Carlisle United's home game with Port Vale next Saturday will no longer kick off at 3pm - to avoid a clash with Prince Philip's funeral.

The EFL have announced that it is in discussions with clubs over new kick-off times on the afternoon of Saturday, April 17.

A national minute's silence is set to be held as the royal funeral begins at 3pm that day at Windsor Castle.

It means all games due to kick off at that time are now set to be moved.

In a statement today, an EFL spokesperson said: "As a mark of respect, EFL matches scheduled for 3pm on Saturday 17 April will be moved to avoid a clash with the funeral of HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

"The EFL will now work with its clubs to determine at what time the matches will be played, giving consideration to the timing of the service.

"An announcement will follow in due course."

United's game against the Valiants was one of those 3pm games. It has not yet been finalised when the game will now start.

A Blues spokesman said: "We understand completely the reasoning behind the need for a kick-off time change and fully support the EFL in making this decision.

"At this stage we do not know what the alternative kick-off options are, but we will confirm this as soon as discussions have taken place."

The funeral will take place on a busy sporting weekend which is also set to see the FA Cup semi-finals, Premier League games, the Women's Six Nations and the World Snooker Championship.

The Press Association say the Football Association, Premier League and England and Wales Cricket board are in dialogue with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport regarding arrangements.

The Government's published advice regarding the period of national mourning states: "The decision as to whether sporting fixtures continue to go ahead is at the discretion of organisers.

"Organisers may wish to consider using black armbands and observing a silence before matches are played."

Today's EFL games saw staff and players wearing armbands, while two minutes' silence were observed before kick-off.

EFL chair Rick Parry had paid tribute to the Duke after his death was announced yesterday, saying: "As a patron of over 800 organisations, his high regard for the encouragement of sport and welfare of young people was unequivocal, and his loss will undoubtedly be felt not only here in the UK but across the world."