The 9pm Kick-Off And What That Means For Spanish Soccer Fans

Atlético Madrid will not play a single home game before 9pm until October 20th.

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Spanish soccer has always been different. One of the ways in which it is the time at which it’s highest profile fixtures are played, with the prime time fixture often saved for the 9pm local-time kick-off on a Sunday night. While other nations would be tucked up in bed by that time, Spanish social life is springing to life and it’s an ideal time for those to watch at home on television with family and friends.

The challenge for La Liga lies in that it has never been a favourite of match-going fans. A late kick-off on a Sunday sets the average soccer fan up for an even more exhausting Monday, often not returning home until after midnight with the match not ending until after 11pm and regularly relying upon public transport or the hope of getting out of a packed parking lot.

That’s why Atlético Madrid fans are quite so frustrated with the organization behind Spain’s leading domestic soccer competition. The team has had four of their first five matches scheduled to kick off at 9pm or later while the next six games are also scheduled to kick off at that time.

Speaking ahead of the team’s fifth game of the season, and their fourth game to kick off at 9pm or later, Diego Simeone insisted that, “it’s not my job to think about schedules, but to train the team and try to do our best at whatever time and place we play”, but many fans disagreed. One, posting on social media, claimed that, “Simeone is wrong, the schedule matters, because what matters most is the fans”.

The impact of late kick-offs on fans

Atlético Madrid can feel aggrieved as one of the most impacted teams to date, with their team being assigned such regular late starts to their fixtures. The Rojiblancos have had three home fixtures to date, with two 9:30pm kick-offs on a Sunday and Wednesday night, followed by another 9pm kick-off on a Sunday. “It’s unfair to the fans, not only for those who have to go to work the next day, but for people like me who go with my children. I can’t take my children when they wouldn’t arrive home until gone midnight on a school night,” Atlético Madrid supporter Daniel Pérez told me. “My children were excited about the new season in the summer, but won’t be able to go and watch their team until almost the end of October. How does that benefit anybody?”

“For me, it means that some games are impossible,” another Atlético fan who wished to remain anonymous told me. “I travel 2 hours to each game. In the first week of the season, that would have meant getting home at 1:30am on Sunday night into Monday morning, and again on Wednesday night into Thursday morning. I have to wake up at 6am to go to work. It’s not sustainable.”

Two of the team’s three home games this season have surpassed last season’s average attendance of 59,612. 60,414 attended the 3-0 win against Girona, while 61,752 watched the Colchoneros win by the same scoreline against Valencia, with a reduced 56,669 present for the midweek match-up with Espanyol. But there are many who are concerned about the long-term impact. A 9pm kick-off in Madrid in August, just as temperatures start to cool and with the sun beginning to set, is a very different prospect to the same time in October, when the dark and rain will have arrived.

It raises concerns for fans about their ability to attend games, but also regarding rest times between matches, which can vary significantly. Atlético are the first team to feel aggrieved in a high-profile case, after it was announced that the derby match against Real Madrid would see them have 48 hours less preparation time, with Los Blancos playing on Tuesday night and Atlético on Thursday night before their Sunday night derby.

“It’s the right thing to do and it’s considered sufficient rest. It’s not that you don’t have time to rest, it’s that you want the opponent to rest more or less. We can’t look at whether it’s a derby or what it is,” La Liga president Javier Tebas explained in reaction to the complaints. “It will happen many times and the other way around and we will see it. It would be necessary to put all the matches at the same time, on Sunday all of them at 8pm? We have always scheduled Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays with one day for each big one, in order to optimize the competition. Otherwise, they would complain that we don’t sell the competition well.”

Which other La Liga teams have omre late kick-offs than usual?

Across the city, Atlético Madrid fans might find some empathy from their neighbours. Reigning La Liga champions Real Madrid are currently in the midst of a run of 11 matches in a row with kick-off times of 9pm or later across La Liga and the Champions League.

Curiously, the same cannot be said for the third big team in Spain, FC Barcelona. Only two of their opening five fixtures have been at 9pm or later, one in the opening weekend in August and the other in a midweek round. Of the currently confirmed fixture times of La Liga, they will play two games with weekend 9pm kick-offs from a possible four.

The disparity is set to increase further in the weeks ahead as European fixtures see more of those in UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League action kick off in the late time slots on a Monday night following their involvement in continental competition on a Thursday night.

Why are there so many late kick-offs in La Liga?

The number of late kick-offs has not increased compared to usual, with one late kick-off on each of the Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday night game slots. However, there have also been some exceptional circumstances.

The first two rounds of La Liga have been scheduled with an increased number of late kick-offs due to the high temperatures in Spain meaning that temperatures do not drop below 104°F until well into the evening in August.

There has also been a change to the schedule of the competition this season, with an increase in the number of midweek match days early in the season. Of the first seven rounds, two will have been played in midweek, with most games scheduled in the later time slots.

This is in addition to European commitments, where some sides like Real Betis have had qualifying rounds to go through, while others have seen the Champions League schedule changes impact them. Athletic Club, Real Sociedad and Betis will all see that hit home even harder in the weeks ahead as the Europa League and Conference League kick-off.

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