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While there may have been no Premier League Boxing Day fixtures, football most certainly didn’t stop. Across the rest of the English system, matches went ahead as they always do. Over recent festive periods, I’ve been fortunate enough to attend games involving Liverpool, either through ballot wins or tickets passed on by season-ticket holders. This year, however, I couldn’t make Liverpool versus Wolverhampton Wanderers on December 27 due to visiting family; forcing me to turn down the tickets I was offered.

So instead, on Boxing Day, I did something different. I went to non-league football and had one of the best matchdays I’ve had all year.

Planning a Boxing Day at the Eighth Tier

In mid-December, I settled on attending the Boxing Day fixture between my local club Atherton Collieries and Wythenshawe Town, a match played in the Northern Premier League Division One West. I’d been looking forward to it for weeks. Part of the anticipation with Boxing Day football, especially outside the Premier League, is the uncertainty. Weather can wipe out entire programmes at this level, and earlier in December, waterlogged pitches across Greater Manchester and Lancashire had caused widespread postponements.

Unlike Premier League clubs, non-league sides operate hand to mouth. Matchday income is essential to survival. Thankfully, late December brought better weather, although cold, and the game went on as planned.

The ground is just two miles from my house, making it an easy journey. I’d been there several times before, though not for a couple of seasons. Indeed, the last match I attended was in the summer of 2023, when Colls played Bolton Wanderers B. The 2023-24 season didn’t go well for the club, as they were relegated from the Premier Division. As much as I’d like to attend matches regularly, life and work often get in the way. I’ve considered applying for roles at the club when they become available. However, donating my time throughout the season in a volunteer capacity doesn’t seem possible currently.

My wife dropped me off with my son and his best mate in tow around 20 minutes before kick-off. One of the great joys of non-league football is the ease of arrival. This isn’t universal, however. Altrincham, for example, draw large crowds and parking near the J. Davidson Stadium is a challenge; but here, most supporters simply walk in from the surrounding area. Altrincham is an exception to the rule, with parking at a premium in the streets around the stadium. Many of the streets are off limits with permits needed for parking. Altrincham are also in the fifth tier, the National League, making them a more attractive draw for fans, especially in a financially better off part of Greater Manchester.

Atherton itself has a population of roughly 27,500, with neighbouring Tyldesley adding another 16,000 or so. The club won’t attract many fans from far away. However, there is a strong base to draw from throughout the campaign.

Expectations vs Reality

Given it was Boxing Day and there was no live Premier League football, I expected a big crowd, perhaps 1,000 to 1,500. Walking up to Alder Street, also known as the Dreams2Reality Stadium for sponsorship reasons, I was surprised to see no queue. The single turnstile was quiet, staffed by the familiar group of older volunteers who keep the place ticking over.

Some fans argue that non-league football should be cheap—very cheap—because the players are semi-professional or amateur. Others claim the quality doesn’t justify the price. Sure, that makes plenty of sense. However, the amount of money it takes to run a football club is ridiculous. As a football coach myself, I see just how expensive it is to operate a club, with money needed for kits, refs, pitches, and more.

Entry to Atherton Collieries was £10 for adults and £4 for under-18s. For £20 total, I paid for myself, two kids, and a programme. I’ve paid the same for a single ticket at step five. That’s excellent value in my opinion.

What disappointed me wasn’t the price, rather it was the turnout for the match. This is a working-class town. A club built on the history of coal miners and the local mining industry. Yet the crowd felt smaller than it should have been. Maybe people were away. Maybe they were busy. Or maybe, which I suspect, most locals people simply don’t know the club exists; and if they do, they don’t care. With a recent surge in newly built houses in the area, there is a good chance that those newbies aren’t aware of the club. Having moved to the area in 2021, I stumbled onto Atherton Collieries. Being a person that loves to watch football at all levels, I had to attend a game. I’ve been coming back ever since.

Exploring the Ground

Once inside, we headed to the east side of the ground, which was bathed in that rare late-afternoon winter sun. At the north end sit the dressing rooms, members’ suite, and the Dawson’s Stand.

If you’re not from the area, Dawson’s won’t mean much to you. If you are, it means everything. Dawson’s is a local bakery and an institution. Atherton sits within Wigan borough, a region famous for one thing above all else: pies. Not apple. Not cherry. Meat and potato. The kind of hearty pies that put hair on your chest, regardless of gender.

Nearby is the outdoor bar: a converted shipping container serving beer and salty snacks. On this day, Guinness had run out, but the San Miguel tap flowed freely, alongside cans of Red Stripe and soft drinks. The toilets are functional with no-frills and double as the scoreboard (on the outside of course), manually updated by a volunteer every time a goal goes in.

The main bar sits along the east side too: warm, welcoming, and ideal if you’d rather chat with mates than watch the game. Most of the ground is standing room only, with a few seats on the west side. Advertising hoardings separate fans from the pitch, though only just. You could touch the players if you wanted to. You shouldn’t, but you could. he proximity encourages banter, especially with the linesman. One of the highlights of the second half was listening to a drunk 20-something on his seventh or eighth pint of San Miguel telling the linesman how clean and pretty his boots were.

The Match Itself

With minutes to go before kick-off, Red Stripe in hand, I positioned myself near the edge of the penalty area on the east side. It was perfect viewing, as Atherton Collieries attacked the same end, and much of the opening period was played near Wythenshawe Town’s defensive third.

