ANTHONY HUGHES' REPORT

A section of a column on the Southern League posted for Non-League Paper on July 8 by former Merthyr secretary Anthony Hughes, vice-chairman of the league.SEE FULL REPORT ONLINE.

Over 90 per cent of the clubs told us it would not be viable to play behind closed doors whilst slightly more said they could operate with reduced capacities and accommodate social distancing.

So, to start the season we need clubs’ hospitality facilities to be open for business, as is now the case in England. It is not yet in Wales but that could change in the next few weeks.

The other crucial decision the Government would need to make is to allow mass gatherings. With minimum ground capacities at Steps 3 and 4 being 1,950 and 1,300 respectively, a possible solution could be that attendances would be restricted to a percentage of those capacities.

That could be enough to see us start the new season but will still require significant planning and procedures which I am sure the clubs will embrace but only with the help, advice and guidance of the leagues.

That leads on, of course, to how clubs will cope. We have all feared that some clubs would fall during this crisis and that, sadly, may still be the case. The task for us as administrators is to give clubs the best possible opportunity to function financially and despite a difficult economic situation. We are endeavouring to secure further sponsorship which would enable us as leagues to provide at least some help in terms of equipment and services to member clubs.