But he is hopeful that, even if the 2020/21 season cannot be completed for whatever reasons, the governing body will inject fresh life into a ‘stale’ non-league pyramid via an overdue restructuring. It has been a confusing few days for county league clubs nationwide. On Tuesday, the FA gave the ‘go-ahead for the grassroots football season to be extended until the end of June.’ They said that extension, though, ‘does not apply’ to Regional NLS Feeder Leagues, of which the HPL is one. On Thursday evening, however, the FA confirmed to county associations that ‘they will recommend to FA Council that ALL NLS Regional Feeder Leagues can in fact extend their seasons to the 30th of June.’ The Midland League and the Herts County League - two other competitions at step 7 of the pyramid - have already said they won’t be restarting the league campaign after lockdown restrictions are lifted at the end of next month. The HPL management committee will meet early next week to discuss if their 31 clubs can resume a league campaign which has been paused since mid-December. ‘Our first choice would be to see if we can squeeze the games in and complete the season. If we play on into June, it should be possible,’ said Hoare. ‘But I know there’s a lot of hurdles, a lot of roadblocks. ‘I’m told some clubs are for it (restarting), others are against it and won’t fulfil their fixtures so you’ll get three points in those games. ‘You have to think about next season as well. If you play on until the end of June you can’t really have a four-week pre-season and then start again in August. ‘I’m sure it wouldn’t be an issue with some players, but you’d need to give the pitches time to recover. ‘The league would only have a few weeks to do all their admin and sort out all the fixtures for the new season. ‘In theory it could work, but in practice it could be a big ask.’ Some clubs - Locks Heath, Brougton and Michelmersh & Timsbury - would have to give up their pitches in mid-April due to the cricket season starting in early May. Hoare said: ‘You couldn’t ask them to hire 3G pitches to play games. ‘We spent over £2,000 last season (2019/20) on 3G pitches - one pitch we had to pay £210 for and £45 for the referee. ‘Those are massive amounts at our level, and in the end it was all ‘dead’ money.’ He added: ‘The question is - can we return safely? It’s not just about the players, you have to look at the bigger picture. ‘Most of the volunteers at clubs are elderly, and without volunteers you would struggle to play the games. ‘It could be a big risk for some.’ Hoare was also boosted by the FA revealing on Wednesday they are preparing to ‘revisit’ the proposed non-league restructure that was due to have been in place for the start of 2020/21. That has raised hopes at Infinity - as well as league rivals Fleetlands and Bush Hill - that at least one club could be promoted into the Wessex League for next season. Dorset Combination League outfit Hamworthy Recreation have also applied to the Wessex. Infinity boast a stunning record since the start of 2019/20. In 37 league games spread over two seasons they have won 28, drawn nine and lost none - the longest unbeaten record in HPL history. The FA could well take on board the Project Non-League proposal where clubs would be promoted based on their points-per-game record over the last two seasons. Infinity’s PPG record is an impressive 2.51. Not as impressive as Hamworthy Recreation’s 2.54 average, however, though in fairness Infinity have played 15 more league games over the same period than the Dorset club. At present, there is one vacancy to fill in Wessex Division 1 following Pewsey Vale’s withdrawal in December 2019. Under the FA’s restructuring plans revealed earlier that year, four teams would be promoted from Wessex 1. Under any restructuring this summer, two clubs could be promoted from the Wessex Premier with four coming up - bringing the top flight back to the 22 teams it had as recently as 2017/18. That would obviously leave more gaps to potentially fill in Wessex 1. ‘There needs to be a shake-up, it’s got a bit stale,’ said Hoare. ‘You run the risk of losing lots of clubs. Some players might have realised after all this time that they don’t miss playing. ‘The Project Non League idea hits the nail on the head - you end up with a pure pyramid, which helps the FA, points-per-game over two seasons and no demotions. ‘It’s an ideal situation, it doesn’t tread on anyone’s toes, no-one gets relegated.’ If the HPL Senior Division restarts, Infinity will be playing catch up - they trail leaders Bush Hill by five points with a game in hand while Paulsgrove are just a point behind with three games in hand. Any of those three could be promoted as runners-up, if Grove – who have not applied for promotion due to their facilities – win the Senior Division title. ‘Paulsgrove should win the league this season, they’ve only drawn one game and won most matches convincingly,’ said Hoare, whose club have yet to meet Grove in 2020/21. ‘But we’re still unbeaten as well. ‘People talk about finishing the season and winning the league on merit, but finishing top over two seasons on PPG is surely on merit as well? ‘We’ve played 37 games over two seasons, that’s more than one full season. Surely if we were promoted via PPG that would be on merit?’ Infinity have led a fairly nomadic experience since forming. They played home games in both Southampton and Winchester before ending up in a Portsmouth postcode area at Knowle, just outside Fareham. This season, though, they have been ground sharing at Wessex Leaguers Hythe & Dibden - a 45-minute journey away on the New Forest waterside. ‘I know how it works - if you meet the grading criteria and you finish in a high enough position you will go up,’ said Hoare ‘We have worked closely with the Hampshire FA for a few years now. Trying to get things right off the pitch is a lot harder than people can imagine.’ Infinity’s ground share with a higher division club with a view to winning promotion has brought them some criticism, but it is within the rules. Clubs starting a season with a ground share arrangement in place are eligible for promotions in the pyramid and from feeder leagues. The same rule does not apply for any club that wins a league and then attempts to ground share in a bid to have a ground that passes the required grading. Infinity are having a new ground built as part of a new housing estate at Wickham; initially due to be completed by March 2022, the pandemic has pushed back building work. ‘It’s just a guessing game at the moment,’ said Hoare. ‘But Dave Cox at Hythe & Dibden has been great, he said we can play there for as long as we need to. ‘It will be a Southern League standard ground.’ If Infinity resume playing in April, Hoare will still be the caretaker manager. Ex-Pompey youth player Gary Wheatcroft started the season in charge, but stepped down in December for personal reasons. ‘We haven’t actually invited applications yet,’ said Hoare, ‘but we’ve had a few enquiries. ‘We’ll look at it when we get back playing again.’