£20m Govt help needed

‘I am fearful, I can’t say that for certain, but I am fearful of clubs going out of business.

‘There are livelihoods at stake, there are communities at stake.’

Thompson believes money from the Government would allow clubs to set up a streaming service, similar to the one used in the EFL, to allow fans to pay to watch games.

He added: ‘You can set up a streaming service reasonably quickly. I am doing it for Dagenham, but that was on the basis of having home support. It was to give a service and raise some income from the away supporters who weren’t going to be allowed in because of the restrictions on numbers.’

Forest Green chairman Dale

Vince believes the Government and the Premier League should work together to assist those lower down the pyramid.

‘Arguably the Government have a responsibility,’ he said. ‘They put £1.5billion into the arts sector to keep that afloat, they put £500m into the hospitality sector just in August with the ‘Eat Out To Help Out’ scheme, and sport is a big part of our society and our culture.

‘The Premier League has the ability and does have some responsibility to the lower leagues of football, because they can help out. I would hope that between them – and I know they would each prefer the other to do something – it gets done.’