FA to reveal plans for restarting Step 5 and 6 football

NCEL secretary Matt Jones has praised the work of title sponsor Toolstation.

The Football Association are expected to outline plans for the reintroduction of grassroots football when they convene today with league representatives from Step 5 and 6 of the non-league pyramid.

NCEL secretary Matt Jones said that whilst the original scheduled start date for the new season – 1 August – seems unrealistic, he hopes that the delay will be little more than a month or two.

“We obviously would like to start as soon as it is safe to do so,” he said, “but health is the most important consideration, and that includes everybody involved with the clubs.

AFC Mansfield will find out when their season is likely to restart on Friday.

“We’re hoping for a nice early start, possibly September or October time, but I’ve heard all sorts of rumours flying around that it may be as late as January.

“But I don’t know anything for definite, we’re all in the dark at the moment.”

With elite football having returned to our screens on Wednesday and Leagues One and Two concluded using points-per-game, Mr Jones said he felt disappointed that the same method was not implemented further down the non-league ladder.

The FA made the call on 26 March to expunge the season for Steps 3 to 7, eliminating promotions and relegations for all leagues concerned.

“As a league we wanted a points-per-game settlement and our position hasn’t changed on that front,” Mr Jones said.

“I accepted the FA’s decision as they are our governing body, however it’s frustrating they’ve applied the points-per-game basis to leagues higher up but not for us.”