Daventry Town Football Club's cashless goal disallowed by fans

A football club has apologised and reversed a decision to go cashless after its fans rejected the move.

Daventry Town FC said it regretted the fact that supporters were not consulted before the Northamptonshire club made the announcement.

The ban on coins and notes was due to come into force at the Master Abrasives Stadium at the beginning of June.

Some fans had threatened to boycott the ground unless there was a change of heart.

Daventry Town was established in 1886 and the first team currently plays in the United Counties League Premier Division South.

The club put out a statement on Tuesday to "inform supporters that the club will be become fully cashless across all areas of the stadium, including the turnstiles, from Saturday 1st June 2024".

But there was an immediate backlash from fans on social media.

One supporter posted: "Another place to avoid then. Nice ground, but [I] like cash-on-the-day grounds."

Another asked: "Is this a joke???!!! Cash is king!"

One post said the move was "a wrong and selfish move. Plenty of people do not have access to contactless payments, esp the kids under 18".

Three days later, the club issued a second statement, saying it "would like to apologise for the concerns caused to supporters by the recent announcement".

It added that the proposal to go cashless was discussed and agreed by board members but acknowledged that "we should also have involved supporters to get their input".

The statement said cash would still be accepted throughout the stadium but "card payments would be preferred if possible".

Fans were quick to cheer the U-turn.

One wrote: "It's worth praising those for speaking up but also the club for listening, apologising and wanting to learn."

Another said: "When people stand united, good things happen."

This weekend's game against Yaxley attracted 300 people, who watched Daventry lose 3-2.

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