Blackburn Rovers’ wonderful new matchday initiative is receiving high praise for helping young people get to the game on their special bus service.
The affordable matchday transport dubbed the ‘Ewood Express‘ started back in February 2020 and as well as helping young fans travel to the stadium in time for kick-off, it is crucially helping those within the local BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) community attend games.
Blackburn‘s population is estimated to be at least 150,000 people and more than 35% of those living in the area are from a South Asian background. However, following a report by the club a few years back, it was revealed that attendances at Ewood Park were not fairly matching the town’s rich diversity.
As a result of these figures and recognising the importance of trying properly represent and mirror the town’s diverse demographic, Rovers wanted to make things better. All aboard the Ewood Express.
One of many ways the club has looked to develop inclusivity for BAME communities in the Blackburn and surrounding Darwen area is by setting up their now famous Ewood Express bus service.
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Picking up young fans and locals from nearby schools, mosques, grassroots football clubs, other children’s community groups and more, the special travel service makes it easy for fans to get to a game, with tickets to ride costing just £8 per child.
With bus and coach transport provided by the club, more than 3,500 children have been able to travel to Ewood Park and watch their team play — an outlet that many in the community never had access to before. Things you love to hear.
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In fact, the scheme has been so successful that Blackburn even manage to bring its first delegation of young away fans to the Watford game back in February and with such a significant Muslim community, Rovers also became the first EFL team to host Eid prayers on the pitch in 2022. Simply wonderful stuff.
🚌 Thank you to all the children and staff who joined us for today's game on the #EwoodExpress. Hope to see you all again soon!
Blackburn have also been applauded for actively promoting the use of their multi-faith prayer room on matchday for several years now, with Commercial and Integration Manager Yasir Sufi one of several figures spotlighted for helping implement these important initiatives at the club and in the community.
It’s no wonder Blackburn won the EFL‘s first-ever Diversity Award last year and no doubt look to continue their incredible work for years to come.
Featured Image — English Football League/Blackburn Rovers
Sport
Both Manchester United and Manchester City named as teams with the least amount of local fans
Emily Sergeant
Both Manchester United and Manchester City have been identified as being teams with the least amount of local fans, according to a new survey.
We all know that supporting a local team can be seen as a mark of credibility among a certain kind of football fan, while on the flip side of that, not following a local team is often associated with being a ‘glory hunter’. But which Premier League clubs have the highest – and lowest – proportion of supporters living close to home?
Well, YouGov decided to use its profiles data to analyse the fanbases of all 20 Premier League clubs for the 2026-27 season to get the answer to this once and for all.
And it’s fair to say that it’s not looking the best for the Manchester teams.
The study found that, overall, Brighton & Hove Albion is the Premier League’s most local team – with 56% of fans based in the South East.
Sunderland (50%) and Nottingham Forest (49%) supporters are the next-most likely to live in the same region as their teams, followed by Aston Villa, Brentford, Ipswich, Leeds, Fulham, Hull, and Crystal Palace fans rounding out the top 10.
At the other end of the table, Manchester United has the second-lowest proportion of local supporters, with only a quarter based in the North West (23%), with one in six (17%) actually living in London instead.
And then as for Manchester City – who are widely considered to be the most successful team of the modern era – it has ranked fourth-bottom for local fans, as a quarter of the club’s supporters are based in the North West, with a fifth based in London (19%).
But although both United and City have found themselves towards the bottom end of the ranking, they are not the worst offenders.
That title, unfortunately, does belong to another North West team though – Liverpool.
Liverpool is the club with the lowest proportion of ‘local’ supporters, as just a fifth are based in the North West (21%) with the next highest concentration of fans can being found in London.
Featured Image – Johnny Gios (via Unsplash)
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Manchester Storm game postponed just one week after AO Arena return due to ‘technical issue with the ice’
Daisy Jackson
Manchester Storm’s second game back at the AO Arena had to be postponed over the weekend due to a ‘technical issue with the ice’.
The ice hockey team made a record-breaking return to the venue earlier this month, attracting some 11,000 fans to watch their match against Sheffield Steelers.
But just one week later, as Manchester Storm prepared to face off against The Nottingham Panthers, the game had to be postponed.
Fans were already inside the legendary venue when a ‘technical issue with the ice’ became apparent and the game was called off.
Manchester Storm and the AO Arena said they ‘sincerely apologise’ to supporters and ticket holders for the disruption.
The game has now been rescheduled to Wednesday 14 October, with tickets valid for the new fixture.
The full statement read: “Unfortunately today’s Manchester Storm game vs The Nottingham Panthers has been suspended due to a technical issue with the ice.
“We sincerely apologise to supporters and ticket holders for the disruption and would like to thank everyone in attendance for their patience.
Danny Jones -
22nd March 2023 
