2012/3 to kick off late due to Olympics

The 2012/3 season will kick off later than usual due to the 2012 Olympics in London. The Olympics are due to finish on August 12th that year, around the same date that the second weekend of games in the Football League is normally played.

The last long summer for football fans in the Football League came in 2002 when the season ended in mid-April so that the players heading to the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan could get as much rest before the tournament as possible. It was generally met with indifference in the lower-leagues as you could probably count the players heading to the World Cup from our division at the time on one hand. It didn't really help either as England crashed out to Brazil early on before the season kicked off in early-mid August.

However, the fans now face a long delay before the start of the 2012/3 season due to the 2012 Olympics in London, with the closing ceremony not being until August 12th. It will be a summer of sport though with England's latest fleeting attempts to win an international tournament coming in the European Championships in Poland and Ukraine.

The League's Head of Communication said: "Football League clubs have voted overwhelmingly in favour of delaying the start of the 2012/13 season in order vto support the London Olympics. This decision has been taken to ensure that police and transport links are not overstretched during such an important event for the country."

It is now likely that the 2012/3 season will start on August 18th, two weeks after it would have normally started.