Posted on 1st January 2015
Alongside Kick It Out, English football’s equality and inclusion organisation, the FSA is calling on England fans to stop the boos, support the team and applaud players taking the knee.
Football and TV kick-off times tracker
This is a story from the FSF archive – the FSF and SD merged to become the FSA in 2019.
The FSF’s TV Kick-Off Times tracker collates our affiliated fan groups views on their club’s away games which have been moved for TV. Using a simple traffic light system FSF affiliates can rate the impact of games moved for TV.
This isn’t an exact science and, as thousands can travel to an away game, there’s never going to be a perfect time which inconveniences nobody (“It clashed with my Great Aunt Hilda’s funeral!”). But this is a first stab at recording what happens across the leagues during a full season. The idea for the tracker came from the FSF’s Kick-Off Times Working Group.
The tracker is open source, live data which is completed by FSF-affiliated supporter groups whenever their team
- RED – e.g. Very difficult; no public transport post-game; widespread anger
- YELLOW – e.g. Getting trickier; transport options limited; some discontent
- GREEN – e.g. No widespread impact; public transport options available; no issues
Key:
- Comp = competition (PL, Championship, L1, L2, non-league)
- Date (time) = the rearranged KO date and time
- Notice = notice period given to fans that the fixture would move
- Distance = round-trip made by fans, ground-to-ground (as measured on Google Maps)
- Travel = were public transport options available? See notes for more detail
- Rated by = the FSF affiliate/associate who provided the data
The FSF’s Kick-Off Times Working Group (KOTWG for short, catchy isn’t it?) was formed following meetings between the Premier League and supporter representatives from all 20 clubs (plus the FSF, Supporters Direct and Pride in Football).
At these meetings issues relating to TV and its impact on top-flight fans were discussed at length and supporters in the room felt a smaller group should be formed to explore these issues in depth. The KOTWG was thus formed and has carried out some sterling work meeting broadcasters to lobby in the interests of match-going fans.
The KOTWG works under the auspices of the FSF and is led by fan reps from Chelsea Supporters’ Trust, Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust and Spirit of Shankly.
