Figures add up for early kick-offs STEAMING

GET set for some early starts over the next couple of weeks — and Gareth Southgate’s young lions (right) are to blame.

England’s progress to the knockout stages has raised the possibility of a clash with the Coral-eclipse at Sandown next Saturday, and the July Cup at Newmarket seven days later.

And it’s the races that have been moved.

The Eclipse is now set to be run at 2.10pm, 50 minutes earlier than the kick-off to the third World Cup quarter-final in Russia — a game that will involve England if they beat Colombia on Tuesday.

And the following Saturday, the stalls for the July Cup are due to open at 2.15pm — they did so at 4.35pm last year — which is three-quarters of an hour before the referee starts the third-place play-off.

This way, both the racing and the football can be accommodated on ITV1.

The rescheduling of the two Group 1 events has got some fans of our sport hot under the collar — they don’t see why they had to move.

Well, I did email FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s office to see if the football matches could be given a new slot, but I’ve yet to receive a response.

The reason for the switch is crystal clear when one looks at ITV’S viewing figures for Royal Ascot. Those ‘must-see’ group games of Denmark v Australia and France v Peru, shown on ITV1 on Gold Cup day, shunted the terrestrial broadcaster’s Ladies’ Day coverage to ITV4.

To say the numbers took a hit is an understatement — the average of 366,000 was a whopping 602,000 down on the corresponding ITV1 audience from 2017.

We don’t live in a perfect world, and this is the best compromise if two of the Flat season’s marquee events aren’t to get relegated to ITV4.

If you’re planning a trip to Sandown or Newmarket, set your alarm.

But don’t lose any sleep over it.