[spireitematt]

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about the future of football and the future of Chesterfield in this crisis. Not only is the Coronavirus going to change our social lives, the way we live, the economy etc but it's also going to change sport and I think it's going to change football drastically and dramatically.

The Premier League and some teams in the Championship will be able to come through this pandemic but I reckon majority of L1, L2 and I would say nearly all non-league clubs will go bust including ours. Grassroots football should bounce back as they will rely on fundraising and the local community to help those Saturday and Sunday amateur teams and players will come together as a collective. Premier League will rely on merchandise, shirt sales and also TV revenue from Sky and BT so it would be financially viable for them to continue behind closed doors, unfortunately the same cannot be said for teams in the Championship, L1, L2 and non-league. Majority of L1, L2 and non-league clubs heavily rely on gate receipts, programme sales, food and bar to keep them going and also sponsors from local businesses in the area. A lot of small businesses are going to struggle to get through this crisis and keep themselves a float and a lot will not reopen again. Now if businesses go under or are financially struggling themselves then they are going to pull there sponsorship deal or advertising deal with a football club. Like every business currently furloughing staff, clubs will also have to adapt their expenditure to match their income and that will mean releasing players who are on large money or on lengthy contracts, it could mean letting managers, coaching staff go too.

The Premier League and the Football League are currently talking about how to restart the season and finish it but I think it's more important to talk about the future of football and the football pyramid and that would mean getting the Premier League, Football League, National League and representatives from each league in non-league and FA officials in the same room. There needs to be discussions, negotiations and a collective decision on how to come through this but unfortunately the Premier League and the Football League seem to be looking out for there own interests. Before the Coronavirus came about there were several teams in non-league and the Football League struggling financially and look at what happened to Bury and Bolton at the start of the season. If the FA and the Football League continue to bury their heads in the sand then we will see the end of the football pyramid as we know it and you know what will happen don't you? The teams which go bust will be replaced by Premier League B teams and that means we will see the majority of L1 or L2 with Premier League B teams in them which would mirror a lot of the lower leagues in the rest of Europe. In time we will see a lot of clubs which will go out of business rise like a phoenix from the ashes and they will more than likely be fan owned clubs until a buyer comes in. They will be like Hereford, FC United or AFC Wimbledon etc.

My suggestion would be these:

• Call the current season null and void in all divisions including the FA Cup
  
• Come together as a collective and discuss the future of all football right down to grassroots level
  
• Look at setting up a draft system for players once the next football season resumes whenever that will be and I say a draft system because a lot of clubs won't be able to afford to buy players in a transfer market so therefore if players are drafted then it will help clubs financially in the long run
  
• Introduce a Salary cap for each division
  
• Introduce a spending cap for each division now this would mean spending on transfers and wages as a whole
  
• Introduce a ticket price cap on all divisions
  

Clubs would have to do there own incentives as well on trying to get people through the turnstiles when it comes to ticket prices and offers. They will need to attract the armchair and glory hunters to go to games and to get behind their local teams and teams working with their communities more as well.

Football is more than 22 players chasing a ball on blades of grass for 90 minutes. A lot of clubs are the heart and soul of cities, towns and villages across the length and breadth of the country, it gives people hope, something to look forward to on a Saturday afternoon, it creates friendship and camaraderie between fans. If a club is successful then it could turn the city, town or village successful. They help businesses generate income especially those businesses which work in the catering and hospitality sector.

I really really hope that clubs manage to come through this successfully but unfortunately it's difficult to see especially with the way football is run in this country by the FA.