A Super Start to 2025

Weston-super-Mare AFC have featured regularly on these pages over the years and the club are welcoming in 2025 with their 'Community Pay What You Want Day' scheduled for the visit of St Albans City on Saturday 11 January.

For a minimum donation of £2 you can watch some National League South football and all profits from matchday entry will go to Seagulls in the Community and Weston Hospicecare.

Happy New Year and thank you to everyone who reads the blog.

Seaside Special

A mixed bag of weather over the summer holidays it has to be said but hopefully it will be fine for Monday 28th when Weston-super-Mare AFC host their Community Day.

The Seagulls 100% start to the season was ended today by Slough Town but they will be looking to bounce back at Farnborough next Saturday prior to the Bank Holiday action at the Optima Stadium.

Admission for the home game against Hemel Hempstead Town in the National League South is on a 'Pay What You Want' basis with a minimum donation of £2 and all match day entry profits going to Weston Hospicecare to help with the fantastic work that they do.

Or maybe you're in Norfolk over the Bank Holiday weekend and fancy some free football at Carrow Road on Friday 25th? If so, Norwich City U21's are in Premier League 2 action against Chelsea for which tickets are free of charge.

Bath City FC Community Day

It's target 2,000 at Twerton Park on Saturday 14 September when Bath City take on Eastbourne Borough in the National League South as the game has been chosen as the club’s Community Day fixture for the 2019/20 season.

Admission on the turnstiles will be 'Pay What You Like' with lots of family activities going on be-forehand.

1,585 attended last season's Community Day fixture and with the feelgood factor growing over the club being community owned it is hoped that that figure is easily beaten at the weekend.

10% of all gate receipts will go to the Bath City FC Foundation.

It's a double-header of affordable action at Twerton Park over the course of the weekend as Bath City U18's have an FA Youth Cup tie against Frome Town at 7.45pm on Monday 16th for which admission will be £3 Adults, £1 for Under 16’s.

Barnoldswick, Bath & Sholing

A trio of matches to be played on Saturday 29th September that will all celebrate the role played by the host club in and around their local community.

In Lancashire, Barnoldswick Town FC of the North West Counties Premier Division are marking their founding in 1972 and hope to see as many people as possible who have contributed to the club's rise.

Ashton Athletic are the visitors to the Silentnight Stadium and admission will be on a 'Pay What You Want' basis.

And it is 'Pay What You Want' for National League South action at Bath City FC (against Welling United) for their annual Community Day.

There are loads of activities going on for families and the club are also looking to entice students heading to the city this month to sample the atmosphere at Twerton Park and perhaps adopt The Romans as their second team.

At Sholing FC, where manager Dave Diaper recently marked 1,000 game in charge of The Boatmen, it is also Community Day and there is free entry for the game against AFC Portchester in the wessex Premier League.

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.

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.'

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.

Yeovil Town Ladies Hit The Road

The FA WSL 1 Spring Series begins next weekend and Sunday (23 April) is a big day in the history of Yeovil Town Ladies FC.

Promoted from WSL 2 last season, the Lady Glovers kick off life in the top division with a home game against Liverpool Ladies that will be televised live on the BBC Sport website.

After that match, which will be played at Yeovil FC's Huish Park, the remaining five home fixtures (an extra one coming about as the game against Arsenal has been reversed to be Yeovil's home advantage) in the Spring Series will be taken on the road with three scheduled for the home of Taunton Town FC and two for Bridgwater Town's Fairfax Park.

Given the nature of the Spring Series which is designed to bridge the transition between a summer and winter season and Yeovil's unique position in a sense, in that they are representing an area (Somerset) that isn't always represented at the top-level of sport, this will hopefully spread the word about how well the club has done to get into WSL 1 and also whet the appetite for the full 2017/18 campaign to come.

Online ticket prices for all matches are £5 Adults, £2.50 Concessions and £12 for a Family of Four with increases on match day to £7/£3 and £16.

Bath City FC Community Day 2016

The annual community day at Twerton Park comes at an exciting time for Bath City FC as it has been confirmed in the past few days that the £300,000 target of the ‘Big Bath City Bid’ has been reached.

This was the minimum figure that was required, from the sale of shares and donations, to trigger community ownership of the club, hopefully securing its future for the long-term and allowing for a genuine supporter-led democracy of decisions to be made.

An article on the reasons for the initiative on the When Saturday Comes website is well worth a read.

‘Pay What You Want’ admission will be in place at Bath for the Conference South game at home to Eastbourne Borough on Saturday 8th October with 10% of the gate money being donated to the Genesis Trust charity and a number of activities taking place before the match and at half-time.

