The Arthur Cup match between Solihull Moors and Birmingham City has been postponed
16:54, 16 Jul 2025Updated 16:56, 16 Jul 2025
Birmingham City’s friendly against Solihull Moors for the Arthur Cup has been postponed(Image: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
Solihull Moors chairman Darryl Eales has apologised to supporters after The Arthur Cup match against Birmingham City had to be postponed.
Blues were due to play Moors at The ARMCO Arena on Wednesday evening only for the pitch to fail a pre-match inspection.
The warm weather has damaged Moors’ pitch and Blues, still bearing the scars of their game at Reading in February where two players suffered serious injuries on a poor playing surface, decided not to take any chances three weeks into pre-season.
Scott Wright suffered a serious knee injury after his studs got caught in the turf against Reading and Lyndon Dykes picked up a calf injury that ended his season prematurely.
Both clubs are working to rearrange The Arthur Cup, a match in memory of Bluenose Arthur Labinjo-Hughes who tragically died in 2020, aged six.
Moor chairman Eales said: “We are sincerely sorry that the postponement has happened at such short notice and caused disruption and disappointment to all supporters attending the game.
“From the Moors perspective, we are truly grateful for Blues’ efforts to work with us to try and ensure the Arthur Cup could be played today.
“The Moors groundstaff have worked tirelessly to get the pitch ready but it is probably a week behind where it should be, after a delay in the annual maintenance of the irrigation system which has also been compounded by the hot weather.
“Two days ago, we remained confident that the pitch would be 100% playable but, on inspection earlier today, both Craig Gardner and Stephen Ward agreed that there were a couple of areas of concern and it would be foolhardy to risk injuries at this stage of pre-season.
“I’d like to thank the Moors staff for their amazing efforts today but sadly nature has beaten us.
“The Arthur Cup is a fantastic event and we are now working with Blues to find a date in the near future to host the fixture and ensure a wonderful occasion”.
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