EFL stadium forced to shut and postpone match due to annual music festival

Portsmouth Women’s home fixture with AFC Wimbledon has been postponed due to a clash with a local music festival.

Pompey had been due to host the Dons at Fratton Park on Sunday in their third league game of the season.

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But the clash will now be taking place at a later date, after it was postponed to accommodate the annual Victorious Festival.

The music festival is set to welcome around 80,000 ticketholders per day, with the event running between Friday and Sunday.

It is taking place on Portsmouth’s Southsea Common and Castle Field, located just over two miles from Fratton Park.

With over 200,000 people expected over three days, the festival will welcome some huge names – namely The Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft, as well as chart-topping bands Bastille and Kasabian.

As a result, huge disruption is anticipated across the city, prompting Portsmouth to move their upcoming clash with Wimbledon.

Portsmouth statement

Announcing the fixture change on social media, a Pompey statement read: “This Sunday’s fixture between Pompey Women and AFC Wimbledon at Fratton Park has been postponed due to a clash with Victorious Festival.

“A new date for the rearranged fixture will be announced shortly.”

Confirming the news to their supporters, Wimbledon wrote: “MATCH POSTPONED.

“This Sunday’s fixture between Portsmouth and AFC Wimbledon at Fratton Park has been postponed due to a clash with this weekend’s Victorious Festival, which causes major disruption to the whole city.

“A new date for the fixture will be announced shortly.”

With the rescheduled fixture date yet to be confirmed, both sides will be hoping to boost their points tallies in the meantime.

The Victorious Festival won’t affect Portsmouth men‘s weekend fixtures, who are away to Bristol City on Saturday.

John Mousinho’s side are looking to make it back-to-back wins at Ashton Gate after winning their last match against Lincoln City, as they look to outperform talkSPORT’s prediction of a 17th-place Championship finish this term.

Portsmouth and AFC Wimbledon’s women’s sides compete in the Women’s National League Southern Premier Division – the third tier of women’s football.

Portsmouth are level on points with Wimbledon after their opening two league games, with both sides boasting three points.

The Dons sit a place higher than Pompey on goal difference, currently occupying fourth place.

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They have made almost identical starts to the campaign, with both sides losing their openers to Bournemouth and Portsmouth respectively.

But both sides then got their first wins of the campaign in their second games, with Portsmouth thumping Swindon 4-0.

Meanwhile Wimbledon thrashed Plymouth 6-0 to give their goal difference a considerable boost.

The Dons will next be in league action on Sunday, September 13, welcoming Real Bedford to Imperial Fields, while Pompey travel to Hill Park to take on Saltdean United.