On 9th March 1946, over 85,000 people piled into Burnden Park.
Eager football fans had gathered at Bolton Wanderers’ former home ground for the club’s highly-anticipated second-leg clash against Stoke City in the Sixth Round of the FA Cup, but not long after kick-off, the crowd began spilling onto the pitch and the game was temporarily stopped as the pitch was cleared.
However, at this time, two barriers collapsed and the crowd fell forward, crushing those underneath.
The crush resulted in injuries to hundreds of Bolton fans and the devastating deaths of 33 people, making it the deadliest stadium-related disaster in British history, until the Ibrox Park disaster in 1971.
The disaster happened at the ‘Railway End’ of the ground – which closed in 1997 – where, in common with many other post-war grounds, facilities were rudimentary and the bank was crude, with just dirt and odd flagstones for steps, and although there was room towards the Burnden side of the ground, part of the stand had been requisitioned by the Ministry of Supply and had not yet been returned to normal use following the war.
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Additionally, the turnstiles at the east end of the Railway Embankment – which adjoined the Burnden Stand – had also been closed since 1940.
As was common practice back then, fans paid at the turnstiles to enter, rather than buy tickets beforehand, but as a result of this, the end became packed and over capacity and it was decided to close the turnstiles at 2:40pm.
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This did not stop more people entering the ground though.
Bolton News / Bolton Council
Desperate to catch a glimpse of the game, people began climbing in from the railway, climbing over the closed turnstiles and, when a locked gate was opened, entering through it. This lead to pressure from the ‘Railway End’ and meant that many fans were “inexorably pushed” along the side of the pitch, around the far end and eventually right out of the ground, before inevitably spilling onto the pitch itself.
Once the pitch was cleared, the game was restarted, but quickly halted again when a police officer came onto the pitch to speak to the referee to inform him there had been a fatality.
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Despite this, the game was still allowed to continue under what were described as “sickening” circumstances.
It ended in a goalless draw.
But the score meant nothing in light of the tragic event, which is still known to the people of Bolton and Stoke, the wider Greater Manchester community and football fans across the globe as one of the “greatest tragedies in football history”.
The disaster directly lead to a subsequent official report published by lawyer and MP, Moelwyn Hughes, which recommended more rigorous control of crowd sizes, and a conference on the licensing and regulation of sports grounds where it was recommended that, as a voluntary code, local authorities should inspect grounds with a capacity of 10,000 spectators. It was also agreed safety limits should be in place for grounds of more than 25,000 capacity, turnstiles should mechanically record spectator numbers, and grounds should have internal telephone systems.
The aftermath of the event may have meant that positive, necessary and life-saving change was brought about for the future, but tragedy still remains and the victims of that dreadful day in 1946 will nevertheless, always be remembered.
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Today, 75 years on, Bolton Wanderers will mark this “poignant day” in history.
? Today is a poignant day in the history of Bolton Wanderers Football Club.
75 years ago, 33 supporters attended a match at Burnden Park and never returned home. We shall remember them. pic.twitter.com/VzF3NrfEWD
When the team faces Cambridge United in a League Two clash at their home ground – the University of Bolton Stadium – this evening, a minute’s silence will be observed and the players will wear black armbands.
The club is also releasing a series of videos about the disaster on their social media channels during the day, a book of remembrance will be displayed outside the ground and a special matchday programme has been produced to mark the anniversary.
Outside the ground, the flags will fly at half mast and wreaths will be laid before the game kicks off.
The current Bolton squad are well-aware of the disaster’s significance on its 75th anniversary, with Wanderers manager, Ian Evatt, aiming to mark the occasion with a win, saying: “It’s absolutely heartbreaking to think that people went to watch a football match and didn’t go home again.
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“That is really, really heartbreaking and sad.”
Bolton Wanderers
He continued: “For the 75th anniversary, we want to go out there and perform to the level to give them the respect and the memory that they deserve and that’s as far as it goes.
“We understand the importance of it, we understand the importance of the occasion, and we want to go out there and win. The players are all aware of it, of course… [and] want to go out there and perform to the best levels they can for a number of reasons, and that is the main reason.
“We can’t forget and we never will forget.
“Those 33 names will live long in the memory of this football club as part of our existence and rightly so”.
