Following protests from fans, the Community Shield kickoff time has been pushed up by 90 minutes.
The match between treble champions Manchester City and Arsenal at Wembley on Sunday, August 6, will now begin at 4pm instead of 5.30pm, the Football Association announced on Tuesday.
Some City supporters, however, feel that this modification does not go far enough and would like to see the game, which will be shown live by ITV, pushed even later to 3pm.
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The City fans’ group 1894 has been at the forefront of calls for this modification. When the game was originally set for 5.30 pm, 1894 urged supporters to boycott it and give to food banks in its place.
An updated statement from 1894 read: “We would like to see the kick off time for the Community Shield brought forward to 3pm if it has to be on the Sunday.
“4pm will still mean significant travel challenges for supporters.
“Whilst some fans will now feel they can attend the game, the best way to ensure an excellent turnout would be to move the game to 3pm and there is no reason why ITV, with its numerous free-to-air channels, cannot make this happen.
“This is not just a Manchester City issue. Next year this could be two other northern clubs being asked to kick off at 5.30pm – or later still.
“Fans of many other clubs can see this could apply to them in the future and we thank them for their support.
“Finally, thousands of pounds has been raised for the MCFC Foodbank in three days, so thanks to all City fans for their generosity.”
Teams from the north west have recently expressed discontent with the travel arrangements for Wembley matches.
Last year, the City vs. Liverpool FA Cup semifinal took place on a weekend when there were no direct trains running from the area to London owing to engineering work. The day of this year’s FA Cup final between Manchester United and City saw rail workers go on strike.
Supporters only have a short window of time to return to stations before the last trains north due to late kickoffs.
The final train from the capital to Manchester is scheduled to depart Euston at 9.48 p.m. on August 6.
A statement from the FA read: “The new earlier kick-off time for the traditional ‘curtain raiser’ of the domestic season has been agreed following consultation with our broadcast partners, the local authorities, police, and the competing clubs.
“The decision to move the kick-off time was taken following full consideration of the transport challenges for fans returning to Manchester after the match.”
The PA news agency has contacted ITV for comment.