Matchday programme

"Match program" redirects here. For the American medical residency placement day, see Match Day (medicine).

Extract of programme for an exhibition (friendly) game between France and an English amateur team in Vincennes, France in May 1921

A matchday programme or match programme is a booklet associated with a live sporting event which details the proposed starting lineup and other details of the match. To some spectators, the purchase of a matchday programme is part of the "ritual" of attending football and hurling matches in Britain and Ireland.[1][2] Until 2018, the printing of matchday programmes was compulsory for English Football League games.[3][4]

Souvenir programmes are also collected as sports memorabilia, and rare FA Cup Final matchday programmes have fetched in excess of £35,000 at auction houses such as Sotheby's.[5][6] Matchday programmes from early 20th-century hurling and Gaelic football games are also collected in Ireland,[7] and a programme from the 1913 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final was sold at auction in 2018 for more than €2,000.[8]

  1. ^ "Demise of the match-day programme threatens treasured memories". The Guardian. 1 May 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2021. For many fans, though, there is, and never will be, anything quite like a programme in its most traditional form – on paper and on sale outside of the ground. Part of a lifelong ritual
  2. ^ "All Ireland SFC match programme available to purchase". gaa.ie. Gaelic Athletic Association. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2021. Acquiring an official match programme has been a long-standing practice for many of our members and supporters
  3. ^ Law, James (8 June 2018). "EFL clubs vote to end compulsory matchday programme publication". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  4. ^ "The matchday programme: can it survive the digital age?". Irish Times. 11 June 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Why your old football programmes could be worth a small fortune!". birminghammail.co.uk. Birmingham Mail. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  6. ^ "1882 FA Cup final programme sells for world record price". bbc.com. BBC News. 14 May 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Treasures: The clash of the cash". independent.ie. Independent News & Media. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2021. medals, tickets and programmes, from early matches are highly collectible [..] The 1926 All-Ireland football final was notable for torrential rain, which probably explains why programmes of the match are so rare. A slightly weather-worn example is coming up for sale in Fonsie Mealy Auctioneers
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference gaa2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).