Keep an eye on your local Non-League club this weekend to see if there are any special offers in place to coincide with the international break.

'Operation 515' at Frome Town FC

Formed in 1904, Frome Town FC started life in the Wiltshire Premier League and have been based at Badgers Hill since that date, the stadium now bearing the name of the Blindmans Brewery, whose website (I know, I'm being diverted away from the football) certainly makes you fancy a beer.

In March last year I wrote about 'Operation 500' as the club offered Pay What You Want admission for the visit of Hungerford Town in the Southern League Premier Division.

512 came through the turnstiles for that fixture and now, Frome are looking to go three better with ‘Operation 515’ when Stratford Town are the visitors on Saturday 9 April. Admission will once again be Pay What You Want for the 3pm kick-off.

The Spirit of 1949 as Yeovil Face Sunderland

It was one of the biggest FA Cup shocks of all time as Sunderland, the ‘Bank of England’ club were humbled 2-1 by Southern League Yeovil Town on the famous Huish slope in 1949.

The old ground may now be a Tesco supermarket but its name lives on at Huish Park and that is where FA WSL2 side Yeovil Town Ladies will look to cause an upset against WSL1 Sunderland in the 5th Round of the FA Women’s Cup.

Tickets for the game, scheduled for Sunday 20 March at 2pm, are priced at £5 Adults and £2.50 for Concessions and Children.

Seven other 5th Round ties take place on Sunday 20th with this being the stage of the competition where the WSL1 sides enter proceedings.

Holders Chelsea travel to newly-promoted Doncaster Rovers Belles in a game that will take place at the Keepmoat Stadium. Tickets for this one are priced at £6 Adults, £1 Concessions and a Family ticket is available for £12.

The FA Women’s Cup Final takes place at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 14 May with tickets free for children aged 16 and under.

'Pay What You Want' At Bath City

Changing times on the pitch at Bath City FC with the recent departure of long-serving manager Lee Howells and the impending exit of director of football Adie Britton.

But the task of making City a vibrant part of the local community is ongoing with the Supporters Society and the Big Bath City Bid team aiming to secure community ownership of the club.

Bath stage their annual Community Day on Saturday 20th February when St Albans City are the visitors to Twerton Park in the National League South.

The game will be 'Pay What You Want' at the turnstiles with 10% of the money taken being donated to Dorothy House Hospice Care, the club's chosen charity for the season.

There will be plenty more going on, including a half-time 'walking football' match and a pre-match New Orleans style brass band - Horning Glory.

Yeovil Town Ladies FC

First of all a big apology as, in a previous article, I mistakenly said that Yeovil Town Ladies' home game against Millwall Lionesses was due to be played at Huish Park last Sunday.

The correct date for the game is this coming Sunday, 19th July at 2pm but that does at least give me another chance to publicise the game which has been moved to Yeovil Town's ground in anticipation of a big crowd.

Attendances in the Women's Super League were up sharply at the weekend as domestic competition resumed following the World Cup and Yeovil Ladies are hoping to pack Huish Park on Sunday when admission prices will be £4 and £2.50 for Concessions.

Pay What You Want Leads To Reductions At Weston Super Mare

Using the feedback gained from the 'Pay What You Want' game they held last season, Weston Super Mare AFC have restructured their pricing for the 2015/16 campaign.

Headlines are a reduction in season ticket prices from £200 to £149 for a whole season of Conference South football with matchday admission down from £12 to £10.

New for the new season is a family season ticket (2 adults, 2 under-16's) which costs £199 and a matchday pass for the same numbers which costs £18.

Commercial Director Neil Keeling said “We asked our fans, they have spoken, and we have listened. We had some great feedback on our questionnaire’s from our PWYW game and hopefully the changes made will improve our attendance and attract a new fan and hopefully some may return. For me football is all about family and friends and I believe our new family matchday admission and season ticket passes will be a hit! At £199 this works at just under £10 a game over the season."

Eight Games For £15 At Yeovil Town Ladies

All eyes are on Canada for the Women's World Cup which started this weekend with the Women's Super League (WSL) season in England taking a break for the tournament.

When it returns, however, Yeovil Town Ladies of WSL2 have a superb offer available for second half season tickets.

These will cover eight home games, six in the league and two in the Continental Tyres Cup competition and cost just £15 for Adults and £7.50 for Concessions.

That is less than £2 per game for Adults and less than £1 per game for Concessions for a chance to watch some high-quality football, as showcased by the World Cup which promises to be the biggest and best yet.

