Dear EWFL club representative
I wrote to you on 17 March seeking confirmation of the number of teams you wish to enter into this season’s EWFL league competitions. Thank you for your response. The purpose of this email is to update you on the plans we have developed in the light of your responses.
Composition of the EWFL leagues
I am delighted to be able to share with you, at Annex A, the composition of the leagues. We feel that this is a great response given the uncertainties that COVID has presented to us all.
Fixture plans
- • As originally anticipated, the competitions will run from June through to the end of October.
- • Teams will only play each other once; it would be impossible to squeeze in ‘home’ and ‘away’ fixtures.
- • All fixtures will be played at Melbourne Park, Chelmsford.
Specific details for each of the age groups are provided in Annex B (Over 50s), Annex C (Over 60s), and Annex D (Over 65s).
COVID implications
As we are all aware, sadly we are still having to live with the consequences of COVID. Indeed, some clubs have felt unable to enter teams into the competitions due to players ongoing concerns about the pandemic.
Although the FA has endorsed a resumption of grassroots football it is still right and proper that we remain diligent in our fight against the spread of the virus. With this in mind we will be providing to you in advance of the start of the competitions a copy of our COVID-19 Risk Assessment that we expect everyone to observe.
We do not plan to offer/provide post-event refreshments. We know that this will be disappointing to everyone but we feel that in the current environment this would be inappropriate and potentially unsafe. The cost per team to attend each event will reflect this.
To help players keep their distance from others we are considering introducing a rule whereby players have a maximum three touches on the ball before they must release it. We would welcome your views on this.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards
Peter Osborne
Secretary, EWFL
On behalf of the EWFL
