Irish League chairman calls for supporters to get behind 'historic occasion for the club' with Sunday football trial
Bangor chairman Graham Bailie has called for supporters to get behind “a historic occasion for the club” as the Seasiders prepare to host their first-ever competitive home game on a Sunday against Newry City this weekend.
The topic of Sunday football in Northern Ireland has long been a controversial issue with a ban lifted back in 2008 and Bangor were part of the first Irish League match to be staged when they took on Glentoran at The Oval in September of that year.
A number of matches have been held on Sunday this season – Larne’s involvement in the UEFA Conference League required a number of their league games to be moved while Carrick Rangers hosted Linfield at Taylors Avenue earlier this month and Coleraine will welcome Crusaders to the Showgrounds on November 24 with both fixtures broadcast live by Sky Sports.
The BetMcLean Cup final has also been moved to Sunday in recent years with attendances surpassing 11,000 in both 2021/22 and 2022/23 while nearly 10,000 were present for last season’s showpiece decider between Linfield and Portadown.
While Bangor have held many of their home matches at Clandeboye Park on Friday evenings in recent times, Bailie wants to trial Sunday as the Championship club look to further boost attendances.
“As a traditionalist, I enjoy watching football at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon,” he told the club’s website. “However, as the Chairman of Bangor FC, the Board and I are constantly looking at ways to increase attendance at our matches and introducing new fans to our community club.
“With that in mind, we have been holding many of our home matches on Friday nights, with an aim of attracting people to Clandeboye who might play football on a Saturday or watch other local teams.
“As the ban on Sunday football was lifted in recent years, many NIFL Premiership teams have started to play matches on that day and have achieved good attendance figures. So as a club, we have decided to trial a Sunday match this week.
“Throughout this season we want to explore which match days and times are best suited to our fanbase and people in the City. We still haven’t held any matches with a kick-off off time of 5.30pm on a Saturday, so that will be another time that we will want to try out.
“The Sunday match will be a historic occasion for the club and we would love to see as many supporters, families and friends come down to Clandeboye at 2.00pm on Sunday and cheer on the Seasiders.”