The home side started strongly. Mid-table and pushing for the play-offs, they came into the game in good form. Wythenshawe Town, meanwhile, were in the relegation zone. Just one team is promoted to the division above, meanwhile, four additional teams battle for promotion via the play-offs.

It didn’t take long for the difference to show. The opening goal came within 15 minutes, scored by on-loan Salford City striker Harry Showman. He added another goal in the second half and could have had more. At 18 years old, he was, hands down, the best centre-forward I’ve seen play for Atherton Collieries. His league tally moved to six goals after signing on loan in November.

The Colls had far more quality than I remembered. But that’s the challenge at the eighth tier: if players perform, they get noticed bt clubs higher up the food chain and they move on.

The Reality of Management and Money

A few days after the match, head coach Michael Clegg left Atherton Collieries due to family commitments. Clegg had previously guided the club through three promotions between 2014 and 2019 and returned in 2024 during a difficult period. The timing was unfortunate, especially given how well the team played on Boxing Day.

At this level, finances matter. Managers and players are not making a living wage. Most players are paid per appearance, typically £50 to £150 per match, with top performers possibly earning slightly more. Some clubs only cover expenses such as travel and food. Weekly wages, where they exist, might range from £100 to £300.

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Compare that to the National League, where players might earn £700 to £1,500 per week. Clubs like Wrexham famously pushed those numbers even higher.

This is the romanticised version of football people claim to want back. The version of football players earning the same or slightly more than the common person. Personally, I believe athletes should be paid what they’re worth. Just because I didn’t make it as a paid player doesn’t mean those who did shouldn’t be compensated. A top player shouldn’t be paid the same as a writer, teacher, or doctor. They are special in terms of athleticism and should earn money more money because of it.

Opportunity, Not Ability

Wythenshawe Town struggled for much of the game despite a few bright attacking moments, and their goalkeeper endured a difficult afternoon. At full-time, it dawned on me that this was the first time I’d ever seen Atherton Collieries win in person. I was genuinely chuffed.

People often ask what separates elite players from non-league players. The most common answers are speed, decision-making, and physicality. All true are very true. However, in my opinion, the real answer is opportunity. Opportunities to be seen, to be signed, and to be retained.

Arsenal once released a young Harry Kane because they didn’t think he was athletic enough. He had the opportunity to overcome that setback with Tottenham Hotspur. Yet, had Kane not had the opportunity to go on loan before being recalled to Spurs in April 2014, scoring on his first start for the club. He got the opportunities and excelled.

From a Premier League academy, only 1% to 3% of players ever make a competitive first-team appearance. Most “successful” academy players succeed elsewhere. For players who become regular first-team starters, it’s closer to <1%. Those are awful results for something that costs Premier League clubs millions of pounds per year.

Showman’s loan move is exactly that opportunity. Playing against men, scoring goals, and being noticed.

The Cost of Boxing Day at Atherton Collieries

Most people in attendance on Boxing Day supported clubs higher up the pyramid. I support Liverpool, while others supported Bolton Wanderers, Wigan Athletic, or Manchester United. At Alder Street, it didn’t matter. We were all Colls supporters for the day.

I bought a bobble hat and nearly bought a shirt, too. The £15 I paid for the hat went directly into the club’s finances. Unlike a trip to Anfield, I know exactly where my money goes here. It goes to keeping the club alive.

I grew up outside of England. It was Sky Sports and the Premier League on satellite television that attracted me to football. What I didn’t experience growing up outside of England was non-league football.

My total spend

I spent £56 in total at Atherton Collieries versus Wythenshawe Town:

• Tickets

• Programme

• Three pints

• Two soft drinks

• A pie

• Bobble hat

I could have spent just £10 on my own had I paid for one single ticket for entry. The cheapest Premier League ticket currently is £26.50, courtesy of Wolverhampton Wanderers, according to the most recent research. Wolves are bottom of the league, so it is understandable why the tickets are so cheap. In addition, fans are frustrated with the club’s ownership, complicating things further.

Paying £10 to watch a non-league match may sound like a lot of money to most people. It certainly is for many people struggling to make ends meet. However, the cost of entry shows just how much these small clubs need to continue their survival. If Atherton Collieries went out of business tomorrow, not many people in the community would notice. The players, staff, and people connected to the club certainly would. For them, it would be just like when Chanters Colliery closed in 1966. A way of life would end.

There is a place in this world for non-league football clubs. Whether it is providing a cheaper alternative to Premier League or Football League matches or a place for locals to stay engaged with their communities, non-league football provides players, fans, coaches, and others the chance to enjoy the game. Football isn’t for everyone. I hate to break that news to anyone reading. But clubs like Atherton Collieries, Wythenshawe Town, and others can make people priced out by the big clubs a little more part of something.

On Saturdays, there are hundreds of non-league matches that take place across England. There isn’t another sport like football that experiences this. There isn’t non-league gridiron football or non-league basketball or non-league tennis attracting hundreds and thousands of fans to stadiums. No, it is non-league football that attracts these fans. While it may not have the glitz and glamour of football in the Premier League, the speed of elite players, or the money, it still provides those who want to play or watch something special.

Choosing non-league football on Boxing Day was one of the best decisions I made this festive period. Instead of watching football on television, I was part of my community, standing next to the pitch, and cheering on the Colls.

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