King’s Lynn Town and fellow National League clubs could vote this week to end their season.
The option remains on the table as the league and government attempt to resolve a wrangle over funding: the government say £11m to cover the cost of playing football without crowds because of the pandemic will be in the form of loans, not grants.
The league claim they were led to believe future funding would be by way of grants – with many clubs reluctant to tie themselves down to loan repayments at such a precarious time for the game.
The league decided last week to suspend National Leagues North and South for a fortnight, but no decision was reached on what the next step will be for the National League. The regional divisions are currently due to resume action on February 6.
The three proposals are:
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Take the loans on an individual basis
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Let the league take the loan and then distribute
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Scrap the league
The government will consider grant support for clubs who can prove their imminent future is at risk.
The concern is that many clubs close to the breadline will not want to continue playing – leaving just a few clubs to compete in a league which would be rendered worthless.
Clubs have already received £10m via the National Lottery, but there is disagreement over the promise of further funding: the government say they never promised further grants, while the league say they did and that they would never have agreed to start the season had they been looking at loans in the new year.
The BBC have reported that the National League will speak with clubs this week on the next move.
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