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Advice from CCFA issued this morning below

The message for local grassroots football:  

 

The advice is that any decision to continue playing or to postpone their respective competitions is a matter for each league as autonomous bodies within the game.  This is in line with government advice at this time.   It is not felt that all grassroots fixtures need to be cancelled as a matter of course at this time, although some may need to be if teams are self-isolating and are unable to play, or if teams are concerned about playing and the league agrees to postpone. 

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Just now, Pitty said:

Advice from CCFA issued this morning below

The message for local grassroots football:  

 

The advice is that any decision to continue playing or to postpone their respective competitions is a matter for each league as autonomous bodies within the game.  This is in line with government advice at this time.   It is not felt that all grassroots fixtures need to be cancelled as a matter of course at this time, although some may need to be if teams are self-isolating and are unable to play, or if teams are concerned about playing and the league agrees to postpone. 

All Scottish and Welsh grass roots football cancelled, England (and Cornwall) will follow. 

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I am currently awaiting the daily update from the head of the National League System.  This will in turn be forwarded onto the clubs along with some words that I have put together which, depending on what the FA say, will provide additional guidance.  I'll also post it on here.  As it happens we have a Committee Meeting next Wednesday but an awful lot can change between now and then.  Nobody needs to panic but we find ourselves in exceptional and fast moving times and we will have to be nimble and swift in our decision making.  Football is very much secondary to peoples health.

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1 hour ago, karaoke said:

In view of todays news regarding the various leagues will there be a 'rest of season'

Can't see it restarting by 4th April that's for sure!

50 minutes ago, Steve Carpenter said:

I am currently awaiting the daily update from the head of the National League System.  This will in turn be forwarded onto the clubs along with some words that I have put together which, depending on what the FA say, will provide additional guidance.  I'll also post it on here.  As it happens we have a Committee Meeting next Wednesday but an awful lot can change between now and then.  Nobody needs to panic but we find ourselves in exceptional and fast moving times and we will have to be nimble and swift in our decision making.  Football is very much secondary to peoples health.

Appreciate it's a tough call and a serious matter Steve, look forward to the advice when it comes. We already have a number of people self isolating at work, so guess it will only be a matter of time.

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This is a serious situation...BUT....does anyone really think stopping 22 players and 10 supporters at a local field will make any difference? If you stop that amount of people coming together are we going to stop the park & ride bus, close all restaurants and pubs....I understand large public gatherings but locally??

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2 minutes ago, Fish said:

This is a serious situation...BUT....does anyone really think stopping 22 players and 10 supporters at a local field will make any difference? If you stop that amount of people coming together are we going to stop the park & ride bus, close all restaurants and pubs....I understand large public gatherings but locally??

100% agree, but we live in an increasingly litigeous world Fish, if we ignore the direction of the FA and someone gets seriously ill, or dies, where might that leave the clubs concerned.Can't see that any club can take that risk.

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10 minutes ago, Andys said:

100% agree, but we live in an increasingly litigeous world Fish, if we ignore the direction of the FA and someone gets seriously ill, or dies, where might that leave the clubs concerned.Can't see that any club can take that risk.

and the 22 players and 10 supporters and hopefully a referee might just have venerable parents/grandparents. 

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1 hour ago, Andys said:

Can't see it restarting by 4th April that's for sure!

Appreciate it's a tough call and a serious matter Steve, look forward to the advice when it comes. We already have a number of people self isolating at work, so guess it will only be a matter of time.

And now the SWPL

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The following e-mail has been sent to the member clubs and lays out the way ahead for the next week or so.

I’m sure many of you will have seen the unfolding picture regarding the Coronavirus during the course of today.  This is a continually evolving picture and different leagues across the country and the county are taking a number of differing stances.  Please find attached the latest guidance from the FA.  Having taken advice from the FA and the CCFA and bearing in mind the current Government advice the League’s policy for the coming few days is as follows.National League System - Coronavirus Update 2 13.3.20.pdf

Matches scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday 14th March will go ahead as planned.  Should any club be uncomfortable with playing tomorrow due to the virus they are to contact me as soon as possible and their fixture will be postponed without penalty.

