billsportsmaps.com

May 31, 2012

UEFA Euro 2012, Group D – England, France, Sweden, Ukraine – map of the 8 venues and the 16 teams in UEFA Euro 2012 / plus Group D schedule & venues, and statistics on the 4 nations in Group D & their teams’ all-time competitive records (in FIFA World Cup and in UEFA Euro tournaments).

Filed under: UEFA Euro 2012 — admin @ 8:01 pm

uefa_euro-2012_group-d_england_france_sweden_ukriane_segment_b.gif
UEFA Euro 2012, Group D – England, France, Sweden, Ukraine: schedule, venues, and national team data


UEFA Euro 2012 Group D matches -

11 June 2012
19:00 UTC+3
Match 7 – France v. England, Donbass Arena, Donetsk, Ukraine.

11 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Match 8 – Ukraine v. Sweden, Olympic Stadium, Kyiv, Ukraine.

15 June 2012
19:00 UTC+3
Match 16 – Ukraine v. France, Donbass Arena, Donetsk, Ukraine.
15 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Match 15 – Sweden v. England, Olympic Stadium, Kyiv, Ukraine.

19 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Match 23 – England v. Ukraine, Donbass Arena, Donetsk, Ukraine.

19 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Match 24 – Sweden v. France, Olympic Stadium, Kyiv, Ukraine.

Group D venues (in Kyiv, Ukraine and in Donetsk, Ukraine) -

Photos of the host-cities in the illustrations below from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv [note: there are lots of other photos of the eight host cities in the tournament, in the 8 galleries at this link].

Kyiv
Kyiv, Ukraine. Capital of Ukraine.
Founded 5th century (as a commercial center on the trade route from Scandanavia to Constantinople).
Kyiv city population 2,797,000; metro area population 3.6 million {2010 figures}.
Olimpiysky National Sports Complex. Opened 1923, expanded in 1966, and 1978; last renovated in 2011. Capacity 70,050. 5 matches in Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group D matches, a Quarter-finals match, and the Final (on 1 July, 2012).
kyiv_olimpiysky-national-stadium_c.gif
Photo of Kyiv from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/.
Photo of Olimpiysky National Sports Complex from nsc-olimpiyskiy.com.ua.

Donetsk -
Donetsk, Ukraine.
Founded 1869 (by Welsh industrialist John Hughes, who constructed a steel plant and several coal mines).
Donetsk city population 979,000; metro area population 2.0 million {2011 figures}.
Donbass Arena. Opened 2009. Capacity 52,598. 5 matches in UEFA Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group D matches, a Quarter-finals, and a Semi-finals match.
donetsk_donbass-arena_.gif
Photo of Donetsk from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/.
Photo of Donbass arena by Elparadiso19 at en.wikipedia.org/Donbass Arena.

Notes on nations’ data…
The GDP numbers and nation-rankings are from the CIA World Factbook, via this page at en.wikipedia.org, ‘List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita‘. Excerpt from that page’s intro…’GDP dollar estimates here are derived from purchasing power parity (PPP) calculations. Such calculations are prepared by various organizations, including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. As estimates and assumptions have to be made, the results produced by different organizations for the same country tend to differ, sometimes substantially. PPP figures are estimates rather than hard facts, and should be used with caution.’

Population numbers and nation’s-population-rankings are from this list at en.wikipedia.org ‘List of countries by population‘. As paragraph 2 there says, ‘Figures used in this chart are based on the most recent estimate or projection by the national census authority where available and usually rounded off. Where national data is not available, figures are based on the 2012 estimate by the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.’

___

Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘UEFA Euro 2012‘.

Base map of Europe from commons.wikimedia.org/File:BlankMap-Europe-v4.png .

Photos of jerseys from worldsoccershop.com.
Thanks to worldsoccershop.com/shop-by-league-uefa-euro-2012 for the photos of the jerseys on the map page.
Map of overseas possessions of France by Manchot sanguinaire at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Outre-mer_eo.png .

May 25, 2012

UEFA Euro 2012, Group C – Croatia, Ireland, Italy, Spain – map of the 8 venues and the 16 teams in UEFA Euro 2012 / plus Group C schedule & venues, and statistics on the 4 nations in Group C & their teams’ all-time competitive records (in FIFA World Cup and in UEFA Euro tournaments).

