The FA have made the decision to expunge all results from Step 3 to 6 leagues and start again when the green light.
The decision, which will have a demoralising effect on many, on players who have broken records and members of clubs who have invested so much emotionally on trying to win promotion, was made on Thursday.
The FA have gone down the traditional route rather than thinking outside the box. Given the ever-changing global situation it is even possible the new season will not even start in August. There is a strong argument that given it is still March, the decision could waited until as far as May and June.
The FA said: The NLS and the women’s football pyramid were able to build a consensus amongst their leagues and, where possible, aimed to create a consistent approach across all leagues, whilst taking into account the unique characteristics of each individual league.
“As a result, The FA and NLS steps three to six have reached a consensus that their 2019-20 season will now be brought to an end, and all results will be expunged. This will mean no promotion or relegation of clubs between NLS steps three to six, and no promotion to NLS step two.
These decisions will also apply to the leagues and clubs who play at NLS step seven.
We will continue to assist and support the National League (NLS steps one and two) to determine the outcome of its 2019-20 season as quickly as possible. The planned implementation of the restructure of the NLS will also now be deferred until the start of the 2021-22 season.
Furthermore, we can now confirm that we have decided that all grassroots football is concluded for the 2019-20 season. This will allow the game to move forward and to commence planning for next season. Our County Football Associations (CFAs) will be supporting grassroots leagues over the coming days to determine how they should close out their current competitions.“