The complex operation behind festive football reporting

It’s all hands on deck for around 35 simultaneous kick-offs at a time when writers and editors are dotted up and down the country

For many, Boxing Day is simply another day of merriment or much-needed rest. For others, it’s the first day out of the house and straight into the lawless jungle that is the high streets when Boxing Day sales commence.

For those with interests in the sporting realm, however, it usually means only one thing – football.

Football on Boxing Day has been a tradition since the 1888-1889 season, making it exactly 130 years old as Fulham kicked off the day’s earliest fixture.