Filed under: UEFA Euro 2012 — admin @ 9:45 pm

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UEFA Euro 2012, Group B – Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal: schedule, venues, and national team data


UEFA Euro 2012 Group C matches -

10 June 2012
18:00 UTC+2
Match 5 – Spain v. Italy, PGE Arena, Gdańsk, Poland.

10 June 2012
20:45 UTC+2
Match 6 – Ireland v. Croatia, Municipal Stadium, Poznań, Poland.

14 June 2012
18:00 UTC+2
Match 13 – Italy v. Croatia, Municipal Stadium, Poznań, Poland.

14 June 2012
20:45 UTC+2
Match 14 – Spain v. Ireland, PGE Arena, Gdańsk, Poland.

18 June 2012
20:45 UTC+2
Match 21 – Croatia v. Spain, PGE Arena, Gdańsk, Poland.

18 June 2012
20:45 UTC+2
Match 22 – Italy v. Ireland, Municipal Stadium, Poznań, Poland.

Group C venues (in Gdańsk, Poland and in Poznań, Poland) -

Photos of the host-cities in the illustrations below from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Gdansk [note: there are lots of other photos of the eight host cities in the tournament, in the 8 galleries at this link].

Gdańsk
Gdańsk, Poland.
Founded 997 (when a stronghold was built there, which was connected with Baltic Sea trade routes).
Gdansk city population 455,000; metro area population 1.0 million {2009 figures}.
PGE Arena. Opened 2011. Capacity 43,615. 4 matches in UEFA Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group C matches, and a Quarter-final match (note: the Quarterfinal match to be played in Gdańsk does not involve Group C teams – it will be between the winner of Group B and the runner-up of Grouip A).
gdansk_pge-arena_e.gif
Photo of Gdansk from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/.
Photo of PGE Arena Gdańsk by Piotr Krajewski at http://www.a-pk.pl/ and at flickr.com, here.

Poznań -
Poznan, Poland.
Founded 9th century (as stronghold; then from the 10th to 11th century, it was the capital of Weikopolska, or Old Poland).
Poznan city population 455,000; metro area population 1.0 million {2009 figures}.
City Stadium (Poznań). Opened 1980, last renovated in 2010. Capacity 41,609. 3 matches in UEFA Euros 2012 will be played here: 3 Group C matches.
poznan_city-stadium_c.gif
Photo of Poznań from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/.
Photo of City Stadium (Poznań) from aerofoto-kaczmarczyk.com via imageshack.us.

Notes on nations’ data…
The GDP numbers and nation-rankings are from the CIA World Factbook, via this page at en.wikipedia.org, ‘List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita‘. Excerpt from that page’s intro…’GDP dollar estimates here are derived from purchasing power parity (PPP) calculations. Such calculations are prepared by various organizations, including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. As estimates and assumptions have to be made, the results produced by different organizations for the same country tend to differ, sometimes substantially. PPP figures are estimates rather than hard facts, and should be used with caution.’

Population numbers and nation’s-population-rankings are from this list at en.wikipedia.org ‘List of countries by population‘. As paragraph 2 there says, ‘Figures used in this chart are based on the most recent estimate or projection by the national census authority where available and usually rounded off. Where national data is not available, figures are based on the 2012 estimate by the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.’

___

Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘UEFA Euro 2012‘.

Base map of Europe from commons.wikimedia.org/File:BlankMap-Europe-v4.png .

Photos of jerseys from worldsoccershop.com.
Thanks to worldsoccershop.com/shop-by-league-uefa-euro-2012 for the photos of the jerseys on the map page.

May 16, 2012

Brazil: 2012 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A location map, with 2011 average attendances, and titles list / Plus a small chart of the reigning champions, SC Corinthians – crests and kits through the years (1910 to 2012) / Plus 2011 Corinthians scoring and assists leaders.

Filed under: Brazil — admin @ 8:04 pm

brazil_2012_serie-a-clubs_titles-list_post_2e.gif
2012 Brasileiro map and titles list


The 2012 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A is the 42nd season of Brazil’s Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. Reigning champions are São Paulo-based SC Corinthians Paulista. 2012 will be the ninth season that the 20-team Campeonato Brasileiro Série A is using the standard round-robin format of home-and-away-matches-versus-all-other-clubs (for a 38-game season), as well as a basic relegation format (with the bottom 4 finishers going down to Série B, while the top 4 finishers from Série B win promotion). The season starts on Saturday 19 May.

