Preston North End v Blackpool to be played on what would have been Sir Tom Finney's 100th birthday

The Championship game has been moved to Tuesday, April 5, with a 7.45pm kick-off.

It should have been played on Saturday, March 19, however the Conservative party are holding their conference in Blackpool that weekend which will require police resources being diverted from other areas of Lancashire.

North End have announced that the Bill Shankly Kop will be split for the game, with home supporters allowed in part of it - in recent years it has been for the exclusive use of away fans.

They are giving Blackpool an allocation of around 2,000 tickets, that similar to the number North End were allocated for the reverse fixture at Bloomfield Road in October.

Tickets for PNE fans go on sale on January 19 and only be available to those with a previous purchase history through the club.

Season card holders can relocate to the Kop for the game, to do so they must visit the ticket office or contact them by phone when tickets go on sale.

They will be issued with a paper ticket for the game.

A statement from PNE said: "The fixture was originally scheduled for Saturday 19th March, but has had to be moved at the request of the police due to the Conservative Party Conference which is taking place in Blackpool that weekend.

"This change means that the derby clash will now fall on what would have been Sir Tom Finney's 100th birthday, and we hope that supporters can join us at Deepdale to celebrate the life of our greatest ever player.

"The club will be celebrating Sir Tom's life on the night, with more details to be confirmed in due course."

The statement added: "We hope as many of you as possible can join us for what is sure to be a memorable evening under the lights at Deepdale as we celebrate the life of club legend Sir Tom Finney."

Blackpool say they are 'disappointed' with their allocation.

Via a statement on their club website announcing the date change, the Seasiders said: "The club is surprised and disappointed that approximately 2,000 tickets have been made available, given Preston's ability to host many more away fans."

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