Freebie Friday: Non League Finals Day should be given more tools

Should there be added incentives to get more fans attending?

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This weekend is Non League Finals Day on Sunday at Wembley Stadium. For those of you who don’t know what that is the finals of the FA Vase and Trophy are held on the same day with 12.15pm and 4,15pm kick off’s, competitions exclusively for non-league clubs.

Last year my adopted hometown Littlehampton made the final of the Vase, the first Sussex side to do so and I was lucky enough to be part of the Littlehampton Gazette media team through the run to the final and some great free publicity for my writing.

7,000 fans each from both the Golds and Newport Pagnell watched the opening game and were joined by Bromley and Wrexham fans for the latter Trophy final, a total of 46,111 entered the stadium on the day.

So far this year at the time of writing midweek 25,499 tickets have sold with around three days to go until the final. Granted last year the Wrexham ‘fairy tale’ was in full swing and swelled the crowd no doubt but why is the attendance looking to be that much lower than last year given the Vase sides play the same level and one side is returning to play and defend the Vase?

Of course it would be extreme to expect a huge following like Wrexham enjoy or even the likes of Notts County and Chesterfield who took large levels of support to Wembley last weekend for the play off final.

The offer though of £25 for two games of football is very decent, it doesn’t change. It could be out down to the sides competing this year, I would expect Pagnell to bring a good level of support again, it’s not often a side gets to defend their trophy let alone get there two years in a row.

Ascot Utd have the shortest journey to make and are already champions of the Combined Countries and similar to if Littlehampton had triumphed last year then next year they can’t defend it. Hopefully they are backed by a good support on the day, it’s a hard ask to get there in the Vase, some 600 odd teams start out at the beginning of September.

The two National League sides in the Trophy, Halifax and Gateshead, were never going to reach the levels of support the two sides did last year and regardless of which sides made it there is something I think the FA should be more pro-active in achieving.

Many years ago when I was involved in junior football us as a league used to receive two tickets to the FA Cup Final, I’ve no idea if that still happens with much more commercial activity preferred compared to those who do a lot for the game at all levels.

Each club from Step 1 to 6 should receive two tickets for the Finals Day, it’s not going to cost the FA anything because we’re currently seeing fluctuating attendances based on who the four sides are on the day, it’s never going to be a sell-out.  

Not content with that, they should go further and say that any ticket issued to clubs that had been scanned that day at the stadium should be rewarded in some way.

And even go one further than that by offering a group discount for clubs who buy in bulk, it’s almost a lazy thing from the FA not to do more in terms of marketing for this level of the game.

I’ve been many times as a neutral fan and I don’t think enough is done to sell the idea of the games to all clubs, I couldn’t get tickets in the neutral section this year which shows it’s popular with those who have no affiliation to any of the four clubs as well, why not take it that one stage further and make it a decent non-league spectacle?

There probably is more that could be done to increase the attendance levels, after this there is minimal chance of seeing a non-league game until pre-season games start in late June so why not get a last fix, a double fix if you will and make the most of it.

Love to hear your views on whether it’s a good idea or even if clubs should be offered marketing tools to share prior to the day, after all the competition is there for them.