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A – Fixtures, Results, Table (soccerway.com).

But while the format of top flight Brazilian football has come in line with most of the professional football leagues throughout Europe and the rest of South America, their calendar has not. Starting their season in May really puts Brazilian clubs at a disadvantage. The reason Brazil’s national football league starts in mid-May is the continued existence of the outmoded state championships – an anachronism that is of a time when infrastructure and transportation in Brazil could not accommodate a nation-wide first division league, so the state championships were necessary, and served a role in Brazilian football. ‘Brazilian football state championships‘ (en.wikipedia.org). But since the early 1970s, there has been a national league, so state championships should have become redundant. Yet the poorly-attended and now pretty much pointless state championships persist. Why? Because of entrenched power interests in all of the 26 state football associations. If these now-irrelevant cup-format state championships were phased out, those old white guys in positions of power in every state football association in Brazil would lose their power, prestige and cushy jobs – they would lose their gravy train. And so, like parasites, the guys in power in the football associations in all the states in Brazil conspire to maintain the state championships. And so the state championships continue to take up a significant and pivotal portion of the calendar year (from January to mid-May), which thus sucks time and energy and media attention away from the important thing that all the millions of pro football fans in Brazil care about – the Brasileiro – and keeps Brazil out of the loop, literally. Due to the Brazilian league starting in May, as opposed to August, clubs’ transfer policies, budgets, and roster decisions are thrown out of whack. And Brazilian clubs still alive in the Copa Libertadores each year are also hampered by the domestic season’s opening in May, because they are forced to start the new season while concentrating on their Quarterfinals and Semifinals matches in the Copa Libertadores.

There are 4 Brazilian clubs still alive in the 2012 Copa Libertadores – Fluminense (who square off against Boca Juniors), Corinthians and Vasco da Gama (who face each other), and Cup-holders Santos (who play Vélez Sársfield).
2012 Copa Libertadores/ Quarterfinals‘ (en.wikipedia.org).

Brazilian Pro Football titles chart

The map page has a different layout from previous maps I’ve done for Brazilian football. On this one, the emphasis is on the titles won by clubs.

At the far left of the map page there is a location-map of the 20 clubs in 2012 Brazilian first division. The center and right-hand side of the map page is taken up by a chart which lists the national, state, Copa do Brasil, and Copa Libertadores titles of 24 clubs. The clubs are listed by 2011 average attendance (from home league matches in either Série A or Série B).

Also listed in the chart, near the center, are consecutive seasons in the Brazilian top flight by club. [Note: there are 5 clubs in Brazil that have spent all 42 seasons in the Brazilian first division - Cruzeiro, Flamengo, Internacional, Santos, and São Paulo.].

The 4 newly-promoted clubs for 2012 are listed at the bottom of the chart. Those 4 newly-promoted clubs are – Náutico, Ponte Preta, Portuguesa, and Sport Recife.

The first note I should make is that the chart has 24 clubs in it because it also includes the 4 clubs relegated out of Série A after last season – América (Minas Gerais), Atlético Paranaense, Avaí, and Ceará. You can tell which clubs are the relegated clubs by their lack of bold-face text in the far left column [2011], and by their lack of inclusion in the green column at the far right [2012].

National titles listed are – Campeonato Brasileiro Série A titles (from 1971 to 2011), plus Taça Brasil titles (1959-68), plus Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa titles (1967–70) [see 3 paragraphs down].

On the chart, national titles are listed in the dark blue column at the center-right-hand side of the chart. Along the entire lower section of the map page are the crests of all clubs with national titles in Brazil, going from left to right in descending order.

