EFL determined to complete season and reveals £50m relief package for clubs

Football bosses put a halt to the season on Friday until April 3 at the earliest in response to the Covid-19 outbreak in the UK.

And after a meeting of the EFL board today to discuss the implications of the pandemic on the league and its clubs – including Sheffield Wednesday and Doncaster Rovers – the governing body revealed more about its plans to deal with the crisis.

A statement read: “The primary objective, in order to protect competition integrity, is to deliver a successful conclusion to the 2019/20 season, subject to the over-riding priority around health and well-being.

“Plans continue to be developed on the agreed principle that it is in the best interests of the EFL and Clubs to complete the current season at the appropriate time.

“The EFL is continuing regular dialogue with the Government and relevant health authorities and, as and when more information is known regarding the scale and extent of the coronavirus outbreak in this country, a decision will be taken on the resumption of the league’s fixtures.”

Financial problems brought on by the lack of gate receipts were also high on the agenda at today’s meeting – and in a bid to stave off problems in the short-term, the league intends to bring forward payments to clubs, while also making interest-free loans available.

“The cash injection is included as part of a series of measures, that includes potential Government support to help clubs and their associated businesses through this period of uncertainty,” said the statement.

“The EFL welcomes last night’s announcement made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and is continuing discussions to understand how our clubs can access the funding made available to support businesses.

“In addition, we will continue our discussions with our football partners to determine how we can all get through this difficult, challenging and unprecedented situation.”