Forest Green Rovers manager Mark Cooper is hopeful football in the lower leagues will not be shut down again even if a second wave of coronavirus hits the UK.
Clubs in the bottom two divisions of English football and nearly all in non-league have been facing severe financial troubles brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic but those in the game are praying a second shut down is not required.
With infection rates rising across the country, there are concerns play could be called to a halt again but there is a confidence football will be exempt.
“As we understand it, elite sport will carry on. We’ve heard it’s not going to affect football,” Forest Green Rovers manager Mark Cooper told Stuart James of The Athletic.
“We had a pilot scheme on Saturday where we got a really good grading with the assessors. It was completely safe — safer than going to a pub or a park or a restaurant. We had about 600 there.
“But, listen, if there is another lockdown and they stop football, 90 per cent of the National League will go bust because they can’t operate without crowds. In our league, there would be some clubs who would be really close.”
Clubs are already struggling to meet the costs of playing behind closed doors as well as pay for extras such as testing, additional hotel rooms amongst others.
With seven games played in front of 1,000 fans this weekend, there was a hope supporters could be back in grounds sooner rather than later but the recent spike of infections could push back this back, pushing some clubs to the brink.