The finale of the football season for Brighton’s home fans will be played out live on TV in a fixture that has been moved to the May Day bank holiday.
Brighton and Hove Albion said that the club’s final home game of the season against Derby County would kick off at 2.30pm on the bank holiday Monday (2 May). The match will be shown live on Sky Sports.
The club said: “With Derby currently occupying a play-off place and Albion second in the table, the match looks set to have an important bearing at the top of the Championship.”
Albion chief executive Paul Barber said: “With both Derby and ourselves expected to be involved in the play-off and promotion mix at this stage of the season, we had fully expected this match to appeal to live broadcast as we head into the final few weeks of the campaign.
“It is helpful that the Football League and Sky have also provided both sets of supporters with almost seven weeks’ notice which will enable our supporters to plan accordingly for this change.
“Historically, these are the matches that Sky Sports have broadcast live and, along with our other promotion rivals, it is part of being at the top end of the Championship.
“I appreciate some supporters will now not be able to attend while for some others it will enable them to come to the game – and others to see the game on TV.
“We have listened to a lot of the fans’ feedback around fixture changes and I hope for most the change to a bank holiday Monday afternoon will not pose too much of a problem.
“It’s also helpful for our younger fans that the match is to be played on a bank holiday afternoon, as opposed to an evening fixture.”