Update W/E 26th July 2020

We trust you all remain well and in peak condition.

The FA has reached agreement with the Government to restart grass roots football, albeit with social distancing and other precautions.  As of this Tuesday we have not had relevant guidance from our various leagues. We do not know when the season will start nor whether there will be additions and/or relaxations to the rules to accommodate the precautions needed to prevent CV. Some Leagues will be more innovative and flexible than others. Similarly our pitch providers have yet to indicate when the venues will be reopened and under what conditions.  After the initial euphoria at the good news there has therefore been some reflection which is understandable. We have, for example, written to our leagues enquiring:

  1. If one team is found to have a player with CV – How long is that team suspended for?
  2. What will happen to the opposition teams it has played in the last 1? or 2 Weeks?
  3. Will any proof that the player in question no longer has CV be required by the League etc?
  4. If a fixture is postponed because of the above, how will the League treat the match – reschedule? forfeit? record a draw? other?
  5. What happens if a player thinks he may have CV so the team pulls out of a scheduled match but then, on receiving the test result, finds that he/she had flu – not CV?
  6. When and how will referees be paid if not by cash?
  7. Is there any further update on when the season will kick off? Or will it be delayed?
  8. Etc

It is not surprising that our Leagues have yet to respond as these are unprecedented times.

In the meantime enjoy the holidays and keep fit. We should be kicking off the new season in September. We are very aware that we will need to start preseason training in time to prepare and are developing the necessary Risk Assessments etc. We know that there are players, and even teams, climbing over fences at closed venues to play football but as a formally constituted club with the much coveted FA’s Community Status we will follow the guidelines. We do not want to contribute to another lockdown, as in Spain.   

For those of you seeing the precious months pass by take heart from this link and watch to the end – there is always time to make a comeback:  https://youtu.be/BhPEqFfRku8