Matchday programme

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Extract of programme for an exhibition (friendly) game between France and an English amateur team in Vincennes, France in May 1921 Football programme for the match between France and England Wellcome L0019777.jpg
Extract of programme for an exhibition (friendly) game between France and an English amateur team in Vincennes, France in May 1921

A matchday programme or match programme is a booklet associated with a live sporting event which details the proposed starting lineup and other details of the match. To some spectators, the purchase of a matchday programme is part of the "ritual" of attending football and hurling matches in Britain and Ireland. [1] [2] Until 2018, the printing of matchday programmes was compulsory for English Football League games. [3] [4]

Contents

Souvenir programmes are also collected as sports memorabilia, and rare FA Cup Final matchday programmes have fetched in excess of £35,000 at auction houses such as Sotheby's. [5] [6] Matchday programmes from early 20th-century hurling and Gaelic football games are also collected in Ireland, [7] and a programme from the 1913 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final was sold at auction in 2018 for more than €2,000. [8]

Association football

Among the traditions in attending a league or cup football match in Britain is the purchase of a matchday programme. [9] Due to their initial expendable nature (like the ticket) it took many decades for the format to gain respectability as a collectible. Collecting football programmes became a common hobby among fans in Britain during the 1960s and a number of specialist dealers subsequently began to appear. [10]

History

Programme for an association football match played at Hampden Park, Glasgow on 9 October 1875 between home side Queen's Park and the Wanderers from London. It mentions the visiting club first and identifies individual players not by jersey numbers but by the colours of their stockings or caps. QPWanderers.jpg
Programme for an association football match played at Hampden Park, Glasgow on 9 October 1875 between home side Queen's Park and the Wanderers from London. It mentions the visiting club first and identifies individual players not by jersey numbers but by the colours of their stockings or caps.

One of the earliest matchday programmes recorded, for an 1873 football match between alumni representatives of Eton College (in England) and Yale College (in the US), was reputedly sold in 2016 for £15,000. [11]

In English league football, matchday programmes were used from the late 1880s as a scorecard which would have been a single card or sheet with dateline, team names, player positions and advertising. West Midlands team Aston Villa were one of the first clubs to publish a programme, The Villa News and Record, which was printed in the form of a journal with a different number and volume for each season and week respectively.[ citation needed ]

Of particular interest for UK collectors is the FA Cup Final programme. The covers of FA Cup Final matchday programmes have had designs which reflected the age, with the late 1920s and 1930s covers bearing Art Deco styles, for example.[ citation needed ] Programmes from the 1940s and early 1950s are rarer due to recycling for paper shortages as part of the war effort and times of post-war austerity. The size of the programmes increased over the decades from a smaller pocket size to a larger A4 size, but a number of clubs in the early 21st century have reverted to more convenient sizes. The FA Cup Final programme has, however, retained its larger size (customarily being sold with a carrier bag for this reason).[ citation needed ]

While, until the 1950s, programmes produced by individual clubs were typically limited to team sheets and advertising, some clubs started to introduce "more sophisticated" magazine formats. [12] Modern programmes have more pages than their four or eight-page predecessors and are often full colour and glossy.

In June 2018, clubs in the English Football League voted to end the requirement for programmes to be produced for every game. [3]

Notable programmes and collecting

Some clubs have a programme shop for collectors.[ citation needed ]

One of the most sought-after of all programmes is the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final. There have been at least two reprints — with the original being heavier than the reprints at 130 grams — and the inside advert for Player's No. 6 is different. The blue of the Union Flag on the cover is darker too.[ citation needed ]

The programme for the first ever FA Cup Final held in Wembley in 1923 is rarer than the 1966 programme, and would typically cost over £1000.[ citation needed ] The programme for the 1924 FA Cup Final is also rare; the game was played in torrential rain and fans used their programmes as part of their effort to cover themselves against the weather. An example, offered at auction in 2017, was estimated at between £3,500 and £4,500. [13]

Following the Munich air disaster in February 1958, Manchester United's planned game against Wolverhampton Wanderers was cancelled and a majority of programmes that had been printed were destroyed. [14] One of the rare surviving examples of this matchday programme was sold in 2024 for £7,500. [15] Another notable Manchester United programme is the example printed in February 1958 for the FA Cup game between Manchester United and Sheffield Wednesday.[ citation needed ] This was the club's first game after the Munich air disaster and the team layout was left blank. [16]

A football programme from the 1882 FA Cup Final between Blackburn Rovers and Old Etonians sold at auction for a world record of £35,250. [17] The programme was sold by Sotheby's in May 2013 to Old Etonians Football Club. The previous record for a football programme was for the 1909 FA Cup Final contested between Manchester United and Bristol City. It was sold in a 2012 auction for £23,500. [6]

The programme for the 1973 European Cup Final between Ajax and Juventus is also rare, with only 400 produced. [18]

Gaelic football

A programme for the 1914 All-Ireland Football Final, listing Harry Boland as match referee, was sold in a 2011 auction for EUR1,500 1914 all ireland final programme.jpg
A programme for the 1914 All-Ireland Football Final, listing Harry Boland as match referee, was sold in a 2011 auction for €1,500

The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) produces a matchday programme for every game in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. Photographs, prints and posters of past programmes are available to buy from the Croke Park shop. [19] The official matchday programme for the 2020 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final (held behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic) was made available in physical form for supporters ahead of the game, either online (via an emailed PDF and follow-up copy send through the postal system) or to purchase at SuperValu and Centra outlets in the competing counties. [20]

Home teams produce matchday programmes for National Football League games.

