Town and Sports welcome news about supporters in stadiums

Fans look set to be allowed into stadiums when next season’s non-league football campaigns kick off... which will provide positive news for Melton Town and Holwell Sports.
Fans should be able to watch Melton Town and Holwell Sports in action next season. Photo: Tim Williams EMN-191218-091316002Fans should be able to watch Melton Town and Holwell Sports in action next season. Photo: Tim Williams EMN-191218-091316002
Fans should be able to watch Melton Town and Holwell Sports in action next season. Photo: Tim Williams EMN-191218-091316002

The two United Counties League Division One sides have stressed the importance of having supporters at games to The Times.

The Football Association held discussions with clubs from both steps 5 and 6 of the National League system recently.

Those involved heard a September-October start date for next season appears the most likely scenario for clubs.

Also among the topics raised was allowing spectators in to watch matches.

The FA stated that not league would not be allowed to retuen without supporters being allowed inside stadiums.

Holwell chairman Graham Lewin told The Times his club would struggle to make ends meet if the 2020-21 campaign was allowed to kick off without fans in the ground.

He said: “We still have to pay officials, the referee and linesman.

“If you can’t make money from people coming through the gate or buying a cup of tea then we would be looking to make a loss after every home game.

“That’s something that would make life very difficult for clubs.

“We average 50 or 60 supporters, but for the local derby against Melton Town we’re looking at 200-plus. That makes a difference to us.

“It would be very difficult to run the ground without making money.”

Melton chairman Sam Ellis stated that he feels supporters should be allowed into the stadium as long as they adhere to any social distancing rules in place.

He said: “In steps 5 to 6 the crowds are usually under the 200 mark. Clearly there’s every chance social distancing will be one metre and not two metres by the time we kick off.

“Spectator-wise it’s easy to get 200 spectators round the pitch one metre apart. It’s slightly harder for us as we are one of the highest-attended step 6 sides - in the FA Cup we had 450 there.

“I’m hoping being around the 200 (fan) mark means things are ok for us. We serve tea from a kiosk so we don’t necessarily need to have the clubhouse open.”

An August start date for the new campaign remains unlikely. Later start dates could see leagues split or teams facing each other just once.