The possibility of the EFL being unable to complete the season is now a real concern after crucial meetings raised the stark challenges regarding any resumption of competition.
Issues of coronavirus testing, player safety and the economic cost of staging games behind closed doors are coming to a head with a growing number of club owners, especially in League One and League Two, prepared to call off the season.
The biggest problem for League One and League Two clubs would be that there is next to no money for them to make from broadcasters behind closed doors and they would lose money if they stage such matches. Restarting the season would also force clubs who have furloughed players to start paying them again.
Although the official approach from the EFL remains to wait for government guidance, there is a broad acknowledgement that time is running out. The DCMS and Public Health England are to meet representatives of sporting bodies on Friday to discuss a way forward, but no firm guidance is expected and the EFL will not have a representative at the meeting. Any update on the government’s social distancing measures is not expected before 7 May.
On Wednesday league officials briefed the EFL board over a number of possible scenarios on how the season could be salvaged and all required huge numbers of tests, possibly into the hundreds of thousands. Another meeting between Football League clubs is understood to have featured interventions from a number of owners sceptical of playing on.
The chairman of Stevenage, Phil Wallace, articulated concerns that are understood to be shared by many lower league clubs.
“The subject of testing at League One and League Two levels and the measures that would be necessary not to expose players and their families to the virus by putting 30-40 people together in a contact sport environment are hard to overcome whilst social isolation is in play,” Wallace, whose club are bottom of League Two, said.
“Even if we managed to find ways, would all players accept the risk? And if one person caught it then does the whole league have to stop? It’s hard to see a way to apply the ‘when safe to do so’ mantra of the EFL to the circumstances we have now.”
Another long-standing concern over extending player contracts has also become an immediate priority. With as many as 800 Football League players due to be out of contract at the end of June, some clubs will be able to offer only the standard severance payment of a month’s wages if matches are staged after that point. Some clubs have indicated that severance payments will be beyond them in all circumstances. The PFA has mandated players to conduct a ballot over whether to accept such terms or refuse to play.
It is understood that many lower-league players are braced for the season to be cancelled. Clubs are not convinced that it is possible to finish the season before the end of June and a concern for players is that owners will not want to spend money on short-term deals even if the campaign does continue beyond that date.
Another concern for clubs will be the legal implications of a player falling ill after playing football. Players are also worried about infecting vulnerable relatives and it is understood that some Championship doctors have voiced concerns over whether it is safe for football to resume.
If the season is cancelled a major issue for the EFL to resolve will be promotion and relegation. Relegation could be scrapped and one scenario put forward is promoting teams based on sporting merit.
