Cats won’t play in mini promotion tournament
The EFL are NOT considering a mini-tournament to decide promotion from League One this season.
Instead, the league remains committed to finishing all outstanding fixtures once it is appropriate to do so. It was suggested last week that the EFL were considering such an idea as they bid to find a way to complete the 2019/20 season.
The premise would be that the top eight in each division could compete for promotion in a smaller-scale competition – overcoming some logisticalissueswhilealsoensuring that promotion is decided on the pitch.
Hadsuchplanscometofruition, then Sunderland - currently sat seventh in League One - would have taken part.
However, it has been learned that the idea is not beingconsideredbytheEFL-who remaincommittedtoconcluding the season once it is safe to do so. The idea had already split opinion in League One, with Burton Albion chairman Ben Robinson saying that he believed clubs would not back such a proposal.
“It doesn’t seem as though the idea of the top eight teams playing off is going to work,” he said. “I don’t think the clubs wouldacceptthat,probably.It’s atrickything,isn’tit?Youwant totryandprotectthatintegrity of promotion and relegation.”
All League One fixtures havecurrentlybeenpostponed indefinitelyand,whileareturn date has not yet been fixed given the constantly changing situation, the league remain confident of completing the campaign on the field.
It has already been confirmed that all fixtures will be played behind closed doors once the EFL does resume, while clubs have been advised not to return to training until May 16 at the earliest.