Promised Land

One of the main themes of this blog, since its inception, has been the fluctuating fortunes of Coventry City FC, the Sky Blues having spent time in Leagues One and Two as well as being exiled to both Northampton and Birmingham since the very first article on Affordable Football in July 2013.

That touched on how the idea came about for starting the blog, the Sky Blues 'football for a fiver' offer during a run to the area final of the Football League Trophy amidst a dispute over the Ricoh Arena that led to the club leaving the city for the first time.

£10 tickets were in place for the homecoming to Coventry in August 2014 but the next few years were punctuated by various crises, so much so that even over 40,000 fans heading to Wembley in March 2017 was only a temporary respite before relegation to League Two.

Community Day and £5 tickets in February 2018 meant that 28,000 watched a League Two fixture against Accrington Stanley but, even as fortunes slowly improved on the pitch, there were to be more twists in the tale as City headed to St. Andrews for a season.

Fast forward to October 2025 and City headed back to the top of the Championship with victory over Blackburn, a position they were only to relinquish very briefly before sealing promotion in style and sparking celebrations across the city.

I wrote after that game that 'the need to tempt people through the turnstiles isn't a problem at present, demand may soon exceed supply in that regard,' and, of course, that will be even more so in the Premier League next season.

Sunday Trading

 

Silverware is up for grabs in Sheffield on Sunday 10th May as Bramall Lane hosts the final of the FA Sunday Cup, to be played this year between Home Bargains and Hartlepool AFC Supporters.

Tickets for the 1pm kick-off are priced at £5. 

The previous day, Leicester City's King Power Stadium hosts the final of the FA's other main grassroots competition, the Inter-League Cup. This is also a 1pm kick-off as the Cheshire Football League and Herts Senior County League battle it out.

Week Ahead - 27th April

Start the week with some free football (club account needed to claim a ticket) at the Swansea.com Stadium as the Swans U21s host Newcastle United in a 7pm kick-off in the Professional Development League play-offs. 

There is another Premier League International Cup tie at Aldershot Town as Real Sociedad and Borussia Dortmund meet in the semi-finals on Wednesday 29th at 7pm. Tickets are priced at £4 for adults, £2 for concessions and free for under-11's.

The previous evening, Woking FC host the other semi-final between the U21s of Real Madrid and Dinamo Zagreb. Admission is priced at £4/£2 for non-season ticket holders at the club.

Back to Wednesday 29th and Kenilworth Road hosts the U18 PDL Cup Final between Luton Town and AFC Wimbledon. Tickets for the 7pm kick-off are priced at £3 and £1.

Week Ahead - 20th April

Free tickets are available to watch Chelsea Women's U21s against Manchester City at Kingsmeadow on Wednesday 22nd, kick-off 7pm.

Also free admission is the Under-18 fixture between Derby County and Burnley at Pride Park on Friday 24th (7pm).

The U18 Premier League Cup final between Crystal Palace and Manchester United is set for Selhurst Park on Wednesday 22nd. Tickets for the 7pm kick-off are priced at £5 for adults and £1 for concessions.

And Salford City have reduced prices for their big, televised, League Two clash with Bromley on Thursday 23rd at 8pm. Adult tickets are £5 and it is £1 for under-18's.

A Free Saturday

The end of the season comes around again and, as it was when this picture was taken in 2022, there is free admission at Dronfield Town FC this coming Saturday (April 18th).

Stonelow Road is the venue, just over the border into Derbyshire from here in Sheffield, for the United Counties League fixture against Pinchbeck United FC.

Week Ahead - 13th April

Cardiff City and Swansea City contest the Women's Welsh Cup Final on Sunday 19th at Rodney Parade, Newport (kick-off 5pm) with advance tickets available online at £5 for adults and £2 for juniors.

Turf Moor hosts the Premier League Cup semi-final between the Under-21 teams of Burnley and West Bromwich Albion on Monday 13th (kick-off 7pm). Tickets for non-season ticket holders are priced at £5 and £2.

On Wednesday 15th there is a Premier League International Cup quarter-final between Valencia and Dinamo Zagreb, hosted by Aldershot Town and kicking off at 7pm. Tickets are priced at £4 and £2 with under-11's free of charge.

The Aldershot website also has details of an interesting fixture between the club's B team and Liberia Under-20's. This takes place at the home of Bracknell Town FC on Monday 13th at 7.45pm with admission on the gate priced at £5/£3 and £1.

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Net Gains

 

Taking down the nets one final time after the last home game of the season, a disappointing afternoon for Strathspey Thistle as they lost 4-0 to Turriff United in the Highland League but a very positive campaign on the whole with a best ever points tally.

A scene that will be repeated around the country over the next few weeks and here's to the volunteers who have made matchdays possible during the 2025/26 season.