Preston North End's festive fixtures to go ahead as planned

There had been doubts over whether the Football League season would continue in the short term due to the rising cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

There were seven Championship games called off in the final gameweek before Christmas, with two already called off on Boxing Day.

Clubs were reported to be meeting with the EFL on Monday afternoon to discuss whether or not to have a 'circuit breaker' and to postpone the seaosn briefly to try and prevent the spread of the virus amongst football.

The Premier League also saw a severe drop off in its fixture list last week, with just one Saturday game played and three further contests on Sunday.

Only 14 matches were played across the top four divisions.

Now, both the Premier League and the EFl have released statements confirming that fixtures will go ahead as planned provided that teams have 14 senior players, including a goalkeeper available - those in the U21s who have also made a first team appearance are included and would be expected to feature in that 14.

The EFL expects its teams to complete fixtures 'where it is safe to do so' and where the 14 man squad can be filled.

Their statement read: "While the League acknowledges there will likely be future postponements to navigate where Covid-19 cases are identified, there is optimism that disruption can be minimised following implementation of RED protocols, a daily testing regime and ongoing vaccination rollout."

PNE have so far been fortunate and their game against Millwall was due to cases in the opposition camp rather than their own. Their Boxing Day opponents Sheffield United are also faring well in terms of absentees - their clash with Fulham on Monday night going ahead.

On the EFL's intentions to carry on as normal, EFL chief executive Trevor Birch said: “Throughout the pandemic, our two priorities have been ensuring the welfare of those involved in EFL competitions and ensuring the fixture schedule can continue where it is safe to do so.

“We will continue to work with clubs, authorities and other agencies to monitor the Covid-19 case rate and be prepared to respond accordingly, yet for now the view remains that we can continue to deliver games safely where clubs have sufficient healthy personnel in place, on and off the pitch.

“With club mitigation measures, the mass adoption of booster jabs and Covid certification now required for larger crowds, we are sure many fans will continue to feel confident in attending matches over the Christmas period and we look forward to welcoming them.”

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