Why should you go and support Non-League Day 2025?

The annual celebration is back

Calling all Premier League and Championship fans!

The upcoming international break means we have no Premier League and Championship games this weekend.

So, what are you going to do to fill that void? Crack on with that bit of decorating? Go out shopping? Maybe catch up with family you have not seen for a good while?

Well, I have a better option, why not join in the celebrations of Non-League Day 2025?

But, but Richard, non-league football is awful, full of talentless players and is no better than what you see down the local park on a Sunday morning, I hear you say.

I’m here to tell you that those misconceptions are so far from the truth of what non-league Football is all about and YOU should experience it this weekend.

However, what is Non-League Day?

The Non-league Day website describes it: “Non-League Day was set up by James Doe in 2010 as a social media experiment, after being inspired by a pre-season trip to Devon to watch Queens Park Rangers play at Tavistock. It has now grown to become an annual part of the football calendar, backed by Premier League and Football League clubs, MPs, celebrities, media organisations, charities and most importantly the non-league clubs themselves and the fans who turn up on the day.

“Always scheduled to coincide with an international break, Non-League Day provides a platform for clubs to promote the importance of affordable volunteer-led community football while giving fans across the country the chance to show support for their local non-league side.”

With that in mind, why should you go and watch a non-league game?

First of all, let's talk about the players who will be in action.

Jamie Vardy, Jarrod Bowen, Che Adams, Dan Burn, Solly March, Jordan Pickford and Callum Wilson are just some of the players now in the Premier League who have featured in the non-league game.

The talent on offer from players has certainly improved the game in the last 15 years or so.

Gone are the days when players supposedly turned up having had a couple of cigarettes, hungover or a takeaway as a pre-match meal.

The players are now more athletic and look after their bodies as if they were professional footballers and it’s no surprise that we see more and more players get signed up by EFL clubs.

Not only that but, they are humble enough that when a young (or old) fan asks for a selfie or an autograph they’re more than obliging to give up the couple of minutes or so that it would take to sign a piece of paper or pose for that photo. It might be nothing to those players but to a fan, it can mean the world to them.

Now if we were to go to a Premier League or a Championship match, once that full-time whistle is blown, supporters will go one way and the players will go another way. I get that if a Premier League player were to stop and sign all the autographs then they would be there all night but, to walk past supporters as though they are not there is deplorable.

Another reason you should go to a Non-League game is because of the sense of belonging. Stewards, staff, management and players all know your name and all about you, in a good way I might add.

Have you seen the story that is doing the rounds on social media about the Manchester United lifelong season ticket holder whose ticket got voided because it wasn’t working despite him being there every week and the club being told about the issues?

Now, whether or not that story is accurate, doesn’t matter to this article because it would never happen at a non-league club.

If we had the new-fangled turnstiles at a non-league game and it flagged up that a supporter wasn’t being scanned in, then that non-league club would have ensured that they checked in on that fan to make sure they were okay and was able to attend matches. If they weren’t the club would have rallied around to ensure the supporter got any help that was needed.

I’ve often said that in the world of non-league football, you are not a customer but a fan, not a number but a human being. Repeatedly my social media feed has stories about non-league clubs rallying behind a fan for whatever reason and it just warms the heart.

Finally, the cost of going to a Premier League game is frankly silly money.

£66 to watch Manchester United, Fulham charging over £100 to watch the Cottagers? Scandalous!

Go to a non-league match and at most games, you can get admission, pie, a pint and a programme for less than £30.

Also, more often than not clubs will run an offer or two for you to take advantage of. That could be early bird tickets giving you admission at a reduced rate or pie and a pint for a discounted price. The clubs often use their imagination and come up with some decent offers.

That is another reason you should take in a non-league game this Non-League Day. Clubs will run different offers, from family tickets to discounts for Premier League season ticket holders etc.

I could go on all day about why you should take in a non-league game, not just this weekend but at any point of the season. But for now, I will leave you with the Non-League Day match finder where you can find your local non-league match this weekend.