Football programmes under threat from falling sales and social media

It is a commercial obligation of all 72 Football League teams to have a printed programme for every home game but clubs will vote on whether this will continue. Photograph: Philip Oldham/BPI/Rex/Shutterstock

The traditional matchday programme could disappear with the Football League voting on whether its production should continue to be compulsory.

It is a commercial obligation of all 72 Football League teams to have a printed programme for every home game. But declining sales and increased costs have become a burden for some clubs and at their June meeting they will vote on whether it should continue to be a requirement next season.

The EFL regulations state that each club must make available one half page of their programme for the benefit of the Football Foundation and one full page of advertising for “the benefit of the League to promote League initiatives”.

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But the EFL is set to amend the wording to allow clubs to fulfil their advertising obligations on websites or social media instead. It is understood several clubs have been lobbying to abolish the mandatory match programme because they are no longer financially viable.

Carolyn Radford, chief executive of League Two Mansfield Town, told the Guardian she recognised the financial sense in abolishing the programme but insisted the Stags would continue to print regardless of the outcome of the vote. “We’d always have a programme because it’s a voice from the club to the fans and it’s something some people keep religiously,” she said.

“It’s part of the fabric of the club and an important piece of memorabilia, a collector’s item. I know we’re moving more online, but it’s different having something to hold.

“It costs us more to produce than it raises, so I can see commercially why some clubs would want to get rid and I think if it was no longer compulsory a lot of clubs, particularly in the lower leagues, would drop out. But it’s still an important part of football’s history.”

A statement from the EFL said: “A number of clubs have asked the EFL if the mandatory publication of a match programme can be addressed as a result of an overall decline in sales and the proliferation of digital and social media, which has the ability to deliver the same content in a more cost‑effective manner.”