2 teams to ground-share in England's 2nd tier next season

Posted July 25, 2020 7:00 am

The Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) - Two teams will play at the same soccer ground in England's second-tier Championship next season.

Coventry has extended its ground-sharing arrangement at Birmingham's St. Andrew's stadium for the 2020-21 campaign after negotiations broke down with the operators of its own home stadium, Ricoh Arena.

That means long-suffering fans of Coventry, the 1987 FA Cup winner which has had years of financial problems, will again have to travel 22 miles (35 kilometers) to watch their side play in Birmingham after getting promoted back to the Championship this season.

Six seasons ago, Coventry was forced to play further away at the home of Northampton, another lower-league team.

Coventry has reached an agreement with the University of Warwick to provide land on which the club can build a new stadium. In the meantime, the club has praised both the English Football League and Birmingham for facilitating the deal that will see the team remain at St. Andrew's for another season.

'œThey were excellent to us last season, and we have no doubt that they will continue to be,'ť Coventry said.

'œWe of course do not want to be there but have been forced again to take this action to ensure fixtures next season can be fulfilled.'ť

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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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