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The Guardian
a day ago
- Business
- The Guardian
A campaign intended to make football a little less silly
With a reduced slate of action and few transfers of note this week in the men's or women's game (unless you count Mainz signing forward and renowned Gwen Stefani fan Benedict Hollerbach), and still no word on Arne Slot's new residency in Ibiza, Football Daily was fast running out of content for Tuesday's missive. So thank goodness for the open letter from York City owner Julie-Anne Uggla addressed to the National League and the Football League, regarding the 'structurally unjust' promotion system in the fifth tier of English football, which sees just the regular season winners (this season: Barnet) and one playoff winner go up from six teams, who finished second to seventh. Hurray! Uggla is a supporter of the 3UP campaign, which proposes that there should be three (not two) teams promoted from the National League, adopting a similar system to the rest of the Football League. In the Championship, League One and League Two, at least two teams are promoted automatically (three in League Two!), with an additional team going up via the playoffs. It might surprise you to learn that York finished second in the National League, and failed to make the playoff final. Instead, Oldham Athletic, the feeder club of Football Daily's five-a-side team Old and Unathletic, returned to the EFL after beating Southend in the playoff final. For reference, Oldham and Southend finished 23 and 28 points behind York in the regular season, respectively. 'Such a glaring imbalance not only undermines sporting merit but erodes the very foundations of fair competition,' fumed Uggla. 'To dominate a league campaign so comprehensively (Barnet the only exception), only to be forced into a playoff lottery, is structurally unjust. It penalises excellence and rewards clubs with fewer points in a way no professional league system should condone. I urge both governing bodies to urgently consider transitional reform, whether via immediate review, temporary relief measures, or an accelerated implementation of the '3UP' model,' she continued. 'At the very least, this season's outcome should provoke an honest re-evaluation of what fairness in football truly means.' Uggla certainly has a valid point and the principle of fighting for 'fairness' on behalf of all football teams in the National League is a noble one, even if it is slightly soured by the fact that York, having finished second, would have been the key beneficiaries of a change. It might have been stronger for someone without a vested interest to lead the charge here, seeing as York started this season knowing full well what the format and rules were and only initially signed up to the '3UP' model in February, when they were unexpectedly in a three-horse race for the title. Uggla, who bought York in 2023, might also be unaware that the club have benefited from odd football rules of the past: City escaped dropping out of the Football League (the old Third Division) in 1977-78 season when relegation back then was decided not by league placing but by a vote where existing member clubs would just decide which one of the bottom teams would keep their place. Automatic relegation/promotion to/from the fifth tier did not exist at all until 1987, and the second playoff place was only introduced in 2003. All of that aside, Uggla is speaking sense. It is a little silly that York, who finished second on 96 points, were not promoted. But football is a bit silly, and had City instead finished seventh, would Uggla have been so vocal in fighting the good fight? I guess we'll never know. Join Yara El-Shaboury from 6pm BST for minute-by-minute coverage of Spain 3-1 England in the Women's Nations League. 'Of course that reaches you, but we don't care … actually, in fact, I would say thanks to them because it can be extra motivation, petrol to fuel you. And we won. Let them talk and do all the memes they want now' – Pedro Porro gets his chat on with Sid Lowe about Tottenham's Bigger Vase triumph, the 'Spursy' tag and Ange Postecoglou's future in N17. Re: yesterday's Football Daily. At least Inter didn't experience what the Italian team did when they returned home from England in 1966 after a dreadful World Cup. They had tomatoes thrown at them when they landed at the airport in Italy' – John Jones. In the past four years, I have gone from procrastinating at work, in exactly the same job, by endlessly writing to The Fiver to endlessly writing to Football Daily, whereas Vitinha has gone from his only goal at on loan at Wolves (one that wasn't even taken up by Wolves) to this. But, being a high achiever is vastly overrated, probably …' – Noble Francis. While searching for a receipt for a large donut order, I stumbled across an old tea-timely newsletter titled: 'Performing donuts in the centre circle in a car with square wheels.' I was struck by this particular quote: 'So Leicester City's dream of joining Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa in the pantheon of unlikely European champions is over. A terrible shame but on the flip side they don't look like becoming irrelevant second-tier mediocrities any time soon, so it's swings and roundabouts.' While some things do change, it's reassuring to know that your curse of the commentator will always come true eventually' – Ian James. If you do have any, please send letters to Today's winner of our prizeless letter o' the day is … John Jones. