STAND BY FOR FANS TO BE LET IN!
‘Elite’ tag is a red herring, fires Dorking chief
DETERMINED Dorking Wanderers owner Marc White is optimistic fans will be soon be allowed in to watch National League clubs play at home.
The ‘#LetFansIn’ campaign, spearheaded by the likes of White and Concord Rangers chairman Ant Smith, enjoyed a notable victory in midweek when it was announced that a percentage of supporters would be allowed to watch football at Step 3 and below.
While welcoming that news, White was left frustrated it did not also stretch to National League clubs across the three divisions.
“I’m over the moon for all the teams who can have fans now and the National League have said they will ask the FA to talk to the Government about applying the same guidance for Steps 1 and 2.
“I don’t think the average crowds at Step 1 and 2 are a problem. It’s not like the Premier League where 20 per cent of 60,000 fans could mean you get bottlenecks with transport and things like that.
“Personally, I think even up to League One could be done on a scaled back basis pretty quickly.
“I’m optimistic we might get some news by Monday or Tuesday. It would be crazy not to.”
Those prospects received a boost on Friday when a cross-party group of MPs led by Dame Cheryl Gillan and Tracey Crouch wrote to sports minister Nigel Huddleston and urged him to the return of fans to Step 1 and 2 clubs.
They said: “There are still 67 Non-League clubs in the National League and National League North and South, some of whom we represent in Parliament, whose gates remain closed to their fans, despite the fact that some of these clubs have smaller average attendances that those in Steps lower than them.
“...We are therefore writing to you to urgently announce plans for the return of fans to Step 1 and 2 clubs.
“This would be a huge relief to those trying to balallow ance the finances of these clubs, whose future remains perilous but importance in our local communities should never be underestimated.”
A reason given for fans being allowed only at Step 3 and below is that football above that comes in the ‘elite sport’ category – the same reason why National League clubs were allowed to complete their seasons with play-off campaigns.
But White, who has overseen the club’s astonishing rise over the last two decades, insists that is a red herring.
“It’s absolutely irrelevant,” declared White, whose side lost to Weymouth in the South playoff semi-finals. “That was in relation to going back to contact sport. We had to do the testing and everything else for the play-offs.
“Now that everyone can do contact sport, that isn’t relevant. It’s about the amount of supporters going into grounds and what the Government feels is okay at the time.”
White has been praised for his leading role in the campaign to get fans back into grounds.
He added: “It’s great Dorking were at the forefront and people supported us and the campaign.
“Without the supporters, football at Non-League level is doomed. It was quite refreshing to see the Non-League community jump on the campaign.”