Former EFL chief has a warning for Sunderland and their rivals - and proposes a dramatic solution

Former EFL chief executive Shaun Harvey has warned that there is ‘only so long’ lower league clubs can survive – as League One and Two sides brace themselves for an extended suspension of fixtures.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The EFL are set to convene on Wednesday to discuss their next steps, having initially postponed all fixtures until April 3 as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

That suspension could yet be extended, however, with many clubs expecting the football blackout to continue for several more weeks.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

And Harvey admits he is ‘concerned’ by what could come of some clubs – such as Sunderland’s rivals in League One – if they are forced to go without much-needed match day income.

Former EFL chief Shaun HarveyFormer EFL chief Shaun Harvey
Former EFL chief Shaun Harvey

“The clubs need the money,” he said, speaking on Sky Sports’ ‘The Debate’.

“The lower down the league table, the more reliance on ticket sales and related match day income.

“There’s only so long that clubs can survive without that money. This is the time of year that clubs are usually putting season tickets on sale for next year, and the reason you do that is to help with the cash-flow that you require over the summer months when you aren’t playing.

“I’m concerned, and I think football needs to be concerned.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“There’s clubs that struggle if they miss one home game if it’s called off due to inclement weather.

“There needs to be a look at financial support to keep these clubs going, and that could come from any number of sources.”

Harvey did, however, have a suggestion for how to correct the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

He proposes that the EFL season should be switch from January to October until 2022 – when the Qatar World Cup begins. A mini-season would then be played in 2023, before the 2023/24 returned to its traditional guise.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Harvey explained: “The benefit of doing that is you get two full seasons to repair any financial damage that's taken place, and nobody knows particular division they are going to be in at that particular time.

“Everybody knows what it is that they are playing for with plenty of notice and that stops the legal debate and the potential threat of legal action."