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, can be viewed here. It's a Football Weekly end-of-season mailbag special. Here's David Squires on … the PSG fairytale. With the climate crisis causing our fine planet to heat up at an alarming rate, next year's World Cup³ in Mexico, USA USA USA and Canada, could be one of the toastiest in history. So, naturally, Thomas Tuchel wants his England players to earn it in the pursuit of global success. 'Suffering is one of the headlines for this World Cup,' he growled, while putting up tents in Girona for his players to train in. Yep, like a giant moth in a tracksuit, the England boss appears fascinated by flamin' hot heat. 'It is important to see matches now in [the USA USA USA], and in Miami at three in the afternoon,' he added. 'I will see that. How it looks, and we need to understand how to cool the players down, to drink. What our options are.' Sixteen stadiums will be used at World Cup³ with predictions of extreme temperatures. Water, please! Caoimhín Kelleher has joined Brentford from Liverpool, with Mark Flekken taking his gloves to Bayer Leverkusen to make way for the Republic of Ireland keeper. Manchester United are hoping to bring Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo and his epic beard to Old Trafford after missing out on Liam Delap. Meanwhile, Bruno Fernandes, whose five o'clock shadow needs a bit of work, has turned his nose up at a big-money deal to play in Saudi Arabia. In a stunning bit of business, Chelsea will pay a £5m penalty to send Jadon Sancho back to United when his loan ends. Lucy Bronze believes Arsenal's Women's Big Cup success against Barcelona can help England to win more shiny pots on the international stage. 'It exposes you to that feeling of playing in big finals, and to what it takes to win,' trilled the defender. 'When I first went to Lyon, that was what I wanted to do: test myself against the best.' West Brom have appointed Ryan Mason, still only 33, as their new boss. 'I will bring with me a huge amount of enthusiasm, dedication and ambition,' he boinged. ' I look forward to a positive future together.' In more red-hot managerial news, Rangers are reportedly close to installing chilled vibesman Russell Martin in the Ibrox dugout. And plane issues mean Scotland arrived with barely any time to prepare for their Women's Nations League match against the Netherlands in Tilburg. The Scottish FA said it made 'all efforts' to find a replacement flight but the charter company came up blank. In the latest edition of our sister email, Blackburn defender Rachel Dugdale takes us inside the plight of her club, forced to withdraw from WSL 2 last month. Who's in the running for the Ballon d'Or Ballon d'Or Ballon d'Or this year? Will Unwin sifts through the contenders, from Lamine Yamal to Ousmane Dembélé. Rashford and Højlund to Inter? Jobe Bellingham to Dortmund? Wednesday's Mill churns out the latest. And Michael Butler sticks the boot into post-season tours such as Manchester United's recent Asian jaunt, an environmentally ruinous strain on player wellbeing. We're lingering a bit on Milan Malpensa airport, admittedly, but here's a young Inter fan in August 2002, waiting to see Ronaldo – fresh from winning the World Cup with Brazil – return from international duty and a 1-0 defeat against Paraguay. Sadly for them, the player was keeping a low profile, slipping off the plane away from the public's gaze, amid controversy about his future, before moving to Real Madrid the following month.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
National League promotion 'not fit for purpose'
York City co-owner Julie-Anne Uggla has written an open letter to the EFL and National League about the "glaring imbalance" of the current promotion February the 72 clubs in the National League, including those in the North and South divisions, started the 3UP campaign to call for three teams go up from the fifth tier into the Football promotion into the league did not exist prior until 1987, with the bottom four EFL clubs instead having to survive a vote of member clubs to keep their place. A second promotion place was introduced in 2003 via the play-off missed out on promotion this season after finishing second behind league winners Barnet and then losing to Oldham, who they finished 23 points and three places ahead of, in the Latics beat Southend in Sunday's promotion final to secure a return to