Millwall Lionesses also have a half season ticket available at just £20 for Adults and £8 for Under-16's and Over-60's. This covers their remaining seven home games.

'Pay What You Want' At The Seaside This Saturday!

Three 'Pay What You Want' games take place in various Non-League divisions this Saturday (21st March) and all three are by the seaside if you fancy a game of football and a stroll along the front as well.

In the Vanarama Conference South, Weston-Super-Mare AFC take on Concord Rangers. The club bar will be open from 11am with entry to the stadium from 1pm. To help the club gauge reaction to the 'Pay What You Want' initiative and gather information for future offers/promotions, entry will be through the Club function room where supporters will complete a quick Q&A.

Worthing FC of the Ryman League Division One South host Folkestone Invicta at Woodside Road. The club want to see as many shirts of different colours as possible and there will be half-time penalty contest with prizes on offer.

And Scarborough Athletic host Bamber Bridge in the Evo-Stik Division One North. The Seadogs are continuing their battle to return to Scarborough itself but are currently playing matches at Bridlington Town's Queensgate home.

Club director Nick Finch said: "Following the match abandonment we handed out tickets to allow all supporters access into the rescheduled game. However, we are aware that fans may not have kept hold of their tickets from the original fixture given the length of time between the two games."

"The Board has therefore decided to run a 'Pay What You Can' scheme, to give those who do not normally attend Scarborough Athletic games a chance to enjoy this fixture for as little or as much as they wish to spend. It also allows those who attended previously from Scarborough and Bamber Bridge the chance to enter for free or to make a contribution to cover the costs of putting the re-arranged fixture on".

Bath City & Weston-Super-Mare

After the success of last season's event when a crowd of 1,374 came through the gate, Bath City FC stage their Community Day this Saturday (14th March) when they entertain Concord Rangers in the Vanarama Conference South.

For spectators it is 'Pay What You Want' admission and the RUH Forever Friends Appeal will benefit with 10% of the money raised.

The club are encouraging supporters of all clubs to attend in replica shirts with prizes on offer for both the furthest away in the UK and also the furthest away in the world.

Concord Rangers also provide the opposition at Weston-Super-Mare one week later (21 March) with the home side also trialling a 'Pay What You Want' initiative with a minimum entry fee of £1.

To get feedback from fans, entrance to the stadium will be via the club function room where a quick Q&A will be handed to spectators. Completion of that will also give entry to a draw where a free season ticket for next season can be won.

Commercial Director Neil Keeling told the club website: "Since I took over the reins on the commercial side I’ve been looking at ways in which we can re-connect with the local community. I think a lot of potential fans are massively put off by high ticket prices in football and even at our level in the Conference South.

"This initiative has been trialled at Brentford and Albion Rovers in Scotland with great success. I think it’s an ideal time for such an initiative and basically we can see how it goes, let’s see if we can generate more interest and support. Which in turn will hope to retain and encourage a new or even old generation of fan."

'Operation 500' at Frome Town on Saturday March 7th

In a bid to get 500 people through the gate, create a positive atmosphere for a crucial game and improve their links to the local community, Frome Town FC have launched 'Operation 500' for the home fixture with Hungerford Town on Saturday 7th March.

Currently battling against relegation from the Southern League Premier Division, Frome's biggest gate of the season to date was on Boxing Day when the visit of Poole Town attracted 302 spectators.

Club managing director Ian Pearce quoted in the Frome Times, said: "This is the first time the club is literally opening its doors to the community of Frome and beyond, so help us spread the word and achieve our goal of getting 500 through the turnstiles".

'Pay What You Want' At Bath City Community Day

The growing popularity of 'Pay What You Want' days continues with Bath City using it for their first ever 'Community Day' on Saturday 22 March when Chelmsford City are the visitors for a 3pm kick-off.

This follows on from last year's 'Pack the Park' day when, with both Bristol clubs not playing at home, supporters were urged to attend Bath's game against Staines at a time of financial crisis for the Romans. That produced the season's highest crowd but this time fans will be allowed to choose their admission fee with the boost to the attendance helping to generate extra money from food and drink sales, programmes and sponsorship.

The 'Pay What You Want' initiatives that have worked the best this season have been those that have been flagged up well in advance, allowing clubs to market the game locally and nationally through social media. With Bristol City away at Colchester United that day and Bristol Rovers at home on Friday night there should be plenty of scope to get a good crowd for this one.

 

As part of the community aspect of the day, the club will be supporting the Cancer Care Centre at the RUH in Bath, by donating 10% of all the money taken at the gate to the Forever Friends Appeal.