South Wales Echo

EFL resumption is likely to be behind closed doors – Parry

- Rick Parry

IT has been confirmed that when the football season does resume from its lay-off, matches are likely to be held behind closed doors.

This was one of the points to come out of a statement yesterday by the chairman of the EFL, Rick Parry.

In the form of an open letter to fans, Parry revealed the current state of play in getting the season started again.

The main points include:

■ When football resumes, it is likely to be behind closed doors without crowds

■ These matches will be made available to watch live on Ifollow or other online streaming services

■ There is no indication of when it will be safe for fans to attend games again

■ Delivering an end to the 2019/20 season is still a priority

In his message, Parry says: “When it comes to footballin­g matters, I understand the desire among fans for definitive answers, particular­ly around the conclusion of 2019/20 campaign.

“As I am sure you will appreciate, the situation presents significan­t operationa­l and financial challenges, including the logistics of clubs returning to full operationa­l status, the practicali­ties of playing football behind closed doors, and the possible knock-on effects for the 2020/21 campaign.

“Please be assured that we are working hard on these and will update you as soon as we can, once decisions have been made.

“To give you an honest assessment of the current situation; the point at which you will be able to attend games again remains unclear.

“Please be assured, however, that we are going to welcome you back to stadiums as soon as it is safe to do so.

“Your contributi­on to the matchday experience and atmosphere­s created in stadia up and down the country is something we should never take for granted.

“Unfortunat­ely, I cannot tell you today when football will resume, though whenever we do return, matches are likely to be played without crowds.

“And whilst we are unfortunat­ely without the presence of the hundreds of thousands of supporters who pass through EFL turnstiles each week, we will endeavour to bring live football direct into your homes once it returns.

“Plans are continuing to be worked up for all games to be broadcast either via our broadcast partners, iFollow or equivalent club streaming services.

“We will update you on this once we know when matches will recommence.

“The contributi­on to football’s finances made by match-going supporters should not be underestim­ated. It is critical to the business model of league football. Perhaps the biggest challenge right now is not knowing when we will be able to reintroduc­e football in front of crowds.

“We can only hope that the situation develops in such a way that we will be able to do with the shortest possible break.

“With or without spectators, delivering a successful conclusion to the 2019/20 season remains our goal to ensure the integrity of our competitio­ns.

“This, of course, means that a number of factors – including when, where and within what timeframe fixtures will be played – must be given careful considerat­ion in line with Government advice.

“Similar factors must also be taken into account when agreeing an approach towards player training and testing, not least the appropriat­e level of medical resource and creation of an effective and efficient medical matchday protocol.

“As we’ve previously stated, the health and wellbeing of our clubs, their players and staff, and you - the fans - remains our first priority, and so you can appreciate that we want to give thorough and rigorous thought to these matters.”

Parry also hinted that he had one eye on the future, adding the EFL is ‘looking at medium to long-term solutions that protect our game for years to come.’

He continued: “Aside from two catastroph­ic World Wars, this pandemic is arguably the most challengin­g issue to have affected football since the League was founded 132 years ago.

“Our clubs have been left with significan­t outgoings while facing a sudden loss of income.

“With this in mind, I’m sure you will be aware of talk about wages and deferrals.

“Good progress is being made in these areas, with a view to this assisting in delivering medium to long-term solutions that protect our game for years to come.”

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