Due to the fast moving nature of the scenario we find ourselves in the fixtures scheduled for Wednesday will be re-scheduled and fixtures for Saturday 21st March should be considered provisional. 

The situation will remain under continuous review.  The prime and only concern of the League at this time is the health of all of our participants be they players, management, committee members, referee’s or supporters.  To that end if ANY club has ANY concerns they are to raise them with me immediately and especially where there is a diagnosis of COVID 19 or participants are displaying symptoms or are on self-isolation.   Whilst there undoubtedly needs to be a sensible approach to the situation we find ourselves in sometimes, and this one such occasion, football has to take a back seat and if games have to be postponed or indeed the League suspended at some point then so be it.  I will, of course, keep you fully informed as information from the FA gets passed to me.

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7 minutes ago, Steve Carpenter said:

The following e-mail has been sent to the member clubs and lays out the way ahead for the next week or so.

I’m sure many of you will have seen the unfolding picture regarding the Coronavirus during the course of today.  This is a continually evolving picture and different leagues across the country and the county are taking a number of differing stances.  Please find attached the latest guidance from the FA.  Having taken advice from the FA and the CCFA and bearing in mind the current Government advice the League’s policy for the coming few days is as follows.National League System - Coronavirus Update 2 13.3.20.pdf

Matches scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday 14th March will go ahead as planned.  Should any club be uncomfortable with playing tomorrow due to the virus they are to contact me as soon as possible and their fixture will be postponed without penalty.

Due to the fast moving nature of the scenario we find ourselves in the fixtures scheduled for Wednesday will be re-scheduled and fixtures for Saturday 21st March should be considered provisional. 

The situation will remain under continuous review.  The prime and only concern of the League at this time is the health of all of our participants be they players, management, committee members, referee’s or supporters.  To that end if ANY club has ANY concerns they are to raise them with me immediately and especially where there is a diagnosis of COVID 19 or participants are displaying symptoms or are on self-isolation.   Whilst there undoubtedly needs to be a sensible approach to the situation we find ourselves in sometimes, and this one such occasion, football has to take a back seat and if games have to be postponed or indeed the League suspended at some point then so be it.  I will, of course, keep you fully informed as information from the FA gets passed to me.

So why are you different to everybody else,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

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1 minute ago, CentreHalf83 said:

Pretty poor decision to go against the other leagues, players were probably expecting the same as the swpl in that play would be suspended for a time. Shouldn't be any exceptions in this situation

Completely agree

I actually think all referees should boycott the games, mad decision

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I think the St Piran league decision isn’t as bad as people are making out. 


The FA have said it’s the leagues decision, our league has said it’s the decision of the clubs to play or not as long as they are happy to do so, it’s the fairest way to do it I feel. 

 

Its a tough decision for the leagues to make. They will be damned if they do and damned if they don’t. I know I wouldn’t want to have to make that decision 
 

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The decision to leave it to the clubs is just passing the buck, the clubs will know doubt have the common sense that the league committee is lacking and postpone their games. The league statement is contradictory in the fact it says primary concern is all involved on game day but wants the games to go ahead. The decision should be overturned to come in line with almost every league in the country.

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2 hours ago, CentreHalf83 said:

.  The decision to leave it to the clubs is just passing the buck, the clubs will know doubt have the common sense that the league committee is lacking and postpone their games. The league statement is contradictory in the fact it says primary concern is all involved on game day but wants the games to go ahead. The decision should be overturned to come in line with almost every league in the country.

If you look at the guidance on the FA that has actually been given, they have given information for facilities where there are expected attendances of 500+. Is there any ground recently (in Cornwall) that has taken 500+ on the gate?

I think the St Pirans League have actually done the right thing.  They have received guidance from their governing body saying it is their call. They have given that right to their Member Clubs.  That's not passing the buck - that is giving Clubs an option.  They can say no.  It's better than over reacting.  

Very, very easy to criticise from a mobile/pc screen... Try making a decision from a League point of view where you try and keep everyone onside!

 

Well done St Piran League.  

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9 hours ago, Dave Bartlam said:

If you look at the guidance on the FA that has actually been given, they have given information for facilities where there are expected attendances of 500+. Is there any ground recently (in Cornwall) that has taken 500+ on the gate?

