Issued – Friday 6th November 2020

Outcome of the Competitions Working Group Meeting 

Our Competitions Working Group (CWG) have met to discuss the impact of the government’s announcement that England would enter a national lockdown from yesterday [Thursday 5th November] and the confirmation that grassroots football will also be placed on pause for a minimum of 28 days.

it has become clear that our 2020/21 County Cup Competitions will not be able to continue in their traditional format. This is partly due to their incredible popularity which sees some competitions having as many as 7 rounds, but also the impact of continuing to lose the ‘good months’ of weather before winter.

This season has already produced unprecedented challenges to all our members and with a further suspension of fixtures it is becoming increasingly evident from the communications from our league member that it will be difficult for our member leagues to adapt to new guidance and plan for their own league fixture programmes to be completed. 

Manchester FA is fully committed to supporting our member leagues and clubs in completing these league programmes where possible and therefore the difficult decision to cancel our Manchester County FA competition programme for the 2020/21 season has been made. 

The CWG will continue to work with key Manchester FA stakeholders including our leagues and clubs,  and will review the situation on a monthly basis to ascertain the feasibility of offering  a variation of the county competition framework for our members to enjoy this season. However, we do understand that at this time, league fixture programmes will take precedent as we continue to prioritise and support our member leagues and clubs. 

We recognise that this decision will bring disappointment, however, we hope that all involved understand the rationale in our decision. 

Manchester FA & the CWG hope that everybody involved in the game stays safe and healthy during this latest challenge.