League and her son Matthew took over at York City, who were relegated from the Football League in 2016, in May 2023."I am writing to express my deep concern and disappointment at the current promotion system between the National League and League Two, following a season where York City FC, despite finishing 28 points clear of seventh place and winning 12 more matches, were denied promotion," she said in a letter published on the club website., external"Such a glaring imbalance not only undermines sporting merit but erodes the very foundations of fair competition."While I am aware of the historical basis for the two-up structure, it is no longer fit for purpose. The gap between the top National League clubs and the lower EFL clubs has narrowed, and in many cases reversed, making the case for three-up promotion beyond compelling."The "3UP" campaign rightly reflects the sentiment of every National League club and countless supporters."Under the current format the teams who finish fourth and fifth host those who finished seventh and sixth respectively before the winners of those ties play the teams who came second and third in one-off month, York were beaten 3-0 by Oldham in their tie, while Forest Green, who finished third, lost on penalties to Southend, who had finished seventh.
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Wembley Stadium Prepares For New Record Attendance For Nonleague Soccer
The Vanarama National League season will come to a close on Sunday, June 1st, as Oldham Athletic take on Southend United in the promotion final with the two teams doing battle for one place to return to the English Football League ahead of next season. Build-up for the game has largely been occupied by controversy over ticketing arrangements, with the National League initially advising Wembley of an expected attendance of 40,000, before knowing which two clubs had qualified for the final. There was a surprise in that these two sides reached the final, Southend only securing their playoff place on the final day to finish seventh, while Oldham finished fifth and were 23 points behind their semifinal rivals York City in the league standings. They are also the two sides with the highest average attendances in the competition. This caused challenges with the ticket limitations, impacted by engineering works on public transport lines servicing the stadium. That is despite Southend United stating that, "we believe that more than 30,000 Southend fans will want to attend Wembley, and that Oldham will want to take something similar". Should both clubs sell out their ticket caps, as is expected, it would mean a new record for the Promotion Final game at this level, which currently stands at 47,029 and was set in 2015 when Bristol Rovers beat Grimsby Town on penalties at Wembley Stadium. Both clubs have gone on to sell above their initial capacity of 17,500, with further tickets available exclusively if tied to a coach package. Oldham has sold 20,832, while Southend has gone even further to sell 28,852. As such, a new record looks likely to be set at Wembley with neutral tickets also sold. This is in spite of fury from supporters of both clubs, who have faced great uncertainty and pressure to secure tickets. "Under normal circumstances, next Sunday's matchw ould likely smash the current Vanarama Nataionl League promotion final attenance record... Unfortunately, the excitement on both sides has been trampled on by the seemingly-amateurish planning of several key stakeholders around next weekend's final," a joint statement from the Shrimpers Trust and Oldham Athletic Supporters Foundation reads. "We question the ability to execute on the prestige of a Wembley day out if capacity is capped. Wembley will be a shadow of its potential with a half-full stadium," the statement continues. "This wouldn't happen for the FA Cup final, or for the EFL playoff finals, or for a Taylor Swift concert. If it did then a workable solution would be found. Why is the National League playoff final not being treated similarly?" Southend United confirmed as much on Sunday, when they issued a statement explaining that, "the current allocation of tickets does not come close to reflecting the scale of demand from our supporters, and as things stand we will almost certainly sell out our allocation (of tickets without a coach package) today – resulting in disappointment for tens of thousands of supporters, many of whom have followed the club through thick and thin". The Shrimpers revealed that 1,000 tickets sold within 20 minutes of going on sale in the final batch listed on Thursday night, with some fans still yet to secure their ticket. Both teams have improved as the season has gone on and have been able to beat teams who finished above them in the league to take up their places in this final. As two former members of the English Football League, both of whom have undergone financial struggles and secured new ownership in recent years, this game is crucial to the future of both clubs. 