AFC Mansfield chairman says club is in good shape for return of football

The former Mansfield Town director stated that running the club will not cost a fortune whilst football remains on hold with no debts for the Bulls to worry about, but said he fears for the survival of other clubs.

The Football Association made the call on 26 March to cancel the remainder of the non-league season from Step 3 downwards, expunging all results and removing promotions and relegations.

“It’s probably safe to say that we’ll be much better placed financially than other clubs in and around our league,” Mr Saunders said, “so in that regard we could count ourselves very lucky.

“We do still rely on the generosity of sponsors and fans to keep the club going, but I know we will still be around and ready to go when we reach the other side of the pandemic and the next season commences.

“As for everyone else, we don’t know what non-league football will look like when we come out at the other end – will sponsors still be able to support clubs? Will they even have businesses after the pandemic?”

Although the FA’s decision will not affect AFC in the long run, with the Bulls sat in 16th position in the NCEL Premier Division and in no contention for promotion or relegation, Mr Saunders said he was left slightly disappointed by the move to declare the season null and void.

“In my opinion we should have drawn a line under it on a points-per-game basis and we still could have had promotions and relegations,” he said, “and the new Step 4 and Step 5 leagues would have started on time.

“In terms of form we’ve also had a fantastic second half of the season, and we were looking at a strong end to the season before having it snatched away from us.

“But to be honest, in these circumstances we’ve all come to the realisation that football itself just fades into insignificance.

“We’re all preparing for the worst and I suspect that once this is all over, we all will know someone who has lost a loved one to this dreadful disease.”

The Bulls Chairman remained positive, however, about the future of the club and said he looks forward to seeing boss Matt Chatfield make further progress.

“It’s been a rollercoaster of a season for all of us but it’s still been an enjoyable one, especially in the FA Cup and Vase where we’ve had plenty of success.

“We’re certainly looking forward to next season, whenever it may start, and the management are now looking towards building a squad which can challenge at the right end.

“But for now I’d just like to thank all the Directors’ Committee members, staff, players and volunteers for all their hard work and my first wish is that everyone stays safe.”