Sunday League footballers told to get ready for competitive return at Easter

The Gosport, Fareham & Solent League are due to restart as soon as they can once grassroots football restrictions are lifted on Monday, March 29.

That means the first round of games could take place on April 4, Easter Sunday.

League officials will meet next Tuesday to discuss how they can fit in as many games as possible - with their season now able to be extended into June.

Secretary James Crascall admitted clubs started contacting him ‘almost immediately’ following Boris Johnson’s announcement three days ago.

‘I had teams emailing me asking questions about when they could play, and one team asking if they could join the league.

‘We have a management board meeting next Tuesday and we’ll discuss all the options.

‘It could be that we see if we can complete the season with no cups, or just play one round of league games and try and play all the cups.

‘We’ll wait to hear back from the local authorities to see how long we can play for, and then see what we can do.’

Ron Feltham, the GFS League’s pitch liaison officer, has contacted the Fareham and Gosport councils regarding when the authorities plan to take the goalposts down on their pitches.

The Hampshire FA are also liaising with all local authorities asking the same question.

‘Normally the league is finished by April and the posts are taken down sometime in May or early June,’ said Crascall.

‘Fareham have told us they will review the situation in early April, and we haven’t heard back from Gosport yet.

‘If we’re told the posts will come down at the usual time, we will be having a different conversation with the clubs.’

In the league, Division 2 club Blackbrook have only played three of their scheduled 20 games due to joining after the season had started.

‘At our level, we don’t really want to turn teams down,’ the secretary said. ‘They were too late to be included in cup draws but they started the league in October.

While Blackbrook are seven games away from completing one round of fixtures, Daedalus are only one match away and Lifting Gear & Safety Rovers two games.

In the top flight, two clubs - Royal Clarence and White Horse (Portsmouth) - have already played half of their 18 fixtures. CJ Glass and Queens Head, with five, have played the fewest games.

In Division 3, most teams are only a couple of weeks away from completing half their fixtures.

There are three GFS League cups which could be played to a conclusion - the War Memorial Cup, the Frank & Pat Marsden Cup and the John Norton Memorial Cup.

Some teams could also play Portsmouth & District FA Cup ties as well if those competitions are allowed to restart. The PDFA have yet to make a decision.

‘After last year, I think the feeling of the clubs and the league is that we want to finish the season as best we can,’ Crascall summed up.