Now - the title of this article I know may well have got some of your backs up and don't worry I am not about to write a whole article saying that Non-League football is terrible and there is tons wrong with it. This is merely an article aimed at some of the things which could improve elements of what is already becoming the saviour of football to so many people.
One thing we can all agree on is that football at the top of the Pyramid has changed over the past 15-20 years for the worse and especially so in the last 5 years or so. With more money floating around the top clubs than ever before and with clubs operating way beyond their financial means, take the below graph from the BBC as an indication of that!
As you can see - back in the 2022-2023 season out of the 20 teams in the Premier League 16 of them were operating at a loss, Liverpool being the lowest at a mere £15 million in the red whilst Manchester United being the biggest loss makers at £150 million, crazy numbers!
But anyway - we aren't here to talk about that, it is merely worth mentioning to see why more and more are turning away from the top leagues that are SO far out of touch with their fans, with many clubs simply not caring about loyal fans and actually favouring tourist fans as they provide more revenue to them, as if they don't generate enough as it is!
With matchday tickets on the rise to extortionate levels many fans who still want to enjoy live football are now forced to Non-league and to those who this applies I simply say - Welcome!
You are in my opinion now in a much better place. Now here is what I think could be improved in Non-League and thats again not to say things need improving but merely heighten an already great experience.
What could the clubs do to help themselves?
Improve their own Online Presence.
Due to the lack of staff available at a lot of Non-League clubs, there is a distinct lack of visibility from a lot of them online. Some don’t have up-to-date websites, live scores, or regular social content.
Why does that matter I hear you ask? An online presence helps attract and build the fanbase of a club. It can most certainly attract sponsors who would be exposed to more people than just a standard advertising board and arguably the most important one of all, it helps bring in a younger generation to the club who will then hopefully be your future fan base.
There are many local colleges or schools which could be a great avenue for clubs in partnering up with and offering real life experience for those who are looking to have a career in the sports industry. This would benefit both parties as the clubs would have access to people more than equipped to modernise their output and the pupils would gain valuable real world experience which could set them above any others when they are job searching in the future.
Fighting for fans
People through the turnstile on a matchday are like gold dust to a club and this is no more the case than for Non-League clubs where every penny makes a difference. Now what options do some of these clubs have available to them?
1) Be more aggressive selling the 3pm kick-offs - now a 3pm kick off is a rarity for a lot of clubs up and down the country nowadays due to the umpteen different tv deals which are in place, meaning that midday, 5pm and 7.45pm kick-offs are more and more common. Well this isn’t the case in Non-League where outside of a midweek evening game, every other is 3pm on a Saturday, the proper time! I would use this as a massive selling point in everything, social media posts, website info, press releases, flyers, posters - make it clear that you can come and see affordable football just down the road, in person at 3pm!
2) This leads into my second option/idea - keeping matchday prices low to encourage more people through the turnstile so they can then spend more money at the club shop and bar, the bar also being a huge selling point as a pint around the pitch is a novelty for so many fans now due to it not being an option in the Premier League and EFL for so many years.
3) Host a family community day with some family fun activities and games, ideally before the season begins. Then it could act as the perfect chance for the community to meet the management team, the players and have a look around the ground all of which would help put the club on the map for many families out there that might not be aware of the clubs existence and afterwards might be tempted to come back for a matchday = more money in the clubs coffers to help them survive and thrive.
Live commentary
Due to the amount of games in Non-League that are at 3pm, it does mean that they are covered by the blackout meaning that clubs, should they want to, cannot broadcast them live for fans who aren’t local or can’t make the game.
Now something else the clubs could offer is live commentary for their games, thereby opening the club to potentially a brand new audience as well as providing additional media content for their existing fans, something that would be I have no doubt appreciated.
Cynically it is also something that could gain extra money for the club as a package could be sold as the clubs ‘live commentary partner’ and before you all say well at the start you mentioned the lack of staff on hand…many of these clubs have youth teams that could well fill the void and step up to be the voice of the club over the airwaves!
Video Content (Matchday Highlights)
Video is something I am incredibly passionate about (that might be due to me being a the video editor for Nuneaton Town) but I do truly believe that video content for a club is incredibly powerful.
You only have to look at the likes of Hashtag United, SE Dons, Dorking Wanderers and Farnham Town who have all put video front and centre of their marketing efforts and all are now paying the dividends of this focus. People not only subscribe and engage with the club online but it also garners genuine interest from people to attend a game themselves.
Not only that but video content, especially matchday highlights, allows clubs an opportunity to offer their fans a real professional feel and positions them as a much more attractive club to work alongside as the overall exposure for any brands paying into the club is increased beyond those inside the ground to everyone who tunes in online - win win!
Mainstream media exposure
Currently there is a huge lack of mainstream exposure on Non-League Football. The only mainstream option for Non-league fans (and that is still only for the National League) is on DAZN, who took over when TNT sports gave up the rights.
Their coverage is marmite but one thing they have got right is the ‘Multi-match live’ a English take on what NFL fans get from ‘NFL Redzone’, a studio panel and a selection of the live games which are full screened when something is happening in the final third.
However, like I said this is only for the National league and everything below this receives zero mainstream coverage. Does this need to be solved or should the sanctity of the 3pm live games be preserved?
I think a mixture is always healthy, more eyes on what is on offer is always helpful for clubs and the extra revenue it would being even more so!
What does the FA need to do more of?
Grassroots funding protection
Live game coverage on Tuesday nights
Look to create a dedicated media online channel for Non-League
Funding protection
Now we are seeing more and more clubs forced to go out of business which for many of them is no fault of their own. This can be due to the local councils lack of support in helping the local club, rising rent on pitch prices, a lack of grants and overall lack of support and funding from government and football association has led to many clubs just not having the funds to continue any longer which is a terrible shame for all involved and if at all possible needs to stop.
Live games
For some of those Tuesday night fixtures, is there any harm in some of the mainstream media pitching up for the night and broadcasting the game out live. Sure they wouldn’t be money spinners for the broadcasters but maybe x amount of these kind of games should be baked into any contract that they are given in order to truly support grassroots football and showcase to many the quality which is on offer all the way down the pyramid.
Online Media Channel
Financed and supported by the FA - a dedicated online channel, think SkySports News x Talksport which covers all walks of Non-League football life on a daily basis.
The pyramid is vast enough and has more than enough clubs and interesting content for a show to exist and I am genuinely quite surprised it doesn’t already. The rise in popularity of Non-League Football I feel is owed to having more attention shown on the amazing atmospheres and work that the clubs are producing week in, week out.
But if all else fails myself at www.tttonlf.com will be doing my bit to make sure that some of the heroes of Non-League football are shown in the light they deserve to be in.
Love this post so many good ideas in here to improve an already great product. I have said for AGES that clubs should partner with colleges to get kids doing there social media as It would be a win win so its good to see im not the only one thinking that way.
Also as a commentator in the welsh leagues I know first hand just how grateful clubs are for any kind of exposure so if we can get people doing this across non league that would be incredible.
Also agree the all the FAs in the uk need to do more to help clubs as it can't just be left to us volunteers if clubs are going to survive and indeed thrive
Agreed with the a lot of comments. When I go around to watch the local Welsh league games in Cardiff and surrounding areas and the non league games around Bristol you see the same faces but none of them are youngsters. Like to see teams work with schools to try and bring the next generation of fans coming through