Everton requested that the final match of the club’s last season at Goodison Park be played away from home. The Blues made this request to the Premier League as part of their efforts to ensure that the Grand Old Lady receives a fitting farewell.
All final round matches are scheduled to take place simultaneously on the same day, which next season will be 4pm on Sunday, May 25. This could have resulted in the Goodison farewell being overshadowed by competing narratives at both ends of the Premier League.
It also would have meant that the attention of the wider football world would have been divided by games being broadcast simultaneously, a common occurrence on the last day of the campaign. To avoid this and to ensure that Goodison’s final match receives the recognition and coverage it deserves, Everton chiefs approached the Premier League with the request to play away on the last day.
This request has been granted, and the Blues will conclude their season at Newcastle United. Consequently, the final league game at Goodison will be against Southampton on the weekend of May 18, with every effort being made to ensure it is a stand-alone game that gives one of football’s most famous venues the send-off it deserves after 133 incredible years, reports the Liverpool Echo.
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