The Football Association have announced that all non-league football below step three will end their 2019-20 seasons immediately with all records to be expunged because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The decision means that Hassocks’ Southern Combination League Premier Division campaign is now over. There will be no promotion or relegation between divisions, potentially saving the Robins from the drop into Division One.
There had been some hope that football might resume at some point in April, but as the situation worsens and the virus spreads that has become increasingly unlikely.
With many clubs already facing a fixture pile up after one of the wettest winters on record – Hassocks still have 13 games to play, nearly a third of the league season – the FA have taken the decision to void the entire campaign.
It’s a controversial move that has predictably been met by uproar in some quarters. There was an enthralling five way battle brewing for the Premier Division title with leaders Lancing chasing their first ever championship.
Loxwood and ourselves meanwhile live to fight another day in the top flight at the expense of Littlehampton Town and AFC Varndeanians, both of whom have had outstanding seasons – particularly Littlehampton who have 20 wins and two draws from 22 Division One games.
Points-per-game was one possible solution, but deciding matters such as promotion and relegation in such a manner would have been even more controversial.
The Robins have been in decent form since January and with six of the remaining games against sides in the bottom half of the table, points-per-game wouldn’t reflect the fact that we had high hopes of picking up more points between now and May than we’d managed over the season so far.
Avoiding relegation – if that’s what happens – in this manner is a bit of a let off, but what division Hassocks are playing in next season doesn’t really seem that important with everything else going on in the world right now.
We’d like to thank all our players, officials and supporters for their efforts over the course of what has been a challenging campaign which has ended prematurely in challenging circumstances.
We hope you all stay safe in the current climate and we’ll see you all back at the Beacon for the 2020-21 season – no matter what division the Robins are competing in.
