The English football pyramid will be destroyed unless the game starts to plan beyond the 2019-20 season, says Huddersfield owner Phil Hodgkinson.
www.bbc.co.uk
English football's pyramid will be destroyed unless the game starts to plan for the financial impact of Covid-19 beyond the 2019-20 season, says Huddersfield owner Phil Hodgkinson.
Hodgkinson thinks as many as "50 or 60" clubs could go bust.
He says he is looking at a "worst-case scenario" of no fans allowed in stadiums for the 2020-21 season.
"The problem is not whether we finish [this] season or not, it is what happens after that," he told BBC Sport.
Having previously owned National League North side Southport, Hodgkinson has experience of the hand-to-mouth existence of many lower-league clubs.
"If we don't come to an agreement there will be no football pyramid. There are clubs I know of that are only still trading because they are deferring wages and [tax] and other creditors. They will need paying at some point," Hodgkinson said.
"There is an absolutely real, stark probability that if something isn't agreed now within football to ensure all clubs can pay their bills and get through to the point where income is resumed, you will be looking at 50 or 60 clubs ceasing to exist. Genuinely, I am talking about that many."
For anybody wondering why they really want to restart.