What Will Happen to Football Post COVID-19?

The football season has been suspended for almost thee weeks now due to the current coronavirus outbreak. After weeks of speculation and a few games being played behind closed doors, the English FA announced on the 13th March that all professional leagues in England will be suspended until April at the earliest.

The same happened with the Scottish FA and in the divisions across Europe. Including the Champions and Europa League.

Well it's April now and the UK is in lockdown. Everyone is at home apart from key workers. Football fans all over the country ask the same question, what will happen for the remainder of the 2019/20 season?

Well here are the options the FA could consider...

1. Can It

One of the easy options is to cancel the rest of the season and start fresh in the summer with the same teams. By the time this has all blown over by July time, players can get back into the training ground and start pre season for 2020/21.

It all falls into place right? July is when pre season starts anyway so what a great opportunity for all players to get back into match fitness, have a fresh start after a long time out and prepare for a new chapter.

The only problem is it would be unfair on those teams like Liverpool who have pretty much already wrapped up that Premier League title. It would be unfair on teams like Leeds in the Championship who have come so close to a Premier League return for the first time since their relegation crisis in 2004. Sheffield United fans would be gutted due to a potential spot in European football being taken away from them and the Blades have worked tirelessly towards it. So it's easier said than done.

2. Continue In June/July

The majority of fans all want the campaign to continue. And of course you would because the season stopped in March. It was originally meant to end in early May, so that's only a few months. It's not like it all ended in October and we'd have a big chunk of the season left. Bearing in mind Euro 2020 has now been moved to 2021.

We've come so far into the 2019/20 campaign. Roughly this time of the year, the first promoted/relegated (you name it) team is confirmed. Wrapping it all up now would feel like we've all just been to watch our teams play 28 friendly matches home and away.

As of the current circumstances I have no idea when we will be 'back in the real world' but starting again in late June/early July and finishing in mid August and starting new season in September after a short break. It's certainly an option.

3. Finish the season as it is

If things do get worse going into the summer and it is strongly advised that sporting events will be high risk, we could just simply finish the season as it is. Clubs positions in the table are confirmed and promotions and relegations take place.

Liverpool get the title they so well deserve, Leeds get promoted (finally) and Brighton &Hove Albion remain in the top flight! Yeah let's conclude this whole article and just do that. I'll write to the FA.

In all seriousness though, in my opinion, it would be unfair. Especially on those teams in the relegation places. Before the suspension, we had an entertaining relegation battle going on in the Premier League involving 6 teams. If Norwich, Villa and Bournemouth are forced to wave goodbye, then those three clubs could say "well hang on a minute. Watford, West Ham and Brighton are in the exact same situation as us and have been within the relegation zone in the past month." How does that make things fair?

In League One you have 7 teams pushing for an automatic promotion spot! Bearing in mind third place Oxford United just went on a five game winning streak as oppose to second place Rotherham United's patchy run of form.

4. Playing Behind Closed Doors

Ohhhh sod off! Football without fans is nothing!

Yes, I am very aware of that statement and I am totally with it. In early March, Serie A played their matches behind closed doors just before Italy went into lockdown. In the Champions League, Valencia played behind closed doors against Atalanta and so did PSG when they took on Borussia Dortmund in an empty Parc Des Prances.

The FA in England could consider this but just like the millions of fans around the world, I cannot think of any benefits of the game being played behind closed doors.

No crowd means no motivation for the players. It wouldn't be fun to watch on TV either.

Well...

The FA have a tough decision to make. Who knows what will be announced in the coming weeks. For the meantime, stay home and stay safe.

Ed Ettridge