Season is curtailed for a second time
For the second successive season, the Southern League and Western League seasons have been curtailed with immediate effect.
The FA made that announcement last Thursday but has not declared the leagues null and void yet, as opposed to last year. The decision is also subject to ratification from the FA Council.
The decision comes after a survey was sent out to all clubs at NLS Steps 3-6 to gauge their opinion on how best to end the current campaign after the disruptions of the Coronavirus pandemic. That survey saw that 63 per cent of clubs at Steps 3&4 (Southern League level) voted to null and void the season, with 16 per cent voting for an August restart and 21 per cent voting for a different outcome.
At Steps 5&6 (Western League level), only 55 per cent voted null and void, with 14 per cent opting for an August restart and 31 per cent voting differently.
Despite allowing leagues below Step 7 to extend their seasons until June, it was decided that extending the campaign at Steps 3-6 beyond May would not be viable due to the financial implications for many clubs, player contracts and the extent of the fixture scheduling issues caused by the lockdown and various postponements that left 81 per cent of matches still to be completed at Steps 3&4 and 75 per cent at Steps 5&6.
Due to the curtailment, The FA has also said it will revisit discussions around a potential restructure, which was previously agreed and has been on hold since the 2019/20 season, and a further update will be provided in due course.
Whilst the leagues have been curtailed, it is hoped that the FA Vase will continue from early April.
Despite leagues below Step 7 being given the green light to return and play until June, Step 7 leagues themselves have been left in limbo. Due to being NLS Feeder Leagues, they weren’t granted the league extension but have also not been included in the discussions with Steps 3-6. However, the FA Council will be asked that the Step 7 season can also be extended to June 30.
Promotion applicants from Step 7 will be factored into the considerations of the feasibility of the restructure, but if a league chooses to curtail early it would not prevent a club’s application from being considered.
As of Monday morning, the Somerset County League had yet to release any sort of news in relation to its campaign, while the Dorset Premier League has decided to curtail its campaign. However, they are looking at providing an optional Supplementary Cup competition throughout April and May which will be guided around feedback from clubs which is due tomorrow. The Western League has also been asked to provide a cup competition too.
The Wiltshire League has also decided not to continue their campaign but are meeting next week to discuss the arranging of a cup competition to take place in April and May. However, their Under-18 and Veteran divisions will continue.
There is hope that the Women’s National League can return in April after they said that lots of work was going on behind the scenes to allow this to happen.
The Yeovil & District League has announced it will be returning on April 3 while the Bath & District Sunday League are meeting tomorrow to discuss whether they will continue or not.
The Dorset League is looking to return to playing, but not extending their season beyond May 31, with clubs being given until Monday to confirm that they wish to continue playing in the league from March 29.
They are looking at either completing the season by just playing each other once or play a grouped League Cup competition over April and May.