If the International break proves one thing it is that there is no appetite amongst fans for a winter break in the domestic football calendar.
Tweet after tweet after tweet can be seen bemoaning the fact that the weekend isn’t the weekend without being able to follow your favourite team from the Premier League and EFL Championship.
Can you imagine the frustration for these fans if there was an enforced three to four week break during the season?
The only upside of the International break is that it gives those fans of Premier League and EFL Championship clubs the opportunity to go to watch their local Non-League side. But how many will actually take up that opportunity?
Outside of the worthy and heavily promoted ‘NonLeagueDay’ probably only a small proportion of them. With just one weekend off regular football, many fans will just endure other activities for that one week, other than go to watch a non-league game, in the knowledge that it is just for one week, and there will be an England game on the TV to get their fix.
However, a longer winter break may well work to the advantage of Non-League clubs. Several weeks of having to endure weekends more akin to summer time activities, but without the benefit of favourable weather, may increase the desire of Premier League fans to seek out football elsewhere. And some may find they like it so much they continue to attend their local club more often throughout the season.
I’m personally not in favour of winter breaks, especially as it is highly likely that the clubs won’t actually take a break but just use the time for lucrative tours to the Far East and beyond, but I am in favour of any opportunity for more people to attend matches at Non-League clubs.
Having taken that journey myself, I can assure anyone that follows the same path, it is a journey well worth making.
FA Cup Factfile 