Bury AFC has announced a new temporary agreement to move its home fixtures to Seel Park, the home of Mossley AFC, to assist them during the next few home games.

This winter has seen unprecedented levels of bad weather. Whilst it may not have been the harshest winter on record, the combination of extreme cold in November and December, followed by heavy and constant rain in the new year has caused a significant number of games to be postponed and it has been exceptionally bad for football pitches.

The problem has been compounded by Radcliffe FC also having postponed games to re-arrange, and Bury’s extraordinary FA Cup and Vase runs which added an extra 18 cup games to the season.

Bury have 11 league fixtures to complete before Saturday 22nd April when the season concludes for all teams at Step 5. There is no ability to extend this date.

The key reasons for the move were that, the League Committee would not allow Bury to use a 3G pitch as they felt changing from grass to 3G mid-season would give us an unfair advantage.

In addition, when the club matched its home fixtures against other teams’ home fixtures, Mossley AFC could accommodate all home games except the final game of the season, which will be played at Radcliffe.

Also, as a grass pitch was needed, the club wanted to reduce the likelihood of postponements due to rain, and Seel Park of course has exceptional drainage due to its position on top of a hill.

A spokesperson for the club said, “There are disadvantages to any location but ensuring the relocated game would have as much chance as possible of surviving further rainfall was a key advantage”.

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