Shrewsbury Town call for October start
Shrewsbury Town have asked the EFL if the League One restart can be delayed until October, using domestic Cup ties as ‘pilot fixtures’ throughout September.
It is expected most EFL clubs will support a September 12 restart date for the 2020/21 season at the end of this week – although Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s revelation that fans could enter stadia from October could mean that stance might change.
It is believed the government are keen on pilot matches prior to October, to test the draft guidelines that have been issued by Sports Ground Safety Authority (SGSA) in relation to social distancing.
And Shrewsbury feel that the best opportunity to do so, without a big effect on league attendances, is to move Carabao Cup and Leasing.com Trophy ties forward to September 12 until September 30 and start league action in October.
With lower crowds for Carabao Cup and Leasing.com Trophy competitions anyway, Town feel they would be suitable for pilot schemes on reduced capacities – without affecting season ticket holders.
The club are hopeful that, should the pilot matches pass without issues, bigger crowds will be able to attend matches from the commencement of the League One season in October. Town and other lower league clubs are keen to find ways to permit fans when football returns, to ease the financial strain caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Leasing.com fixtures were scheduled to begin from October, but the club also feel the opportunity to bring those forward into September will free up midweeks for league games that could take place with crowds from October onwards.
Chief executive Brian Caldwell has also suggested that the League One and Two seasons are extended one week, to May 15, and that two fixtures are played either side of the May 3 Bank Holiday weekend, to help bring bigger crowds.
Shrewsbury are waiting to hear back from their suggestions. Should the league restartonSeptember 12, Town boss Sam Ricketts has pencilled in a return to first-team training of August 3.
Meanwhile, 95 per cent of 2019/20 Town season ticket holders have donated monies from the five cancelled home fixtures to the club.
The remaining five per cent have been refunded, and work on the ‘wall of fame’ – made of blue and amber striped panels outside the south east corner of the stadium which will bear the name of those who donated – is being planned.