County boards, such as Kerry GAA, also produce matchday programmes for their own local competitions. [21]

Hurling

As with Gaelic football, the GAA produces matchday programmes for every game in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, and sells prints and posters of past programmes. [22]

Home teams produce matchday programmes for National Hurling League games.

A matchday programme from the 1913 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final sold at auction in Kilkenny for more than €2,000 in 2018. [8]

The GAA apologised after forgetting to include Clare in the 2022 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final matchday programme's "roll of honour section". [23]

Rugby

Matchday programmes for rugby games are also produced and collected. A programme from a Grand Slam decider, contested by Wales and Ireland in the 1911 Five Nations Championship, was sold in 2009 for £2,400. [24]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hurling</span> Outdoor team stick and ball game

Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of players and much terminology. The same game played by women is called camogie, which shares a common Gaelic root.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camogie</span> Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women

Camogie is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities.

The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurling competition in Ireland, and has been contested every year except one since 1887.

<i>The Sunday Game</i> Irish television broadcast for Gaelic games

The Sunday Game is RTÉ's main Gaelic games television programme. It is shown on RTÉ2 every Sunday during the Football Championship and Hurling Championship seasons. It is one of RTÉ2's longest-running shows, having been on air since 1979, one year after the channel first began broadcasting. It celebrated its 30th season in 2008.

Páirc Uí Rinn, also known as Páirc Chríostóir Uí Rinn, is a Gaelic Athletic Association stadium located between Ballinlough and Ballintemple in Cork. It was previously known as Flower Lodge and was used as an association football stadium. During the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, Flower Lodge served as the home ground of three League of Ireland clubs – Cork Hibernians, Albert Rovers and Cork City. It also hosted friendly matches featuring Manchester United, Liverpool and the Republic of Ireland national football team. In 1989 it was purchased by Cork GAA and subsequently renamed after Christy Ring, a former Cork and Glen Rovers hurler. During the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, Páirc Uí Rinn has served as Cork GAA's second home after Páirc Uí Chaoimh. It regularly hosts National Hurling League, National Football League, National Camogie League and All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship fixtures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kilmacud Crokes GAA</span> Sports club in County Dublin, Ireland

Kilmacud Crokes is a large Gaelic Athletic Association club located in Stillorgan, Dublin, Republic of Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kerry GAA</span> Governing body of Gaelic games in County Kerry

The Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), or Kerry GAA, is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland. It is responsible for Gaelic games in County Kerry, and for the Kerry county teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louth GAA</span> County board of the Gaelic Athletic Association in Ireland

The Louth County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) or Louth GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Louth. The county board is also responsible for the Louth county teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyrone GAA</span> Gaelic games governing body

The Tyrone County Board, or Tyrone GAA, is one of the 32 county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland, and is responsible for the administration of Gaelic games in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

The Ulster Council is a provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, and handball in the province of Ulster. The headquarters of the Ulster GAA is based in the city of Armagh.

The Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurling competition in the province of Munster, and has been contested every year since the 1888 championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leinster Senior Hurling Championship</span> Inter-county hurling competition

The Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurling competition in the province of Leinster, and has been contested every year since the 1888 championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York GAA</span> County board of the Gaelic Athletic Association

The New York County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association, or New York GAA is one of the three county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in North America, and is responsible for Gaelic games in the New York metropolitan area. The county board is also responsible for the New York county teams.

The history of the Gaelic Athletic Association is much shorter than the history of Gaelic games themselves. Hurling and caid were recorded in early Irish history and they pre-date recorded history. The Gaelic Athletic Association itself was founded in 1884.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slaughtneil GAC</span> Derry-based Gaelic games club

Robert Emmet's Gaelic Athletic Club Slaughtneil is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based on the townland of Slaughtneil, near Maghera, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The club is a member of Derry GAA and competes in Gaelic football, hurling and camogie. The club is named after Irish patriot and revolutionary Robert Emmet and the club plays its home games at Emmet Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manager (Gaelic games)</span> Head coach of a Gaelic games team

In Gaelic games, a manager or bainisteoir is involved in the direction and instruction of the on-field operations of a team. The role entails the application of sport tactics and strategies during the game itself, and usually entails substitution of players and other such actions as needed. At games, the manager may sometimes wear a bib with the word "manager" or "bainisteoir" adorning it. Many managers were former players themselves, and are assisted in coaching the team by a group of selectors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lancashire GAA</span> Gaelic games governing body in the UK

The Lancashire County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), or Lancashire GAA, is one of the county boards outside Ireland and is responsible for the running of Gaelic games in the North West of England and on the Isle of Man. With Scotland, Warwickshire, Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, London and Yorkshire, the board makes up the British Provincial Board. The Lancashire board oversees the Lancashire Junior Championship, the Lancashire Junior League, and the first and second division of the Pennine League.