I have included, among national titles won, the titles won from the generally accepted precursor to the modern Brazilian national championship competition, which was called the Taça Brasil. The Taça Brasil was founded in 1959 to enable Brazil to provide contenders for the newly-created Copa Libertadores, which had it’s inaugural season in 1960. Here is the Wikipedia page of Taça Brasil. The successor to the Taça Brasil was the Torneo Roberto Gomes Pedrosa (1967–70), which had originally been the Torneo Rio-São Paulo, for clubs only from Rio de Janeiro state and São Paulo state. In 1967, the tournament was opened to include clubs from Minas Gerais, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul states, and later also from Pernambuco and Bahia states. In 1969 and 1970, the winner and the runners-up in the Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa went to the Copa Liberadores. Palmeiras won it in 1969, and Fluminense won it in 1970. In 1971, the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A was established, and the inaugural season was won by Clube Atlético Mineiro, a Belo Horizonte-based club that has never won the title again. Palmeiras won the Brazilian title in the second and third seasons of the Brasileiro (in 1972 and 1973). Vasco da Gama won the title in 1974, and SC Internacional won the Brasileiro in 1975 and 1976. To round out the first decade in Brazil’s national league, São Paulo won the title for the first time n 1977, current-second-division club Guaraní won the title in 1978, SC International were champions again in 1979, and Flamengo won it for the first time in 1980. As far as the all-time titles leader in Brazil goes, it depends on how you define the title. If you count Taça Brasil titles and Torneo Roberto Gomes Pedrosa titles (1959-1970) along with Campeonato Brasileiro Série A titles (1971-present), both Santos and Palmeiras have won the most Brazilian titles, with 8 titles (Santos won it last in 2004, and Palmeiras won it last in 1994). If you only count Campeonato Brasileiro Série A titles (from 1971 to present), Flamengo and São Paulo are tied with the most titles, with 6 titles each (Flamengo won it last in 2009, and São Paulo won it last in 2008).

List of Brazilian football championships‘ (en.wikipedia.org).

    SC Corinthias – 2011 Brazilian champions

sc-corinthians_2011champions_e.gif
Photo credits above -
Liédson, (Rodrigo Coca/ Fotoarena) at veja.abril.com.br.
Danilo, meutimao.com.br.
Willian, globoesporte.globo.com.
Alex [Paranà], Fernando Dantas/Gazeta Press via gazetaesportiva.net.
Tite, Rodrigo Coca/Fotoarena via veja.abril.com.br; Tite smiling, terra.com.br/esportes/infograficos/santos-x-corinthians .
Banner for Socrates, Reuters via dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2069960/Socrates-dead-Corinthians-win-Brazilian-title-fans-paty-tribute

From Pitch Invasion.com, from April 9 2010, by Jeremy Rueter, ‘WHAT’S IN A NAME? – SPORT CLUB CORINTHIANS PAULISTA‘.

Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, established 1910, São Paulo, Brazil.

SC Corinthians Paulista were named after the London, England-based Corinthian Football Club, which existed from 1882 to 1939, then had a merger to form Corinthian-Casuals FC (1939 to present). The resolutely amateur Corinthian FC toured Brazil in 1910, and a group of laborers in São Paulo were then inspired to form a football club. As opposed to most other established football clubs then in Brazil, SC Corinthians were to be open to all, not just the elite class of Brazilian society. Corinthians won their first São Paulo State title (Campeonato Paulista title) in their fifth season, in 1914 (see photo on chart below). Corinthians have won the most Campeonato Paulista titles, with 26 (last in 2009). Corinthians have won 5 Brazilian titles, their first in 1990, and their fifth in 2011. Their most prominent nickname is Timão (which translates as the Ship’s wheel). SC Corinthians are São Paulo’s most-supported club and have vast support throughout Brazil – Corinthians are generally regarded as the second-biggest club in Brazil, second only in support to the Rio de Janeiro giants Flamengo {see this poll from 2004 {‘Flamengo and Corinthians [lead the] survey of leading supporters in the country‘ (esporte.uol.com.br)}, and see this poll from 2008 {Ranking of the fans (globoesporte.globo.com)}. In 2011, Corinthians had the highest average attendance in Brazil (from home league matches), at 29,951 per game. They play at the São Paulo municipal stadium Pacaembu (aka Municipal Prefecture Stadium Paulo Machado de Carvalho), which has a 37,000 capacity. Corinthians share the stadium with local rival Palmeiras. Sometimes, when large turn-outs are expected, Corinthians play at local rival FC São Paolo’s Estádio do Morumbi (capacity, 67,000). New Corinthians Stadium, a new municipal stadium to be built for FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil, is planned to become the new home of Corinthians after 2014. {See this article from the Corinthians’ official site, with photos of the construction of the New Corinthians Stadium}. In recent years, some supporters of Brazil’s Corinthians make the journey to London, England to visit and support the still-amateur Corinthian-Casuals FC at their ground. Corinthian-Casuals FC are an 8th Level club in the Isthmian League Division One South. Corinthian-Casuals finished in 13th place in 2011-12, averaging 115 per game at their 2,700-capacity St. George’s Field in Tolworth, south-west London.

