The Halifax soccer club made the playoffs.
In England.
FC Halifax Town, the fifth-tier West Yorkshire club, subsequently lost an elimination match on April 24 after replacing Gateshead on the ticket against Solihull Moors near Birmingham. Gateshead was disqualified over concerns about its stadium lease.
Haligonians in Nova Scotia may be feeling slightly envious of FC Halifax's success given that the Canadian team, the Halifax Wanderers, have had a disappointing start to 2024. The Wanderers, led by second-year coach Patrice Gheisar and owner Derek Martin, lost their first two games and have yet to score after finishing third last year in the eight-team Canadian Premier League. Some analysts are picking the Wanderers to win their league this year.
The English Haligonians, known as the Shaymen, are controlled by Chairman David Bosomworth and play at a 10,400-seat stadium known as the Shay. An average of just 1,900 fans showed up this year at the Shay, while the Nova Scotian team usually comes close to selling out the 6,500-seat Wanderers Grounds.
(Note: the story has been corrected to eliminate the implication that FC Halifax did not originally make the playoffs, and it now reflects the result of the match.)
--HBB
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