English soccer’s fourth tier OK with ending season

stevenage-football-club-stadium

The Lamex Stadium, home of Stevenage football club, where the upcoming fixture board shows Stevenage FC v Coronavirus, Sunday March 29, 2020. Stevenage plays in the fourth tier of the English football league system. (Adam Davy/PA via AP)

Soccer clubs in England’s professional fourth tier league are backing the season being prematurely ended.

The English Football League say that’s the "preferred direction of travel" of League One clubs but the decision requires approval from the footballing authorities.

If the season is abandoned, the final standings would be determined by a points-per-game system. The clubs want to scrap relegation this season, so two sides don’t drop into the semiprofessional fifth tier.

But the top three teams would still be promoted automatically to League One. Playoffs between the next four sides would still be required to determine the final promotion spot.

The EFL says its "board will now consider the implications of the division’s preferred approach at their next meeting."

In a statement, the EFL says League One clubs had not yet reached an agreement on whether to curtail or not, while the Championship teams were committed to resuming the season.

[relatedlinks]

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.