Football match postponed 'due to solar eclipse'

A "surprised" non-league football club said it was ordered to postpone its Wednesday evening fixture due to the solar eclipse.

AFC Turnford, which plays at Wormley Rovers Football Club in Wormley, Hertfordshire, said it had been informed that its game against Cuffley could not go ahead during the celestial event as the ground does not have floodlights.

Ronnie Bates, the club's founder and player, said the match was due to start at 19:00 BST, just an hour after the partial eclipse was due to begin.

He said the decision was made by the Herts Senior County League (HSCL), which has been contacted for comment.

Bates said: "It is what it is; we can't do much about it. We've been told if you don't have floodlights, you have to postpone your game.

"I was surprised, but we are just following what has been said.

"It's unusual to see a game called off like that, as we've never had it before. We are starting to lose light in the evenings, but we normally play at 15:00."

The match will now be rearranged for a later date.

He said the club had been going for six years and was started by a group of friends who attended Haileybury Turnford School in Cheshunt.

The club, which plays in the Premier Division, is aiming to progress up the league and posts its accomplishments on YouTube.

Cuffley FC told the BBC that all clubs within the league had been contacted by HSCL and Hertfordshire FA and asked to move fixtures that could not be played under floodlights on Thursday due to the eclipse.

Hertfordshire FA has been contacted for comment.

The celestial event, when the Sun will be almost entirely blocked by the Moon, will last about one hour and 50 minutes, starting at about 18:20 and finishing by 20:10, but exact times will vary depending on where you are in the world.

The Moon will cover 90 to 96% of the Sun, which is due to be the biggest coverage since the total eclipse in 1999.

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