Excitement builds for Mansfield Town fixtures release tomorrow

One of the most eagerly anticipated dates in the football calendar, Football League fixtures officer Paul Snellgrove holds his first fixtures working party meeting in November.

There, clubs get the chance to review a draft schedule and the policies put in place for the compilation process for the following season.

The working party consists of officers from The Football League, the Premier League and the Football Association; along with a cross section of club representatives – two from the Premier League, two from the Championship, one from League One and one from League Two.

Also, the Football Supporters’ Federation are represented as well as the fixture compilers Atos.

Atos are an outside IT contractor who run the fixture compiling software, which is unique and owned by The Football League and the Premier League.

They then meet again in March, which is when schedules and policies are finalised prior to the compilation. At that point, all clubs are sent a fixtures questionnaire which is their chance to have their say on their fixtures for next season regarding specific dates and pairing arrangements.

Any date requests, for example if they’d like a home or away fixture on a certain date, will go on that form, and are signed off by the police.

There are generally a significant number of police requests for away fixtures due to events such as race meetings, music festivals or political party conferences.

The League also try to ensure that local derbies and the other high profile fixtures are played on the best days possible, so as many fans as possible can attend and maximise clubs’ revenue

Midweek travel is another one of our big issues. The League are aware that clubs and their supporters don’t want to be travelling the length and breadth of the country in midweek, but it can be unavoidable on some occasions.

It’s a fine balance between making sure clubs have their more lucrative fixtures on prime dates but also ensuring they have acceptable travel on midweeks. Over 72 clubs, this balancing act proves to be a challenge.

Once they’re released, clubs have a 10-day period to request any changes to kick-off times, and minor day changes to Friday night or Sunday, then it’s a case of getting them finalised and re-submitting the finished list.

As previously announced, the Sky Bet League Two season will commence on Saturday, 8th August and conclude a week later than usual on Saturday, 7th May.

There are six midweek League games scheduled for next term – the first of which is pencilled in for mid-August.

Capital One Cup first round ties will take place on week commencing Monday, 10th August, whilst the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy gets underway at the start of September.

The majority of The Emirates FA Cup first round games will be played on Saturday, 7th November.

Next season’s provisional Sky Bet League Two dates are as follows:

Sat 08 Aug: Matchday 01

Sat 15 Aug: Matchday 02

Tue 18 Aug: Matchday 03

Sat 22 Aug: Matchday 04

Sat 29 Aug: Matchday 05

Sat 05 Sep: Matchday 06

Sat 12 Sep: Matchday 07

Tue 15 Sep: Matchday 08

Sat 19 Sep: Matchday 09

Sat 26 Sep: Matchday 10

Sat 03 Oct: Matchday 11

Sat 10 Oct: Matchday 12

Sat 17 Oct: Matchday 13

Tue 20 Oct: Matchday 14

Sat 24 Oct: Matchday 15

Sat 31 Oct: Matchday 16

Sat 14 Nov: Matchday 17

Sat 21 Nov: Matchday 18

Tue 24 Nov: Matchday 19

Sat 28 Nov: Matchday 20

Sat 12 Dec: Matchday 21

Sat 19 Dec: Matchday 22

Sat 26 Dec: Matchday 23

Mon 28 Dec: Matchday 24

Sat 02 Jan: Matchday 25

Sat 09 Jan: Matchday 26

Sat 16 Jan: Matchday 27

Sat 23 Jan: Matchday 28

Sat 30 Jan: Matchday 29

Sat 06 Feb: Matchday 30

Sat 13 Feb: Matchday 31

Tue 16 Feb: Matchday 32

Sat 20 Feb: Matchday 33

Sat 27 Feb: Matchday 34

Sat 05 Mar: Matchday 35

Sat 12 Mar: Matchday 36

Sat 19 Mar: Matchday 37

Sat 26 Mar: Matchday 38

Mon 28 Mar: Matchday 39

Sat 02 Apr: Matchday 40

Sat 09 Apr: Matchday 41

Sat 16 Apr: Matchday 42

Tue 19 Apr: Matchday 43

Sat 23 Apr: Matchday 44

Sat 30 Apr: Matchday 45

Sat 07 May: Matchday 46