Pep Guardiola delivers gutting news as Man City are hit with Erling Haaland injury blow
Danny Jones
Pep Guardiola has passed on some gutting fitness news for Manchester City fans as star striker Erling Haaland is confirmed to be injured for several weeks and could even miss the rest of the Premier League season.
The title might be out of reach this year, and the Champions League knockout against Real Madrid was definitely hard for Blues to take, but with Man City into the semi-finals of the FA Cup, there’s still a very strong chance they could end 2024/25 with a piece of silverware.
However, they’ll have to make it through another two massive rounds at Wembley and seemingly the remainder of the season without Haaland and his goals, as the Catalan coach revealed that the club expects him to be out injured for “six to seven weeks.”
Not exactly how City fans would have wanted to see the rest of an already frustrating season play out.
🗣️ "We don't have another player with his skills."
Relaying diagnosis from the medical team, Pep said the hope is that the big Norwegian number nine could be back for the very tail end of the campaign, but at the very least, he “will be ready for the [FIFA Club] World Cup.”
He went on to add that “these kinds of things happen” and that he feels “sorry” for all of the other injuries that have befell his squad up till now, adding that they can only hope for a speedy recovery and for him to return as soon as possible.
The 24-year-old hasn’t had too many big injury problems in his career thus far, although his longest spell on the sidelines did come at the end of 2023 when a stress fracture kept him out until the new year.
This time around, Haaland suffered an injury to his ankle during the City’s FA Cup win over Bournemouth on Sunday following a challenge from defensive midfielder Lewis Cook.
He was forced in the second half and was seen leaving the Vitality Stadium on crutches after the game.
Erling Haaland seen leaving Bournemouth in a protective boot and crutches. 🤕
Having led the golden boot race for a good chunk of the season – as he’s become accustomed too since he arrived in England – City‘s sub-optimal season has seen him slink into second behind high-flying Mo Salah on 27, but he still has a couple dozen goals and a trio of assists to show for it.
Speaking of Salah, the soon-to-leave ‘Egyptian King’ has been the talisman for Liverpool this season, and his contributions could see them lift the trophy in Arne Slot’s first season as early as 13 April, depending on how fellow title rivals Arsenal fare in their next two matches.
As for how City round out their domestic campaign, reclaiming the FA Cup after last year’s derby disappointment looks like the main goal.
You can watch Pep Guardiola’s press conference ahead of the game against Leicester City at 19:45pm tomorrow (Wednesday, 2 April) in full HERE.
Masters Football isn’t just back – it’s coming to Manchester
Danny Jones
The much-loved Masters Football format made its glorious comeback in 2022, and since then, it’s been steadily rebuilding an audience of passionate fans, plenty of whom you’ll find here in the sporting city of Manchester – so it’s a good job the national tournament is heading our way.
That’s right, the official English Masters Football competition is coming to 0161 later this year and will be bringing a host of legendary North West talent from years gone by to take part.
Although the full squads and their team captains have yet to be announced, former professionals from Manchester United, Man City, Liverpool, Everton, and more will be lacing back up their boots.
Manchester Masters Football 2025 lands at the equally iconic AO Arena this September.
Credit: Publicity Pictures (supplied)
For anyone unfamiliar with Masters Football, which developed a die-hard following when it first ran between 2000 and 2011, is shorter, indoor-only six-a-side footy tournament similar to futsal.
Each team will feature eight retired players, and the games unfold in a round-robin format, with each match consisting of two eight-minute halves, meaning that both sides have a little over a quarter of an hour to score enough to make it past the other.
In addition to the quicker matches, they will battle it out on a 60m x 30m pitch – the same size of an international ice hockey rink – and whoever makes it through with the highest points will battle it out in a grand final to claim the Manchester Masters title.
As you can see, players set to star this year include ex-United and City defenders Wes Brown and Joleon Lescott, as well as Liverpool and Everton strikers Djibril Cisse and Yakubu Ayegbeni.
You can see some of the best moments from the year it officially returned to the UK down below:
The Manchester edition of the 2025 English Masters Football Tournament Series arrives at the AO Arena on Friday, 5 September.
Doors will open to the venue from 6pm, with the first match kicking off at 7pm, so you better have drinks and snacks in time for bums to hit seats.
As for tickets, there’ll be two chances at early access, first for Three+ mobile members at 10am on Wednesday, 2 April and then via the venue’s presale window at the same time the following day. General admission tickets will be made available, also from 10am, the following Saturday, 5 April.