WESTBURY United Football Club is planning for a summer of fun at Meadow Lane as the club prepares to welcome back spectators.
Chair of the club, Greg Coulson, has told White Horse News that the club has welcomed the decision by the FA to conclude the 2020/21 league season, as it has given them the green light to start making plans.
As well as planning for the 2021/22 season, the club is hoping to invite a number of big name clubs to the ground for friendly matches to mark the United’s 100th anniversary, after last year’s celebrations were cancelled.
“It was expected really, and probably the sensible decision,” said Greg about the FA’s decision to end the season. “The results haven’t been null and voided, yet, so they might be keeping their options open for using the data next season, maybe if that gets disturbed as well.
“But from our point of view, it’s good, as it let’s us start planning for next season – it gives us a focus, we’re not just sat around waiting to ‘react’ all the time.”
About United’s plans for the summer, Greg said, “We are going to wait until we have full access to the clubhouse before we welcome fans back, we are not going to try and squeeze anything in with a reduced crowd. We’ll take this opportunity now to work on the pitch, so we can start pre-season earlier, and maybe have a few more pre-season friendlies.
“We missed our 100th year celebrations last year, so we are hoping that the big teams that were going to come over last summer – Swindon, Bristol City, and Bath – we’re hoping that they’ll still consider coming over for a friendly.
“So fingers crossed that there will be some big games at Meadow Lane when we get going again in July, early August time. Finally after a year off!
“We’ll be looking to kick-start next season and really get the ball rolling and have those celebrations that we all missed last year – and hopefully some good crowds. There are lots of ideas in the air – we have a few meetings coming up, so there will be more information soon – so watch this space!”
Prior to the decision to curtail the 2020/21 season, the FA surveyed clubs across the National League System (NLS) Steps 3-6, to gather views on the continuation or conclusion of the 2020-21 league season.
The FA’s statement, released last week said, “The results of the survey showed that over 76 per cent of all clubs across Steps 3-6 indicated a preference to curtail the 2020-21 league season if it could not be restarted with limited spectator numbers and hospitality before 1 April 2021.
“During this process, taking into account views of clubs and leagues, it was decided that extending the 2020-21 league season beyond the end of May 2021 would not be a viable option. This was due to various considerations, including the financial implications for many clubs, player contracts and the extent of the fixture scheduling issues caused by the national lockdown and various postponements which had resulted in there being 81 per cent of matches left to complete for Steps 3 and 4, and 75 per cent at Steps 5 and 6.
“Taking into account the survey results and the ongoing impact of Covid-19, which continues to adversely affect incomes for clubs due to restrictions on both spectators and hospitality, our alliance and leagues committees have reached a consensus that, subject to the approval of FA Council, the 2020-21 league season for Steps 3-6 of the NLS should be curtailed with immediate effect, with no further league matches taking place this season.”
