Hawks’ National League season could be delayed as government pause crowd pilot events

Hawks staged their National League South play-off semi-final with Dartford behind closed doors in July - but the 2020/21 NL season won't start in a similar manner. Pic: Dave Haines

The club’s first league game is scheduled for Saturday, October 10, at home to Maidstone, though their first game of 2020/21 will be an FA Cup second qualifying round tie the previous weekend.

A number of pilot test events, in which capacities have been capped at 1,000 irrespective of the size of grounds, have taken place and it was hoped stadiums would be allowed to welcome more fans from the start of next month.

The National League set its start date for October 3 as a result, but league officials told a managers’ meeting yesterday that the season would not start behind closed doors.

The FA Cup ties, though, would go ahead - even if no fans would be allowed in if the clubs were drawn at home.

If Hawks were drawn away at a lower division club, though, fans can attend.

Clubs at steps 3-7 have been allowed to welcome supporters in since the beginning of August, with different steps having different maximum levels.

Gosport Borough, at step 3, are allowed a maximum of 600 supporters, and Wessex League Premier clubs, at step 5, are allowed a maximum of 300.

Cabinet minister Michael Gove said this morning: ‘It was the case that we were looking at a staged programme of more people returning.

‘It wasn’t going to be the case that we were going to have stadiums thronged with fans. We’re looking at how we can, for the moment, pause that programme.

‘It is the case that we need to be cautious at the moment. A mass reopening would not be appropriate at the moment. We do need to proceed with caution.’

Hawks director Trevor Brock reacted to the news by admitting ‘logic escapes me.’

He said: ‘I can’t make sense of it. How can it be safe to watch football at steps 3-7 but not safe at steps 1-2?

‘The logic escapes me.

‘At the moment we’re waiting on advice from the FA and the National League.

‘We’re floating around in the dark, we’re trying to run a business without the full facts.

‘Gosport are allowed 600 fans, but we average around 1,500 - even being allowed 600 would be enough of a disaster.

‘If we’re home in the FA Cup then we have all the costs of staging a game without any income.’

Brock told The News last week that clubs at National League level ‘will fold’ if they cannot welcome fans back soon.

‘Long term it’s not viable at our level to play behind closed doors,’ he repeated. ‘I’m not sure it’s viable at EFL level.

‘Clubs at our level are not sitting on hundreds of thousands of pounds in the bank. We need supporters in, we need the bars open, we need the sponsorship.

‘At our level clubs’ assets are on the pitch, not in the bank.’

Brock said Hawks are currently being ‘lambasted’ by some people on social media because the National League comes under the ‘elite sport’ umbrella.

Back in the summer, Hawks argued passionately that the South and North play-offs should take place as step 2 was ‘elite’ because players were paid.

Now, the fact step 2 is classified as ‘elite’ is working against them.

As a result, Hawks and their league rivals are being grouped in with Liverpool and Manchester United when it comes to deciding whether or not to allow supporters back in.

‘It’s the law of unintended consequences,’ said Brock. ‘Any action you take always has a reaction.

‘We are being lumped in with the elite clubs, but we don’t get any of the elite funding.

‘To lump us in with the likes of Liverpool is ludicrous, but it’s the government’s way of reacting - I don’t think they understand football at step 1 and step 2 level.’

Hawks and other step 2 clubs only receive around £13,000 every year from the Premier League’s ‘solidarity’ payment of £125m to the EFL and National League.

Brock has previously said the Premier League could do more to help out their EFL and National League cousins.

‘Gareth Bale’s weekly wage would solve so many problems,’ he reiterated.

‘I know the Premier League have got their own problems, but they also have a responsibility to the rest of football.’

The Premier League have recently given lower division clubs extra cash in the form of Covid-19 support grants.

Clubs have had to apply for them, and Hawks have applied for the maximum £15,000 allowed at step 2 level.

The government have been widely criticised, meanwhile, for allowing the Cheltenham Festival to take place last March right at the beginning of the Covid crisis in the UK.

They appear determined not to be accused of making the same mistake twice.

Gove added: ‘The virus is less likely to spread outdoors than indoors but it is in the nature of major sporting events that there is a lot of mingling.

‘People look back now at the beginning of the pandemic and look at some of the major sporting events then and ask the question why were they allowed to go ahead?

‘One of the things we must do now, whatever the wisdom of the decisions made then, is to look at sports events now with caution.

‘We also recognise that sport’s a vital part of the life of the nation and we’re looking at everything we can do to support our athletes and our great clubs at what is a challenging time.

‘We have been piloting some open-air venues and we do want people to be watching sport.’