It is with much regret that we have to announce yet another match postponement due to a waterlogged pitch at Banbury United FC. Our Vanarama National League North fixture v Rushall Olympic for tomorrow, Saturday February 10th will not go ahead. We will issue details of the rescheduled match in due course.

In a cruel and ironic twist, the Club’s “Big Bid Flood Relief Auction” scheduled for tomorrow at 6pm – designed to help recoup some of the lost income – has also had to be postponed due to flooding! This event will now run after Banbury United v South Shields on Saturday February 24th.

Ronnie Johnson, Chairman of Banbury United FC, said: “This is the fifth match postponement for our first team alone in the 2023/24 football season, due to river water rising onto our pitch. The problem of the encroaching river water is reported to be the worst it’s ever been, this year.

“The financial impact on the Club is increasingly serious. While our facilities are quite resilient to the river water, it is the lost income from Saturday matchdays that is the concern. We lose around £15,000 per match when it is postponed. When our doors are not open, we do not make money from ticket sales, refreshments and merchandise. The players still need paying. When matches are replayed, inevitably they occur on Tuesday nights and not Saturdays, which brings in less income. Our fixtures then tend to get bunched together and fans don’t have the budget to watch so many matches in quick succession.

“We are doing what we can to get assistance, including writing to our MP, Sport England and the Environment Agency. Our Big Bid Flood Relief Auction was an initiative to get some extra funds into the Club, yet it’s another example of our volunteers donating their precious time preparing for an event that is then postponed.

“We know this is a problem facing other grass-based sports facilities in the town, even though we seem to be the worst affected. Our Women and U18 Development squads’ matches also suffer from match postponements,” concludes Johnson.

Please consider donating to the Club’s Just Giving page, click here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Bufcfloodappeal?utm_term=BZarEEqW5

Pictured: Ronnie Johnson, Banbury United Chairman, surrounded by memorabilia that should have been auctioned at tomorrow's flood relief event to raise funds for the Club.