EFL confirm that Sunderland's season will continue despite second national lockdown

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a new series of measures on Saturday night in response to rising COVID-19 cases across the country.

The new restrictions will come into place from Thursday, but there has been confirmation that elite sport will be allowed to continue.

The EFL statement reads: “During this next phase it has been confirmed to the League by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) that elite sport will be able to continue and EFL competitions will therefore remain as currently scheduled.“Professional football has implemented some of the most stringent, robust and regularly reviewed protocols since the restart in June 2020 and our medical experts’ advice remains in place to fully adhere to these measures which are specifically designed to mitigate against the spread of the virus.

“The health, safety and well-being of players and Club staff throughout the pandemic has been our first priority and this will continue as we enter this next period of lockdown and beyond.

“In addition, we acknowledge the Government’s national efforts in tackling this outbreak and would hope that during this next phase of the crisis, our national sport, negatively affected by COVID-19 like many other industries, can continue to provide some form of welcome distraction and give people in our communities up and down the country a sense of normality in very challenging times."

Sunderland are next in action on Tuesday night, when Ipswich Town visit the Stadium of Light.