Leeds United manager, Daniel Farke, has publicly expressed his disappointment over the continuous changes in his team’s fixture list due to television scheduling. The Championship leaders have had several games moved for TV broadcasting purposes, causing inconvenience not only for the team but also for their fans.
In a recent pre-match press conference, Farke revealed that he has "given up hope" on maintaining a consistent schedule as Leeds United now have no Saturday 3pm kick-offs for the next seven rounds of EFL fixtures. He anticipates more changes are likely to come which could further disrupt their routine and preparation.
Leeds United manager, Daniel Farke, said:
“First of all I always hope the fixture schedule is positive for our supporters, it’s a supporters game and you give them the opportunity in terms of travel times to make it for the games,”
“If you’re just thinking about TV and not the supporters who attend the stadium you will one day lose the love of our fanbase. I think this is a quite important topic. This is my first worry.”
Impact on fans and players
The issue escalated last week when Leeds United’s match against Portsmouth was rescheduled from its original time slot to a Sunday midday kick-off at Fratton Park. This change made it impossible for many Leeds fans to attend the game using public transport due to timing constraints.
Moreover, this fixture change also affected Portsmouth's following midweek game which had to be moved from Tuesday night to Wednesday evening. This adjustment was necessary in order to allow players adequate recovery time after their Sunday match against Leeds United. Consequently, one broadcast slot ended up causing problems for three sets of fans across two games.
Busy week for Leeds United
It has been an eventful week for Leeds United with back-to-back matches and constant travelling. They played Coventry City on Wednesday night before having their fourth round FA Cup fixture against Millwall moved forward by nearly three hours on Saturday due to broadcasting reasons.
Following this hectic schedule, they travelled again - this time heading towards Watford - before returning home where they are set host Sunderland in Sky Sports' Monday night slot.
While television broadcasts play an essential role in bringing football matches into homes worldwide and generating revenue through advertising and subscriptions; it is crucial to strike a balance. The constant fixture changes can disrupt teams' routines and alienate fans who may find it difficult to adjust their schedules accordingly. As the situation continues, all eyes will be on how the EFL and broadcasting companies respond to these concerns raised by Leeds United's boss, Daniel Farke.
