The Matchday's programs long tradition Printed since the 1880s, soccer club newspapers were and are a link between fan and club. But with digitization, a lot of memories will be lost.

For a long time now, in the publishing industry, but not only there has been talk of the effects that the digitalization of information is having. A process that, in the different levels of publication, also involves independent publishing up to that of soccer teams. It is no longer the custom, in stadiums, to go through the gates and stop for a few seconds to pick up and browse through the various matchday programs left there by the home club. 

In some cases they are a pamphlet, in others one or two Berliner or A3 sized sheets, in others still a real magazine, like the one published every month by Sudtirol FC, a Serie C club, a magazine of almost 50 pages with news, interviews and special features. The aesthetics of these small magazines is all aimed at the fan, so, as in a normal magazine - music, fashion, soccer - on the cover a character is exalted: the coach, the most prolific striker, the captain, the latest purchase. And just like a newspaper it has a colophon with editors, graphic designers and administrative managers, a director who coordinates and often an editor. There are sponsors, as is the norm, and all the companies on the advertising boards at the edge of the field are in it. There is also a photo section - Sportweek style -, a comments section, and a chronicle of the main events of the moment. Equally unfailing is the page dedicated to the opponent of the match. 

But it's not just memorabilia. There's also a lot of coolness. Especially in England, as with anything involving a rolling ball, there are thousands of online aficionados looking for old copies of match programmes. On the footballprogrammes marketplace (what other name could there be?) you can find everything from England-West Germany in the 1966 World Cup to a charity match between Gerrard's Best XI and Carragher's Best XI; there's even a list of Chelsea-West Bromwich from 2011. Needless to say, most of these memorabilia come from the British leagues and, of all of them, those of Chelsea (who then continued the tradition with fantastic match programmes on Instagram) and those of the English national team, of which there are many antique copies, are among the most sensational. Today, in the Premier League and in the minor leagues, from the top clubs to the provincial ones, many clubs still sell their dossiers in front of or inside the stadium and you can even subscribe to them. 

This demonstrates that some forms of publishing still manage to survive, but it is, above all, a British phenomenon. For Italian teams, by now, digitization has taken over - and it must be said that the Match Program has never really been of great interest to clubs. Sure, getting to the stadium by car and reading the match program directly from your smartphone is very convenient. But when you get home afterwards, you actually feel more empty of something.