Click on image below for a small chart of Corinthians crests and kits through the years (1910 to 2012).

sc-corinthians_crests_kits_1910-2011_segment_d.gif
Image credits above –
Illustrations of old Corinthians kits (1910, 1920, 1955-51) by Lucas gc at en.wikipedia.org, ‘File:Evolução Uniforme Corinthians.png’.
Photo of 1914 SC Corinthians team from pt.wikipedia.org page on ‘Sport Club Corinthians Paulista‘.
Illustrations of old Corinthians kits (1951-54, ) by Bcav22 at pt.wikipedia.org, ‘Anexo:Evolução dos uniformes do Sport Club Corinthians Paulista‘.
Some of th old crests from seeklogo.com/tag.html?q=football.
2010/2011 Corinthians jerseys from football-shirts.co.uk/fans/corinthians-home-away-shirts-2011.
2010-11 kits from ‘Uniforms of Sport Club Corinthians Paulista‘ (pt.wikipedia.org).
2012 kits from ‘Sport Club Corinthians Paulista‘ (en.wikipedia.org).
2012 kit badge from soccerjerseysprostore.com/home-20112012-corinthians.
Photo of 2012 Corinthians 3rd jersey from football-marketing.com.

Here is an article about Corinthians’ crests and kits through the years, from globoesporte.globo.com, from August 2010, by Carlos Augusto Ferrari and Diego Ribeiro, ‘Do bege ao roxo, Timão conserva história com seu manto alvinegro [translated, 'Beige to purple, Timon keeps history with your mantle alvinegro']‘

Thanks to these sites for attendance figures, Worldfootball.net (Série A figures), Soccerway.com (Série B figures).
Thanks to Demis.nl/Web Map Server, for the base map of South America.

May 10, 2012

UEFA Euro 2012, Group B – Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal – map of the 8 venues and the 16 teams in UEFA Euro 2012 / plus Group B schedule & venues, and statistics on the 4 nations in Group B & their teams’ all-time competitive records (in FIFA World Cup and in UEFA Euro tournaments).

Filed under: UEFA Euro 2012 — admin @ 7:16 am

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UEFA Euro 2012, Group B – Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal: schedule, venues, and national team data


UEFA Euro 2012 (en.wikipedia.org).
UEFA Euro 2012 [official website) (uefa.com).

UEFA Euro 2012 Group B matches -

9 June 2012
19:00 UTC+3
Match 3 - Netherlands v. Denmark, Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv.

9 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Match 4 - Germany v. Portugal, Arena Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine.

13 June 2012
19:00 UTC+3
Match 11 - Denmark v. Portugal, Arena Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine.

13 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Match 12 - Netherlands v. Germany, Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv, Ukraine.

17 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Match 19 - Portugal v. Netherlands, Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv, Ukraine.

17 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Match 20 - Denmark v. Germany Arena Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine.

...

Group B venues (in Kharkiv, Ukraine and in Lviv, Ukraine) -

Photos of the host-cities in the illustrations below from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Lviv [note: there are lots of other photos of the eight host cities in the tournament, in the 8 galleries at this link].

Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Founded 1654.
Kharkiv city population 1,449,000; metro area population 1.7 million {2010 figures}.
Metalist Stadium. Opened 1926, last renovated in 2009. Capacity 38,500. 3 matches in UEFA Euro 2012 will be played here: 3 Group B matches.
kharkiv_metalist-stadium_d.gif
Photo of Kharkiv from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/.
Photo of Metalist Stadium by Getty Images via uefa.com.

