King’s Lynn Town will begin their historic National League campaign at home - all they need now is their fans.

The Linnets start the 2020-2021 season against Yeovil Town, with owner Stephen Cleeve anxiously awaiting a government decision over the return of fans to stadiums.

“The game cannot start without fans,” said Cleeve. “As much as anything else it is for financial reasons. We have to be told soon so that we can start planning and getting our practice runs in to ensure everything is right. We need to know sooner rather than later – last minute is no good to anyone because even as it stands now it is going to be difficult to handle.”

King’s Lynn Town fixture listThe new National League season begins on October 3, and if supporters are allowed back into grounds by then it is likely Lynn’s capacity would be reduced to between 1,600 and 1,800. The main stand at The Walks has around 1,000 seats but social distancing regulations are likely to limit that to 300 - meaning anyone not yet in possession of a season ticket may miss out.

The National League level is considered to have elite status – clubs in leagues below can already admit a limited number of fans. The 67 clubs in the National League set-up are now awaiting news from two pilot events, at Stockport (National League) and Guiseley (National League North) later this month. Both clubs will host friendly matches on September 15 and 26, with a limited number of supporters being allowed in.

Last night, Cambridge United were allowed to admit 1,000 fans to their EFL Trophy tie against Walsall - the first competitive game involving an English professional club to have fans since lockdown was announced in March.

Lynn’s average crowd at The Walks last season doubled to just over 1,400, and in the 2020-2021 season will come up against a whole host of former Football League clubs with big travelling support.

The opener against Yeovil is followed by a midweek trip to Maidenhead and another away game, at Solihull Moors, for Ian Culverhouse’s team. Reality bites in a big way over the Christmas period: Lynn host Notts County on Boxing Day with the return on January 2 - sandwiching a trip to Chesterfield.

Fixture list poster: Inside