Friday Freebie: What Is Non League Day?
The big non-league celebration is on it's way
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In just over a week’s time is the annual day for the lower levels of football. Non League Day started by James Doe in 2010 was meant to be a social experiment but 15 years later it’s a constant fixture within the calendar and bigger than ever.
For all of us we’d argue every day is non-league day but that’s not down to you and I to tell anyone who to support or who to follow. There are many people up and down country who have their team, be that a Premier League or Football League side and watch a non-league team when their own are away from home.
That works around the other way too, despite what some would have you believe, no right or wrong way to that conversation but some blinkered and closed minds out there.
Anyway, the day began all those years ago as a celebration of football below the professional game. It always falls on an international break weekend and bearing in mind that seems to encompass most of the EFL these days there aren’t many games higher than the National League on the afternoon.
Since 2010 we’ve seen how the game has changed, not always for the better and although we expect to see the landscape change from year to year I don’t expect to see people treated the way they have by some clubs out there, all in the name of greed and money for the most part.
We know non-league football is affordable where the professional game has decided they need to wring every fan of their last pound coin week in, week out be that with general admission prices, trying to get rid of season tickets, extortionate merchandise prices to just name a few.
The movement of kick off times is another bug bear for fans. Plenty book train tickets well in advance to take advantage of cheaper prices only to find a shift from the TV company to an earlier or evening kick off and a huge rise in price to move the ticket.
We don’t get that here, bar a few mishaps from DAZN this year in the top National League division. It’s a 3pm contract so to speak, you know where you are with this game full stop.
Many of the perceptions of non-league football are long gone, muddy unkept pitches, kick and rush football, awful food and falling down toilets. It couldn’t be further from the truth in 2025, indeed going back over those 15 years it was evolving then.
Some are still rough around the edges, that still brings the character of the game but in a different way. Many want to be better; many want to improve and are ambitious.
That scares those higher up the food chain, many tread water, bumble along and feel safe, not really pulling up trees for their supporters and that shouldn’t be the case.
Non-league Day aims to pull in these people who are disillusioned by the way they are treated by their clubs and the TV companies. The latter seem to forget they were all crying out for fans to be in stadiums just five years ago, within 12 months they were shifting kick off times without a thought to those exact people they supposed ‘missed’.
The clubs are no better, gate receipts especially for the PL sides are pocket change, they make very little dents on the P&L sheet and asking a parent to pay the same £66 to get their child into a stadium as they would for themselves is horrendous.
Do none of them understand that while the adults tickets can be levels above, you need to attract the next generation of supporters? Seemingly not, and this is where non-league clubs can make big inroads.
A lot of clubs will offer reduced entry on this weekend to attract those who normally watch higher level football. Most are surprised at the quality of the football on show, the food and drink offering and the cosiness of a clubhouse where access to those you’ve just seen play the 90 minutes is allowed.
Whilst the reduced offering is for those not normally attending it’s intended to offend those who watch every week, we know how good the product is, we’re already hooked, the next mission is to grow the fanbase and take advantage of those who are or becoming disillusioned with the professional levels.
If you head to www.nonleagueday.co.uk you will find details of their small but passionate team, a match finder to see where the closest game is to you, charity partners and a merchandise range.
As always it promises to be a great weekend of football, share your thoughts in the comments or via social media channels and if you do head to a game, tag in, @nonleaguedayuk across your own socials and see if it can’t be the biggest one yet.
There is a magic about league football - last Saturday I travelled to St Andrew’s Birmingham and watched my beloved Blues play in the sunshine and it felt magical, like I was seven years old again. The smells, the green pitch, the singing and the atmosphere. Then I have a passion too for the non league game, everything is different but unique and special in its own way.
On the same tack I was at Barnet's game with Dagenham last Saturday which with the reduced ticket offer brought in a much bigger crowd. I wonder when you look at the extra food sales and a club shop busy before and after the game what the takings were compared with other Saturdays this season. Of course we need to be back in Barnet but it also indicates an argument for if the price is right people will come all be it we are playing some exceptional football at present. Not suggesting the Saturday price should be the norm but it dose give food for thought.