Wigan Athletic‘s Sporting Director has made a plea to the EFL to make a change to the international break rules.
League One and League Two are not factored into the current international break window, meaning both divisions are affected by game cancellations, unlike the Championship. This week saw just half of all of the original games scheduled played due to international call-ups.
“It Does Affect Revenues”
Wigan’s game against Northampton Town was postponed, meaning they have already seen two fixtures at home cancelled. Their clash in Lancashire against Burton Albion next month is also likely to be rearranged to a midweek fixture.
Speaking to Wigan Today, Gregor Rioch said:
A number of clubs, including ourselves, proposed 12 months ago that League One should be in the same bracket as the Championship, and all fixtures should be postponed on international weekends. If you look at the first international weekend, there were only three fixtures in League One, and only two last weekend.
We’re losing money in terms of revenue, but we’re also trying to improve our fan engagement on a matchday.
We had big plans to do that at the beginning of last season, but we only had a couple of home games before the weather changed. All of a sudden you can’t do things you would perhaps have liked.
I think as time goes on, especially with the amount of PL loans that are coming into Leagues One and Two, there are more internationals being spread around, it will get looked at.
We’ll keep asking the question, as will many other clubs, as it does affect revenues and we’ll see where that takes us.
Other League One clubs have expressed the same concerns, with Exeter City’s Gary Caldwell doing the same last week. The Grecians are in the same situation as Wigan, having two home games against Birmingham City and Mansfield Town postponed.
Writer’s View
The EFL has to put a stop to the inconsistencies in it’s schedules as a result of international breaks. Shrewsbury Town, Exeter’s opponents on Thursday night, played last week and City will be missing key striker Josh Magennis due to his involvement with Northern Ireland in Nations League action tonight. With the pressure now being put on by the likes of Gary Caldwell and now The Latics, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see some positive action soon.
Football journalist with The Real EFL since 2023. A 2024 Multimedia Journalism graduate from the University of Salford, Lewis specialises in Salford City FC and EFL coverage.
