Adults and free for Under 16's when purchased via the club website for the visit of Histon in the Eastern Counties League, Jockeys hosting their annual Youth Day, and entry to Chesham United against Royston Town in the Southern League Premier Division is on a 'Pay What You Want' basis with the club also distributing plenty of free tickets to Under 18's.

Half-price admission for mentioning Non-League Day is available at Croydon FC (free entry if you download a particular app) and it's half-price for Premier League and EFL season ticket holders at Buxton FC for the game against Marine.

Another Eastern Counties League club staging a Youth Day on NLD are Felixstowe & Walton United. It is 'Pay What You Want' admission to their game at home to Ely City while there is Football for a Fiver at Tonbridge Angels for the Bostik Premier visit of Wingate & Finchley.

Barrow have reduced prices, for their National League game against Leyton Orient, to £10 Adults, £7 Concessions & Students and free for Under-17's while Senior Citizens (60+) can gain free entry to Peterborough Northern Star at home to Rothwell.

It is 'Pay What You Want' at Newton Aycliffe FC as they host Ryhope CW and season ticket holders from any club can watch Hallam FC for free against Brigg Town. If you're a season ticket holder at Aston Villa, Birmingham City or West Bromwich Albion you can catch Sutton Coldfield Town versus Lancaster City for half-price.

Watch AFC Blackpool for free against Abbey Hulton United and Redhill FC at home to Bedfont Sports where there are free chips and a drink for every child attending.

Barton Town of the Northern Counties East League have reduced prices of £3 & £1.50 as they take on Pontefract Collieries while season ticket holders from any club, in any sport, can watch Bradford Park Avenue for a fiver.

There also offers in place at both Altrincham FC and Buxton FC where season ticket holders from Premier League and EFL clubs can gain admission to their respective home matches for £5.

The Scottish Lowland Football League will also be an active part of this year’s Non-League Day with a full programme of 8 matches taking place.