Sheffield United fans handed travel assurance by the Premier League
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Although the governing body uses a computer to randomly assign its schedule, officials assigned to oversee the scheduling process do take a number of issues into consideration before launching the programme. They include the prospect of fans from rival teams travelling on the same train lines or road networks and also security issues, such as when the Metropolitan Police asked for high profile matches not to be staged in London during the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games.
Importantly, the PL admits it tries to “minimise travel on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day or an equivalent date.”
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Hide AdThat could mean United, Yorkshire’s only representative in the top-flight next term, could be paired with rivals from the North-East, North-West or the Midlands in those slots.
“We look at whether we have clubs from the same area travelling on the same train lines across the Football league and the Premier League on the same day,” the PL states. “We want to avoid having ‘pinch points’ on the rail and road network.”
United, who gained promotion from the Championship last term, are set to discover their programme for the 2023/24 campaign on June 15th before embarking upon their third top-flight campaign in five seasons on August 12th.
They will also collaborate with the English Football League to ensure that United and Sheffield Wednesday are not paired at home on the same weekends when they devise their respective schedules.