I think the St Pirans League have actually done the right thing.  They have received guidance from their governing body saying it is their call. They have given that right to their Member Clubs.  That's not passing the buck - that is giving Clubs an option.  They can say no.  It's better than over reacting.  

Very, very easy to criticise from a mobile/pc screen... Try making a decision from a League point of view where you try and keep everyone onside!

 

Well done St Piran League.  

Dave, the issue is not the League decision, that’s understandable and frankly a no win position, the problem is the FA not having the balls to take the decision themselves! EPL & EFL take decisive action and responsibility, FA says to leagues “you decide”! Frankly, grassroots football shouldn’t be put in this position by its governing body, it’s disgraceful. Like the rest of us, Grassroots committees and secretary’s don’t have the expertise to base decisions on in such extraordinary circumstances. I have great sympathy for Steve and all other Cornish leagues on this, the criticism doesn’t sit at their door in any way, but the FA has done a Pontius Pilate and let down grassroots football very badly in my opinion.

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13 hours ago, karaoke said:

Matches scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday 14th March will go ahead as planned.  Should any club be uncomfortable with playing tomorrow due to the virus they are to contact me as soon as possible and their fixture will be postponed without penalty.

Where is the problem when clubs have been given the option to cancel without penalty?
If (  understandably ) clubs feel there is a risk to their players or supporters and officials, they have been given a clear option to cancel their game ! or have we got so used to living in a a nanny state that we want someone else to make the decision for us.

 

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8 minutes ago, We Two said:

Where is the problem when clubs have been given the option to cancel without penalty?
If (  understandably ) clubs feel there is a risk to their players or supporters and officials, they have been given a clear option to cancel their game ! or have we got so used to living in a a nanny state that we want someone else to make the decision for us.

 

The point is that Leagues and club’s should never have been put in this position. The FA has access to the relevant national  expertise and advice and is therefore the only organisation who could and should have made a decision on this. I don’t want to stop playing football anymore than the next man, but I don’t want to do anything that might place my family, friends and work colleagues at any more risk than already exists. Judging that risk level is way above our pay grade, and that’s why the FA should have made the decision on grassroots behalf and not palmed it off to leagues and clubs in my opinion. 

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Surely it would make sense to postpone today's fixtures to safeguard players, supporters and volunteers, whether a club gets 10 or 500 people attending health and safety should come first. If you think of just the players and coaches that's atleast 25/30 people in close proximity to each other for more than 2 hours!! Then they go home to family and friends potentially carrying the virus. For the sake of 1 or 2 games this needs to be part of the thought process. The end of season deadline will be extended to compensate for the games lost.

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I think by postponing today would just be the start. I think this Pandemic is gonna have a massive affect on everyone involved in football or not. My personal thoughts are that the governing body will eventually abandon all levels for this season. 

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The government and specialist health advisors have stated they think the peak of this will be June time, so if football stops today then you have no where to go when the virus gets worse except to cancel football this season and start again August 2020. You have less chance catching this being outside in a field, than you are in a restaurant, pub, bus or at work where the AC is circulating germs. All the people on here saying we should stop football....I hope you are not going to work with other people, going shopping with other people and then visiting your elderly relatives?? 🙄

This is a serious virus but you wont stop the spread by stopping 30 people in the fresh air unless you stop all human  contact until it goes away....problem with that is the economy will crash before that happens...so carry on all outdoor sports (sub 100 people) or everyone stay indoors and never meet anyway till August.

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4 minutes ago, CentreHalf83 said:

Football may be played outside but it's a contact sport!

Exactly, players sweat (or some do!) you have body to body contact, can the virus be spread that way?

We don’t have the expertise to answer all the questions or to make the judgements of risk.

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I understand all the above concerns...but are you all going to work? Sitting close to people? I was in a restaurant in Bath last night with about 50 people, how many people will not play football but still go to the pub etc. It is a concern and people will say football is an added extra risk factor, but if you do stop it now....you wont start again till next season due to the virus projected to hit peak in June and you certainly will not be allowed to play football then. 

Therefore the next topic of debate is....what happens to this season? Void it as some of the teams have not played some of the lower positioned teams so unfair it set league position as is....or maybe finish the league via FIFA20 so no contact with real people 🤔

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