NATIONAL LEAGUE clubs and those below them in Steps 3/4 and 5/6 were inundated with email attachments over the past weekend from the Football Association offices in Wembley.
While the National League and steps 5/6 have been informed they can start no earlier than September 5, Brighouse Town in Step 4 have been notified they will definitely see their Northern Premier League North West Division get underway on Saturday, September 19.
However all step 3/4 and step 5/6 clubs have been informed they will be in FA Cup and FA Trophy and FA Vase action in September. If Town were to be drawn in the Extra Preliminary round of the FA Cup that will take place on Tuesday, September 1 and if they have a bye there, then they will be definitely in action on Saturday September 12 in the Preliminary round, with the First Qualifying round set for Tuesday, September 22 should they make it through.
The FA Trophy First Qualifying round will be on Saturday, September 26, with the second round set for October 17.
So far there is no news of spectators being allowed into any of those ties, and they are definitely excluded as of now for any pre-season friendlies and Town manager Vill Powell has a dozen of those planned home and away in August.
The season for all non-league football is down to end on Saturday, May 15.
It is very doubtful there will be any League Cup or West Riding County Cup games but nothing is written down in stone as of yet on this.
The real hard work has now begun for Town’s Covid-19 officers Ray McLaughlin and Andy Eccles and their first task of many is to arrange for printing on the club’s website by August 15 the club’s full risk assessment strategy.
They are already working closely with Powell and his coaching staff and Yorkshire Payments stadium manager Darren Laycock to ensure all will be sorted ahead of that date in the middle of next month.
Town’s first pre-season home friendly is down for Saturday week, August 1 (3.0) when the oldest club in the country, Sheffield FC are the visitors. Ainley Top-based FL official Sam Barrott who has the National League play-off tie on Saturday between Notts County and Barnet, is down to officiate but he and his two assistants have to wait until today (Thursday) to find out if non-league clubs playing friendlies will have to test officials and this could be a costly exercise for them.
He has informed Town that they may for that fixture have to go with the two respective managers or their assistants refereeing the game or half a game each as was done in Premier League and EFL Championship warm up games ahead of the comeback to complete the season and the FA Cup rounds.
In the meantime, Town are training twice a week ahead of their heavy looking pre-season game programme.
Town are also delighted to announce that their principal sponsors, Quickslide Windows and Doors Ltd on Bradford Road, Bailiff Bridge, have agreed to extend their sponsorship of the home kit and much more for another two years.
Arguably now the town’s largest employers, Marketing Manager Sandra Berg said that the past two years has seen them enjoy working with Town and being part of the progress the club is making on and off the field, just as they are locally and nationally with their products.
Town’s chairman James Howard said he was delighted they were staying as a key member of his club that has an ambitious future ahead