'Play-off games are cup games so anything can happen. What you've got to do is come out the right side of results and we've managed to do that,' Southend coach Kevin Maher, who secured promotion for the Shrimpers as a player 20 years ago in the playoffs, said. 'We've been stronger in the second half of the season, in terms of the number of points we picked up. So that tells you more about us as a team and where we've got to as a squad.' The Blues only brought in new ownership, under the leadership of chairman Justin Rees, in the summer of 2024, and the new ownership, a consortium of largely local businesspeople, could secure promotion in their first season at the helm.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Midstate counties, communities among ‘sanctuary jurisdictions,' says DHS
(WHTM/AP) — Several Pennsylvania counties and communities are among those the Department of Homeland Security labeled as 'sanctuary jurisdictions' in a list published Thursday. 'These sanctuary city politicians are endangering Americans and our law enforcement in order to protect violent criminal illegal aliens,' DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a press release. Locally, Adams and Dauphin counties as well as Gettysburg borough and York city are listed. Statewide, counties included range from urban centers like Lehigh and Allegheny to rural areas like Clarion and Montour. Each municipality on the list, DHS says, will receive formal notification that they are believed to be noncompliant. The list was compiled using a number of factors, including whether the cities or localities identified themselves as sanctuary jurisdictions, how much they complied already with federal officials enforcing immigration laws, if they had restrictions on sharing information with immigration enforcement or had any legal protections for people in the country illegally, according to the department. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on April 28 requiring the secretary of Homeland Security and the attorney general to publish a list of states and local jurisdictions that they considered to be obstructing federal immigration laws. Download the abc27 News+ app on your Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, and Apple TV devices There's no specific or legal definition of what constitutes a 'sanctuary jurisdiction.' The term is often used to refer to law enforcement agencies, states or communities that don't cooperate with immigration enforcement. Pennsylvania municipalities included in the list include: Adams County; Allegheny County; Centre County; Chester County; Clarion County; Dauphin County; Delaware County; Lehigh County; Montgomery County; Montour County; Northampton County; Gettysburg borough; Philadelphia city; Pittsburgh city; State College borough; York city. Communities that don't cooperate with ICE often say they do so because immigrants then feel safer coming forward if they're a witness to or victim of a crime. And they argue that immigration enforcement is a federal task, and they need to focus their limited dollars on fighting crime. 'Sanctuary policies are legal and make us all safer,' said a coalition of local officials from across the country and a nonprofit called Public Rights Project in a statement Thursday. They said the list was a fear tactic designed to bully local governments into cooperating with ICE. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
BBC News
7 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Former York City and Scarborough goalkeeper Graeme Crawford dies
Former York City and Scarborough footballer Graeme Crawford has died at the age of Scottish-born goalkeeper made more than 500 appearances, playing for East Stirlingshire, Sheffield United, Mansfield Town, York City, Scunthorpe United, Rochdale and Scarborough City said he was "forever a City legend", while Scarborough Athletic - as they are now known - said he would be "remembered by many".City said funeral arrangements would be announced in due course. Joining York City in 1971, Crawford featured 280 times for the helped the side win promotion to the second division in 1973-74, and kept a joint Football League record of 11 clean sheets in a left the club in 1977 to join Scunthorpe United, but re-joined York in 1980 featuring 17 times.A three-year spell with Rochdale then saw Crawford join Scarborough FC, where he went on to play 93 times on the North Yorkshire retiring from the game he remained loyal to York City, becoming a season ticket holder, and was regularly seen chatting with fans at the LNER Community Stadium with his club said: "Graeme was immensely proud to have been asked to become one of the club's first 'Ambassadors' and had attended a number of events up until a few weeks ago."He leaves behind his wife, Helen, children, Peter and Lynda, and four grandchildren, Tom, Sophie, Isla, and Elsie." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
