Essex Senior League clubs waiting for FA call on what happens to current season
Saffron Walden Town are one of the club's waiting for news on the rest of the Essex Senior League season. - Credit: GAVIN ELLIS/TGS PHOTO
Clubs playing between steps three and six of the non-league football pyramid are anxiously waiting for news of what will happen to the rest of their league season.
Clubs such as Saffron Walden Town, Stansted and Takeley, who all play at step five in the Essex Senior League, were asked for their input on what happens next by the FA.
There is an over-riding fear that for a second successive season, all results could be expunged and the year made null and void but ESL secretary Michelle Dorling says everyone needs to remain patient as the results of the survey, which were required to be returned by the end of last week, are analysed.
She also believes that any decision should and will be handed down across the entirety of the pyramid.
She said: "In these uncertain times, it’s something that has been discussed on football forums and social media for a while now with many suggestions and recommendations the subject of debate.
"The FA will want to analyse the club’s responses in conjunction with the National League System as we are all inter-linked, and a decision at steps three and four [Southern, Isthmian and Northern Premier leagues] would have an impact on the decisions made at step five and six.
"It is anticipated that different scenarios will be analysed in detail across the NLS to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion for the entire National League System.
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"There is no specified timescale of when the FA will communicate the outcome of the surveys, however, we will of course update you as soon as we can.
"Stay safe and well and remember football can adapt, it has over the past 150 odd years and will continue to evolve to accommodate these challenging times."
Clubs playing at step two, covering the National League North and National League South, were told on Friday that their season would be suspended for two weeks.
They are currently included in the elite of football, with the four professional divisions and the National League itself above them, while clubs from step three down were considered to be non-elite.
This affected such things as whether fans were allowed in attendance or if they could continue during each of the government's restrictions.
