FC Isle of Man are delighted to announce that we will be holding a ‘Summer Festival of Football’ on 19th, 20th & 21st July as part of our pre-season for the 2024/2025 season in the North West Counties Football League.
Joining us on the Island will be Chester Football Club, Lancaster City Football Club and Radcliffe FC. Over 1,000 fans are expected to make the journey across the Irish Sea for the weekend.
The festival will get underway on Friday 19th July at 19:00 with the Ravens hosting Chester FC. Saturday will see Radcliffe FC play Lancaster City (14:00) and on Sunday Chester FC will play Lancaster City FC at 11:00 before FC Isle of Man play Radcliffe FC at 15:00 to close the festival.
The Isle of Man’s only ferry service provider, Steam Packet Holidays are offering visiting fans the perfect match experience by providing travel & match ticket packages, plus the option to book accommodation. View more details and book your package here.
If you are a local or visiting fan not booking a package holiday, early bird tickets are now on sale at a price of £20 per adult or £10 per child/concession for all four games (plus 50p per ticket processing fee). You can purchase them here.
Ticket prices will increase to £24 per adult & £12 per child/concession (plus 50p per ticket processing fee) on 1st June 2024.
We spoke to all four managers ahead of the announcement, you can see what they had to say about the Festival of Football and the Isle of Man below.
FC Isle of Man
Football Club Isle of Man is an amateur football club based in Douglas, Isle of Man, that competes in the North West Counties League Premier Division, the 9th tier of English football (Step 5). The club was founded in 2019 but did not play its first competitive match until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. F.C. Isle of Man plays their home games at The Bowl in Douglas and covers the costs of visiting clubs’ and match officials’ travel and hotel expenses for the games.
Chester Football Club
Chester Football Club was reformed in 2010 as a fan-owned club following the sad demise of Chester City FC. The club now play in the National League North, the sixth tier of English football and remain 100% fan-owned to this day, run by City Fans United.
Chester ended the recent National League North season in 10th place, after reaching the Play-Off Semi Final the year prior under current Manager Calum McIntyre. The Seals averaged 2,100 crowds this season, one of the highest at their level.
Radcliffe Football Club
Radcliffe Football Club was formed on the 24th May 1949 at the Owd Tower Inn in Radcliffe by Jack Pickford and a committee of seventeen, becoming members of the South East Lancashire Football League. Based in Greater Manchester, the club recently became Champions of the Northern Premier League Premier Division after a five-year stay in step three, following another promotion in 2019.
The Boro will now fare in the National League North for the first time in their history at the start of the 2024/25 campaign, with an average attendance of 1,300 under the management of non-league legends Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley.
Lancaster City Football Club
Lancaster City are a Northern Premier League Premier Division club under the management of Chris Willcock. Despite a difficult season in 2023/24, the Dolly Blues improved upon league position, points gained, goals scored and average league attendance to enforce the belief that City are a team on the rise.
We would like to thank Isle of Man Steam Packet Holidays, IFGL, Visit Isle of Man & Hope & Glory for their assistance towards the festival, it truly is appreciated.