Lviv, Ukraine.
Founded 1256 in Red Ruthernia (medieval name for Eastern Galicia or western Ukraine).
Lviv city population 760,000; metro area population 1.4 million {2010 figures}.
Arena Lviv. Opened 2011. Capacity 34,915. 3 matches in UEFA Euro 2012 will be played here: 3 Group B matches.
lviv_arena-lviv_c.gif
Photo of Lviv from http://ukraine2012.gov.ua/en/citys/Kyiv/.
Photo of Arena Lviv from repetylo.org.ua via skyscrapercity.com/thread, Lviv Arena.

Notes on nations’ data…
The GDP numbers and nation-rankings are from the CIA World Factbook, via this page at en.wikipedia.org, ‘List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita‘. Excerpt from that page’s intro…’GDP dollar estimates here are derived from purchasing power parity (PPP) calculations. Such calculations are prepared by various organizations, including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. As estimates and assumptions have to be made, the results produced by different organizations for the same country tend to differ, sometimes substantially. PPP figures are estimates rather than hard facts, and should be used with caution.’

Population numbers and nation’s-population-rankings are from this list at en.wikipedia.org ‘List of countries by population‘. As paragraph 2 there says, ‘Figures used in this chart are based on the most recent estimate or projection by the national census authority where available and usually rounded off. Where national data is not available, figures are based on the 2012 estimate by the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.’

___
Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘UEFA Euro 2012‘.
Base map of Europe from commons.wikimedia.org/File:BlankMap-Europe-v4.png .
Photos of jerseys from worldsoccershop.com.
Kit illustrarions from the national teams’ pages at en.wikipedia.org, list of qualified teams here.
Thanks to worldsoccershop.com/shop-by-league-uefa-euro-2012 for the photo of the jerseys on the map page.

May 1, 2012

Conference National, May 2011-12 – the 1 promoted club – Fleetwood Town FC – and the 4 play-off clubs / Plus a map of the 7 Lancashire-based Football League clubs in the 2012-13 season.

conference-national_may2012_1-promoted-club_fleetwood-town_and-4-playoff-clubs_post_.gif
2011-12 Conference (aka Blue Square Premier League), Top of the Table map



bbc.co.uk/Sport/Football//Non-League
Conference National Play Off fixtures.
2011-12 Conference National (aka Blue Square Bet Premier League) Play Offs
all times below are GMT (ie, Britain) / subtract 5 hours for Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Semi Finals,
First Leg,
York City v Mansfield Town 2nd May 2012. Kick Off 19:30.
Luton Town v Wrexham 3rd May 2012. Kick Off 19:30.
Second Leg,
Mansfield Town v York City 7th May 2012. Kick Off 14:00.
Wrexham v Luton 7th May 2012. Kick Off 16:30.
Play Off Promotion Final,
Sunday 20th May 2012- at Wembley Stadium – 3pm Kick Off.

2011-12 Promotion / Play-offs Map. Promoted to the Football League: Fleetwood Town FC, with second promotion spot to play offs winner.

From Guardian.co.uk/Football League blog, from 10 April 2012, by Jacob Steinberg, ‘Long-term planning leaves Fleetwood Town on verge of promised land – A win over Wrexham will take Fleetwood into the Football League for the first time in their turbulent history‘.

On the 16 April 2012 broadcast of the BBC London Non-League {Season 5 Episode 37 podcast here}, Fleetwood Town chairman and local businessman Andy Pilley confirmed that the club has actually turned a small profit for the 2011-12 season [interview with Micky Mellon and Andy Pilley at ~16:00 into BBC Non-League Football Show Season 5 Episode 37 (Mon. 16 April 2012)].

This despite the fact that Fleetwood Town had the highest wage bill in the league, and drew just 2,264 per game to their home league matches (9th-highest in the league). So Crawley Town they are not – unlike last season’s Conference champions Crawley Town, Fleetwood Town does not have undisclosed ownership which has plowed far more money into a promotion campaign than any other club in the league could ever hope to invest. FTFC’s money comes from a local source. From the fleetwoodtown.com site, ‘Andy Pilley is…the founder and managing director of Business Energy Solutions (BES). He founded the company in 2002 from a spare bedroom following the deregulation of the energy market.’ And sure they spent to get promoted – FW Jamie Vardy cost six figures to buy from Conference North club FC Halifax Town. But Fleetwood Town have still managed to live within their means, and thanks to their great FA Cup run, and broadcast revenue from their Third Round match versus Blackpool, they even managed to make a profit. Congratulations to Fleetwood Town FC, its chairman Andy Pilley and the board, its manager Micky Mellon, it’s players, its supporters, and all the folks who pitch in at the Highbury Stadium up there on the Fylde in coastal Lancashire…the Cod Army will now take their deserved place in the 2012-13 Football League’s League Two.

