WHITCHURCH Alport fans can finally set a date for their diary following the announcement of a provisional restart date for grassroots football.

The FA has revealed that from September 5, football at Alport’s level can take place one again.

However, a number of caveats are attached to the directive given to all clubs, not least of which is a Covid-19 compliant risk assessment.

There is yet to be confirmation of when supporters can attend matches and club secretary, Andy Hough, explained what the FA expected of clubs.

“There was an email circulated on Saturday afternoon which had four documents attached which gave guidance on how a return could be safely introduced,” he said.

“There was nothing new in my opinion, in fact it was old news.

“There were clear instructions on how clubs should prepare in the event of football returning – and that included how to train safely, how to ensure clubhouses had social distancing measures in place and the correct sanitising procedures for players and fans etc.

“We did receive a proposed start date of the FA Cup extra preliminary qualifying round of Tuesday, September 1 so all being well we could well have a return to football at Yockings Park as early as six or seven weeks from now.”

However clubs remain in the dark of when supporters will once again be allowed into stadiums which Hough stressed was vital for the football club to survive following months of lockdown.

“Whether or not pre-season friendlies are to be held behind closed doors, no one is quite sure at the moment,” he said.

“To expand on the current ban on supporters, what I can say is that two months ago the North West Counties Football League mailed every club to ask what the effects of Covid-19 might have on them, and the biggest factor for all was that a resumption would not be possible unless fans were allowed to attend.

“There are expenses attached to every game and if you don’t have any income then what’s the point?

“The next thing we are likely to hear from the North West Counties League is after their annual meeting which is being held on August 1.”

In other club news, Josh Pearce and Cathryn Hayward have joined the media team to enhance the content on Alport’s various social media platforms ahead of the new season.