Fleetwood Town season to start at Carlisle next week ... and how to see Cod Army games

The Cod Army looked set to kick-off at home to relegated Wigan Athletic in the first round of the Carabao Cup on Saturday, September 5.

However, the first game for Joey Barton’s men will take place four days earlier at Carlisle United in the EFL Trophy (7pm).

The cancellation of yesterday’s friendly at Huddersfield due to positive coronavirus tests at the Yorkshire club had left Fleetwood facing a blank fortnight between their final pre-season game (last Saturday’s 4-1 defeat by Blackburn Rovers) and the Wigan cup-tie. However, the new date for the EFL Trophy opener at Brunton Park has bridged the gap.

Fleetwood defeated Carlisle 4-2 just over two weeks ago in their first pre-season match at Poolfoot Farm.

Town’s other games in their Trophy group will be at Highbury – against Aston Villa Under-21s on October 6 and Sunderland on November 10 (both 7.45)

The Cod Army faithful will be able to watch all of Town’s EFL games played behind closed doors or with limited spectator access.

The EFL has confirmed that all games not broadcast on Sky Sports will be streamed live on iFollow and available for £10. A ‘match pass’ to watch Carabao Cup first round games will also be available for the same price.

Fleetwood have announced that Onward Card holders will be able to access a live stream of all home games played without or with limited spectators.

This applies to those who purchase their Onward Card by October 4 and will be kept under review, with the first review set for early October.

EFL chief executive David Baldwin said: “There is no argument that attending live matches is what the League, its clubs and fans want to see, and clearly the overriding objective is to get supporters back into stadiums as soon as it is safe to do so.

“In the meantime, this framework allows our clubs, if they so wish, to reward their most loyal supporters by providing what we hope is only short-term access to watch their matches.

“It’s important that whilst the doors remain fully or part shut, we ensure there is the ability for fans of all EFL clubs to be able to gain access to watch their team, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Sky Sports for their support in this matter. Collectively, it’s not our preferred situation, but given the circumstances Covid has presented us it gives us a temporary option whilst we finalise our plans for fans returning.”