90min

Championship Season Ticket Holders Will Be Able to Watch All Remaining Games Live for Free

By Mitch Wilks

Huddersfield Town v Derby County - Sky Bet Championship
Huddersfield Town v Derby County - Sky Bet Championship / John Early/Getty Images
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The EFL have announced that season ticket holders from Championship football clubs will have unprecedented access to the remaining Championship fixtures, in a deal agreed with Sky Sports.

The deal also sees 30 Championship games broadcast live on Sky Sports, and a further 15 games broadcasting the playoffs from all EFL divisions all from behind closed doors, as football returns following an enforced break due to the coronavirus pandemic.

With the EFL scheduled to return on 20 June, a statement on the official EFL website also confirms that non-season ticket holders are able to buy into a package to watch all 78 games that remain with a pass costing £10 per match, with games set to be streamed on the EFL's 'iFollow' platform. Sky Sports will continue to provide coverage of the remaining fixtures, in a programme format named 'goals as they go in'.

In a statement along with the announcement on the site, EFL Chair Rick Perry described the new format to provide fans with live football as an 'agreeable and sensible arrangement that ensures the financial impact to clubs is minimised' amid concerns of the financial damage that postponing fixtures has caused non-Premier League clubs, as clubs cannot generate revenue from ticket sales.

Stadiums cannot generate a gate income during the pandemic
Stadiums cannot generate a gate income during the pandemic / Visionhaus/Getty Images

With gameweek 38 expected to take place from 20 June, the EFL have set a target to have all divisions completed by Monday 3 August at the latest, with the Championship playoff final scheduled for either the Monday, or Sunday 2 August.

It leaves clubs with a tight fixture schedule to adapt to, with games being played on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in order to conclude the season in as swift a manner as possible.

While the 20 June date has been set for things to resume, Sky Sports have yet to confirm which fixtures will be selected for broadcast after the original fixtures selected before the suspension were scrapped. They report that new broadcast selections will be announced next week.