Watford set to bring an end to a 107-year practice ahead of 2025/26 Championship season

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Ahead of the 2025/26 Championship season, Watford has been busy, aiming to challenge for the top 6.

Paulo Pezzolano is starting to put his stamp on this team, as the club signed Nestory Irankunda from Bayern Munich earlier in July, and they won the race for Vivaldo Semedo, who made the switch to Vicarage Road from Udinese.

Fans will be excited to show up to the home of their beloved club this season to see if the new-look Watford can bring a return to the Premier League.

However, for many fans, one tradition they may have done for years will come to an end this season.

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Watford to stop printing physical matchday programmes

The club announced they will no longer be printing their matchday programme due to poor sales to focus on digital content.

Watford said the number of copies sold peaked at 1,045 during the game against rivals Luton Town but dropped as low as 455 for the fixture against Swansea City.

They no longer need to print matchday programmes due to a change in the English Football rules.

Watford Gold, an external website dedicated to the club’s memorabilia, said the oldest known programme was from a 1907 Fulham match at Cassio Road, though it is unclear when the club began issuing them.

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Fans view on the decision

Fans of football have let their opinions be known about the decision to get rid of the physical matchday programme.

The overwhelming view was it was an announcement that caused sadness despite understanding the financial reasons behind it.

One fan said: “Another nail in the coffin for a matchday tradition.”

Another fan said: “It’s a real shame. Programmes and match tickets are a massive part of the match day tradition. Difficult to look back on any games without those both, apart from photos on your phone.”

One fan believes that it is a sad day for those who collect the programmes, as they said: “Apparently we hardly sold any, and they probably weren’t worth the £3.50 price. But shame for those who collect them or like to have something to read. Suppose in our case the manager notes were a waste of time!”

While one fan simply said: “Games gone, to coin a phrase.”