EVERY National League game tomorrow — from Boreham Wood to Braintree, Yeovil Town to York City — will kick off late.
Before anyone checks their watch, it is part of a push to bring the non-league elite in line with the rest of the football pyramid.
The 3.03pm start times on the National League’s 3UP Day of Action will highlight the growing demand for three promotion places into the EFL.
Frankly, it’s long overdue.
It seems incredible to me that the Football League operates a three-up system while the National League still doesn’t.
Where is the fairness in that?
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Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn 2 – all the info
TIME for round two of this generation’s family feud!
Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn go punch-for-punch once again as both rivals look to make their fathers proud.
The blockbuster rematch takes place at the 62,000-seater Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, November 15.
Eubank Jr narrowly outpointed his bitter foe after 12 brutal rounds in April to secure the bragging rights in what was certainly a Fight of the Year contender.
And the two British superstars will dance once more as Eubank Jr aims to do the double while Benn seeks revenge after suffering a first career loss.
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Football should be a meritocracy. How can anyone who cares about the integrity of the game argue against parity?
Let’s not forget one important fact — the EFL does not provide any financial support to the National League.
While the Premier League distributes funds downward, including to the National League, the EFL does not take the same approach.
If the Premier League can support the tier below, surely the EFL should recognise its own responsibility in the same way.
The numbers alone tell the story.
All 72 National League clubs back the 3UP plan and 93 per cent of supporters polled agree with it.
Not even North Korea’s Kim Jong Un gets those sorts of figures.
Just take a look at the way promotion is decided in the National League.
You almost need a PhD in pure mathematics to work this out. The simple bit first is that the champions are rewarded with immediate promotion.
Second and third proceed to a semi-final at their home grounds, while the clubs finishing fourth and fifth enjoy home advantage in a qualifying round against those who ended sixth and seventh.
The winners of fourth vs seventh and fifth vs sixth play semi-finals away from home at the teams who had finished second and third in the regular season.
Whoever wins, goes forward to the Wembley final, with the prize a place in the EFL.
I’ve got a headache just thinking about it.
And that’s before we even get to the injustice it creates.
Barnet went up as champions last season. But Oldham were promoted despite finishing fifth, 23 points behind York in second.
You don’t need to be a mathematician to feel the imbalance.
Two years ago, Notts County finished the season on 107 points, losing only three games all season — but still nearly missed out on promotion.
The Magpies only squeaked home in the promotion final at Wembley via a penalty shootout.
The system is so flawed even their opposing Wembley boss — Chesterfield’s Paul Cook — called it a “sporting disgrace” that County had to compete in a promotion final. I agree.
If one of the best seasons in National League history still left a side on the brink of failure, how can anyone argue the system works?
The support for change is growing. Carlisle boss Mark Hughes is in favour.
And Neil Warnock, who cut his managerial teeth at non-league Scarborough, is a big fan.
Warnock said: “Common sense should come in now to allow more to get promotion.”
Broadcaster Jeff Stelling, lifelong Hartlepool supporter and ambassador for 3UP, says the three-minute delay is the perfect way to highlight the 23-year wait for equality with the EFL.
Football thrives on competition — but competition only works when the rules are even.
The play-offs, introduced in 1987, remain one of the best innovations the game has seen.
But having one system for the top of the pyramid and another for the level directly beneath it doesn’t stack up.
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It’s inconsistent, illogical and unfair. It’s time to modernise and make the system equal for everyone fighting to rise up the leagues.
Tomorrow’s three-minute delay is a small but powerful reminder: football’s lower leagues deserve a level playing field, too.
Read the full article here