How COVID-19 Will Affect Non League Football

This Global Pandemic has shut the world down including the sporting world with all sport being halted. The smaller sport clubs such as English non league football clubs with a smaller budget will be affected by this heavily.

Olympics, Euros and the Premier League has been postponed due to this worldwide pandemic, with no guarantee of these events returning in the near future. This has lost many clubs, broadcast companies and event organizers revenue and have frustrated fans internationally. However this will have a greater impact on the clubs and leagues on a smaller scale such as Non-League and Grassroots football.

After the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) earlier this year, The National League, National League North and South were Suspended on March 16. With a lot of uncertainty around when this pandemic will be over clubs voted whether to cancel the season indefinitely.

On the 22nd April The National League Official Twitter Account tweeted a statement which read "Remaining League matches to be cancelled".

How will this affect non league clubs?

Non league clubs will be affected very heavily during this crisis as these clubs do not have the funds as opposed to Professional clubs. Non league clubs generate the majority of their revenues from match tickets and other streams on a match day such as programmes, merchandise and programmes. This is a major problem for these clubs as games have been cancelled which means a lot of clubs revenues have been cut. This will lead to a cut expenditure on players due to this loss in revenue. Some players may be on £1,000 a week and some are on £500 a week. Clubs may have to cut their wages to sustain their finances. Non league clubs may not have as much capital as other clubs so they need to be smart with their cash flow as it will be very easy to go bankrupt especially with high expenses.

As these clubs are not shown live on television they do not gain any broadcasting income, so if the premier league games are shown behind closed the clubs will still generate a revenue through these broadcast packages. However this is completely different for Non- League clubs as if their games is played behind closed doors the clubs will loose money as their expenses will be high such as travel costs and maintaining the stadium such as eletrical costs. These expenses will loose the club money with no revenue coming in .

When will Football be back?

There is no definitive answer to when football will be back. Non leagues season has been cancelled and we will hopefully see the fixtures return in August in the new season, however this all depends on the governments advice and rules on sporting events. The Premier League is planning to be played behind closed doors in June if they are allowed by the government. The German Bundesliga returns next week as their lockdown has been lifted and sporting events can be played behind closed doors, we all hope that the UK can follow in their footsteps.

Will Non League Football be the same after the Pandemic?

It will take a while for football to be the same sport we all love as the current restrictions do not allow gatherings which include Football matches we can expect this for a while longer which means non league football will not be the same after this pandemic as the main way of viewing the game live is to be there in person viewing the match. If games are played behind closed doors, fans will have to tune into the clubs social media channels for live updates on twitter. If games do get filmed for highlights, fans can watch the highlights after the game has finished. We can all agree that it will not be the authentic non league football experience we all love.

With no revenue coming into the club this has put many clubs on the brink of survival where some clubs may go under and may not be able to operate which will disrupt the league with clubs not taking part in the league. Which will cause upset for the league and the fans. However no club has gone under as of today which is a very good sign for non league Football as the clubs are dealing with the problems in their own ways. This is very promising for fans and the league as the structure of the league will remain the same when the league returns.

What can be done to respond to the Virus?

With every club being hit by this pandemic all owners have to pay management staff,players’ wages and admin staff can cost up to £120,000 a month for some with no revenue being generated. Fans of these clubs can set up trusts to donate towards their club to keep them surviving during this difficult period. With the money from the donations the clubs can use this to pay wages and pay off their expenses.

Fans are crucial in helping there club more than ever as they can keep their beloved club alive.

What do I think will happen?

In terms of Non-League Football, I think that it will begin in August for the 2020-21 season and it all depends on the ease of social distancing. If these rules are not lifted then we can expect games to be played behind closed doors. However I believe that the clubs will find a way to get their content to their fans through social media channels such as Twitter and Youtube. However if social distancing rules are eased then I would expect the games to be fully functional but with an attendance cap for every game which will only allow a certain amount of fans within the ground. Some Non- League clubs do not achieve huge numbers of fans attending their games in which this rule may not apply.

What do you think will happen? Tweet us @NonWembley with your view on the situation!

We are looking forward to hearing your views!