The English Football League (EFL) which is in charge of the Championship, League One and League Two, sent a written letter to the 71 clubs under its supervision that the interrupted 2019/2020 season can be completed in 56 days.
The league body said training should not resume until at least May 16 due to the coronavirus pandemic. It, however, added that the date is not sacrosanct as it would depend on government guidelines.
In the letter the league body wrote to the 71 clubs, EFL noted that even if the leagues resume, matches may be played behind closed doors.
“Whenever the decision is taken that is safe to resume, we currently estimate that the League will require approximately 56 days to complete the outstanding matches in the season (including playoffs),” the EFL told the clubs via the letter.
“We are committed to ensuring that clubs are provided an appropriate notice period to ensure you are able to prepare operationally given the scale and impact of the postponements in place.
“We are in a position whereby the 2019-20 campaign will be extended, but still remain hopeful of a conclusion in the summer months.”
English Football League Says no likely venue for playoffs
On the structure of the concluding part of the season, the EFL said the end-of-season play-offs would take place across all three divisions as normal with two-legged semi-finals and a final. However, the league body disclosed that no decision has been taken on the likely venue as it would depend on the circumstances at play at the time.
“It is our working assumption at this stage that matches will be played behind closed doors when we eventually return and as part of our contingency planning we are absolutely mindful of the need to try and mitigate the cost of this to clubs as best we can”, the EFL letter added.
The highest division in the English Football League system is Championship. The Championship is contested by 24 clubs. Each season, the two top-finishing teams in the Championship are automatically promoted to the Premier League.
The teams that finish the season in 3rd to 6th place enter a playoff tournament, with the winner also gaining promotion to the Premier League. The three lowest-finishing teams in the Championship are relegated to League One.
In the outgoing season, Leeds United is topping the Championship table with 71 points in 37 games while they are closely followed by West Brom with 70 points in the same numbers of games.
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