Page 4 - Deal Round Up October 2020

By Edd Paul
So Good To Be Back

So, where were we?
It’s been six long months since the 2019/20 season came to an end which saw most
Non-League clubs have their campaigns abandoned with roughly half a dozen weeks
remaining. Football is on its way back thick and fast now with the preliminary rounds
of the FA Cup having been played while some leagues are already several fixtures in.
Steps 3 and 4 get underway on September 19th while the National League will begin
on October 3.
There has never been a more challenging time for Non-League clubs and their volun-
teers, having to implement important Covid-19 regulations and adapt financially.
We’ve seen over the pre-season how well clubs have managed the situation and it is
crucial football, particularly Non-League, can continue to prove it is capable of staging
matches safely.
At the time of writing, the National League is
still waiting for the green light to admit fans – it
is thought they will be allowed to in time for the
season’s start on October 3rd.
Below National League Steps 1 and 2, clubs can
allow up to 30 per cent of ground grading ca-
pacity at the level.
For most teams, this isn’t an issue but league
chiefs at Steps 3 and 4 are pushing for the limit
to be changed to 30 per cent of ground capacity to benefit the more well-supported
clubs.
At this stage, the season getting underway, fingers crossed, won’t be too much of an
issue. Bigger problems, perhaps, lie in wait should we experience a second wave of the
virus or local areas go into lockdown.
The way this year is going, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a disastrous spell of weather
over the winter too!
Only time will tell as to whether Non-League will have to deal with those challenges
but for now we should enjoy being back to what we enjoy most, even if the environ-
ment has changed somewhat.
Thank you to our loyal readers for supporting The Non-League Paper throughout the
summer!
Even though football came to a halt, we continued to make sure the paper was still on
news-stands every Sunday and Monday morning throughout the summer.
We interviewed the likes of Chris Wilder, Les Ferdinand, Stuart Peace and Chris Waddle
while doing our best to keep you updated on the latest news – as we have done for
the last 20 years!
We’re massively grateful to all the players, managers, clubs, leagues and everyone else
for answering their phones to talk to us! But, crucially, we wouldn’t have been able to
do it without the backing of our readers – thank you!

4