Campion joint manager Lee Ashforth is foreseeing two periods of disruption for Non League Football over the next two months.
Daily infection rates of covid are predicted to break 100,000 in the next few weeks as restrictions are relaxed and Non League Football is bound to be affected.
Clubs are struggling to field sides in friendlies and Ashforth agrees that it is a very uncertain period.
“I think it is a difficult question because you literally don’t know one day to the next what is happening and it is a worry that the season is going to get postponed again or interrupted,” Ashforth told Non League Yorkshire.
“I think it is August 16th when (the rules on) if you have been in contact with someone (who has tested positive) you don’t have to isolate – that might change things a little bit.
“Then only people with covid won’t be allowed to be there.
“That makes it a little better, as whereas now if one of your players gets it and you have all been in changing room together by rights you all need to isolate.
“So it is a difficult situation (for the next four weeks).
“Things are only going to get worse until the rules (on isolations) change on the 16th August.”
Even if the situation calms down from August 16th, Ashforth expects further problems for managers.
“As managers you know most of your players go on holiday in May, June and July so in pre-season you always lose a couple to holidays,” he said.
“My fear as a manager is come August or September when you can travel abroad again all your players are going to go on holiday.
“People have families who haven’t had an holiday for two years or 18 months.
“I’m missing two games in August and players do the same.
“As managers, in the past 18 months we have had to adapt to the way of the world and I don’t think it is over so we’ll have to change and adapt as the season goes on.
“Squads are going to decimated through positive tests and people going on holiday.
“I think there is going to be disruption in the next four weeks and then later in August and September for people going on holiday.”
If you have enjoyed reading Non League Yorkshire over the past few months, please consider making a donation to the not-for-profit organisation NLY Community Sport which provides sport for children and adults with disabilities and learning difficulties. CLICK HERE to visit the JustGiving page. There is a video at the bottom of the page showing our work.
NLY Community Sport, run by James Grayson and Connor Rollinson, has always had combatting social isolation at the top of our objectives when running our Disability Football teams.
Our work is playing an important role in reintroducing our players, who have disabilities and learning difficulties, back into society.
We have six teams, a mixture of Junior and Adult teams – Nostell MW DFC, Pontefract Pirates, Selby Disability Football Club and the South Yorkshire Superheroes (Barnsley) – across Yorkshire.
We have enjoyed great success over the past three years. Several of our players have represented Mencap GB in Geneva, including Billy Hobson from Selby and Greg Smith, whose story is quite inspiring.
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Watch the video below to see highlights from our three years as an organisation. The video was produced for our players at the end of March to remind them of good memories from the last three years.