The following is an alphabetical list of terms and jargon used in relation to Gaelic games. See also list of Irish county nicknames, and these are very interesting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1913 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship final</span> Football match

The 1913 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final was the 26th All-Ireland Final and the culmination of the 1913 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, an inter-county hurling tournament for the top teams in Ireland. The match was held at Croke Park, Dublin, on 2 November 1913, between Kilkenny, represented by a club side from Mooncoin, and Tipperary, represented by club side Toomevara. The Munster champions lost to their Leinster opponents on a score line of 2–4 to 1–2.

GAA Beo is the principal Gaelic games programme of Irish language-broadcaster TG4.

References

  1. ↑ "Demise of the match-day programme threatens treasured memories". The Guardian . 1 May 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2021. For many fans, though, there is, and never will be, anything quite like a programme in its most traditional form – on paper and on sale outside of the ground. Part of a lifelong ritual
  2. ↑ "All Ireland SFC match programme available to purchase". gaa.ie. Gaelic Athletic Association. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2021. Acquiring an official match programme has been a long-standing practice for many of our members and supporters
  3. 1 2 Law, James (8 June 2018). "EFL clubs vote to end compulsory matchday programme publication". BBC Sport . BBC . Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  4. ↑ "The matchday programme: can it survive the digital age?". Irish Times. Irish Times. 11 June 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  5. ↑ "Why your old football programmes could be worth a small fortune!". birminghammail.co.uk. Birmingham Mail. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  6. 1 2 "1882 FA Cup final programme sells for world record price". bbc.com. BBC News. 14 May 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  7. ↑ "Treasures: The clash of the cash". independent.ie. Independent News & Media. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2021. medals, tickets and programmes, from early matches are highly collectible [..] The 1926 All-Ireland football final was notable for torrential rain, which probably explains why programmes of the match are so rare. A slightly weather-worn example is coming up for sale in Fonsie Mealy Auctioneers
  8. 1 2 "Get Searching - These GAA Programmes Could Be Worth Thousands Of Euro". lovin.ie. 3 May 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  9. ↑ Hayden, Bradley (4 November 2022). "The demise of the matchday programme". talksport.com. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  10. ↑ Cox & Vamplew (2002). Encyclopedia of British Football. UK: Psychology Press. p. 241. ISBN   978-0714652498.
  11. ↑ Lee, Chris (2021). "The Genesis of Soccer in the US". Origin Stories: The Pioneers Who Took Football to the World. Pitch Publishing. ISBN   9781785319235. A match took place on 6 December 1873 between alumni of the English school Eton and American college Yale [..] The four-page matchday programme, also one of the earliest recorded, sold at aution for £15,000 in 2016
  12. ↑ "Programmes". When Saturday Comes. Penguin Books Limited. 2006. ISBN   9780141927039. Early programmes remained little more than a collage of team sheets and crude advertisements until the 1950s, which saw the gradual introduction - pioneered by clubs such as Chelsea and, later, Coventry City - of more sophisticated magazines
  13. ↑ Kelly, Mike (28 April 2017). "The rare £4,500 Newcastle United FA Cup final programme that will get Toon fans seeing red". chroniclelive.co.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  14. ↑ "Manchester United programme for Munich air disaster abandoned game at auction". BBC. 7 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  15. ↑ "One of world's rarest Manchester United football programmes is top of the league under the hammer" (Press release). Hansons Auctioneers. 12 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  16. ↑ "Read a Poignant Piece of United History". manutd.com. 18 February 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  17. ↑ "One of the most expensive football programmes ever sold". Mature Times. 5 June 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  18. ↑ "Football programme dealer Steve Earl selling million programmes". BBC News . BBC. 1 July 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  19. ↑ "All-Ireland Football Match Programme Covers". crokepark.ie. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  20. ↑ "Special match programme made available for the All-Ireland football finals". Hogan Stand. 18 December 2020.
  21. ↑ "County Programmes". Kerry GAA . 17 October 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  22. ↑ "All-Ireland Hurling Match Programme Covers". Croke Park . Archived from the original on 18 September 2020.
  23. ↑ "GAA issue apology to Clare over All-Ireland final match programme blunder". Hogan Stand. 19 July 2022.
  24. ↑ "Sporting programmes collection fetches £17k at auction". walesonline.co.uk. 25 August 2009. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
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