Below is a little chart I put together that shows the recent league history and average attendances of Fleetwood Town in the past 8 seasons. In that space of time, Fleetwood Town have been promoted 5 times and have seen their average attendance increase from 206 per game to 2,264 per game – a jump from the 9th Level to the 4th Level and a numerical increase at the gate of over two thousand a game. Also shown is Fleetwood Town’s Highbury Stadium before and after the Parkside Stand was opened in April 2011…
fleetwood-town2004-05-to-2011-12__attendances_LEAGUE-HISTORY_parkside-stand_13e.gif
Image and photo credits above – bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleetwood_Town_F.C.. fwpgroup.co.uk/projects.

Below – Fleetwood Town, 2011-12 Conference National champions -
Seen below are Fleetwood Town’s manager, Micky Mellon and the team’s top 2 leading scorers from the 2011-12 season, Sheffield-born Jamie Vardy (age 24), and Liverpool-born Andy Mangan (age 25).
fleetwood-town_micky-mellon_jamie-vardy_andy-mangan_h.gif
Photo credits above – Mickey Mellon, photo by Ian Hodgson at dailymail.co.uk .
Jamie Vardy, photo by Derick Thomas at fleetwoodtoday.co.uk.
Andy Mangan, photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images Europe via zimbio.com.

Map of the 7 Lancashire-based clubs in the Premier League/Football League

Fleetwood Town’s first-ever promotion to the Football League means there are now 7 clubs from Lancashire that are in the top 4 levels of English football (that is, of course, the Premier League (1st Level), Football League Championship (2nd Level), Football League One (3rd Level), and Football League Two (4th Level) -
Blackburn Rovers (Premier League or League Championship {TBD} for 2012-13),
Blackpool (League Championship for 2012-13,
Burnley (League Championship for 2012-13,
Preston North End (League One for 2012-13),
Accrington Stanley (League Two for 2012-13),
Fleetwood Town (League Two for 2012-13),
Morecambe (League Two for 2012-13).
Click on image below for map of 7 Lancashire-based clubs in the Football League/Premier League -
lancashire_football-clubs_2012-13_.segment_.gif
Photo credits above -
Morecambe, Tony Scholes at http:clarets-mad.co.uk/feature, league_two_[stadiums].
Fleetwood, fwpgroup.co.uk.
Blackpool, Terry Robinson at geograph.org via en.wikipedia.org’.
Preston, skyscrapercity.com/thread, PRESTON | Deepdale Redevelopment.
Blackburn, Blackburn Rovers/fussballtempel.net
Accrington, bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view.
Burnley, Simon Kirwan at lightboxuk.photoshelter.com.

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Photo credits on the map page –
Fleetwood Town/Highbury Stadium – placenorthwest.co.uk. fleetwoodtownfc.com. fwpgroup.co.uk.

Wrexham/Racecourse Ground – redpassion.co.uk

Mansfield Town/Field Mill – findaproperty.com. 100groundsclub.blogspot.com/2010/02/field-mill. bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view.

York City/Bootham Crescent – bluesqfootball.com. campdavemorecambe at flickr.com. cqout.com/shop/Footy Postcards.

Luton Town/Kenilworth Road – SoccerWord.com. Stadiums.Football.co.uk. lutontoday.co.uk/’Grand designs for Kenilworth Road’. bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view.

Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘2011–12 Football Conference‘.
Thankls to soccerway.com, for attendance figures.
Attendance data from 2005-06 to 2008-09 from: http://www.tonykempster.co.uk/gridsindex.htm.
Thanks to fleetwoodtown-mad.co.uk at League History for Fleetwood Town league history.
Thanks to FWP Group fgor the aerial photo of Highbury Stadium, http://www.fwpgroup.co.uk/projects/default_item.php?id=101.

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