The suspension of all football leagues below the Scottish Championship has been extended until at least March 1, it has been announced today.
According to The Scottish Football Association (SFA), levels of COVID-19 transmission were still too high for the Scottish Government to consider allowing lower leagues to return to playing.
This means that Scottish League One, League Two, the Lowland League and the Scottish Women’s Premier Leagues will be unable to play for at least a further three weeks. Leagues below this level are also unable to return.
The comes as a blow to lower league clubs, in particular those in League One and League Two, who had been hoping to return to training from next week with the added precaution of testing players weekly.
But this latest sucker punch for the lower leagues could prove to be the worst, with real doubts that the season can be completed in full. There are also fears over the future of this season’s Scottish Cup, which has also been postponed until further notice.
In a statement today, the SFA said: “In recent weeks, the Scottish FA has engaged extensively with clubs and leagues affected by the suspension of professional football across the men’s and women’s game to discuss tailored return to playing plans for implementation when it is considered safe and appropriate to resume.
“Regrettably, the government has today confirmed that – in cognisance of the current restrictions in place across the country – they cannot currently commit to return dates for those affected leagues in the coming weeks.
“We will continue to speak with all parties in the meantime and will provide a further update by March 1. This date should not be seen as a proposed restart date; however, it should help provide some clarity to affected clubs to aid their planning over the short term.”
Clubs will now have to wait until March 1 to learn the fate of their season.
Featured Image: Ian MacNicol/Getty
4th Year Journalism Studies and Politics Student at Stirling University. Sports Editor. Bylines in Brig Newspaper and The Oban Times
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