Take Covid-19 seriously or football will suffer the consequences

To all Players, Volunteers, Parents and Spectators from Alan Young, CEO,

To the Bedfordshire FA football family

The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted all our lives and will continue to do so for some time. It is a difficult time for everybody and we have all faced challenges, including clubs who have returned to football. There continue to be local lockdowns across the whole country and cases of the virus are rising so we all need to be extra vigilant when we are training and playing matches.

All our local football clubs are now back and I would like to thank all the club and league volunteers who have worked so hard over recent weeks to ensure appropriate Risk Assessments have been put in place to comply with government legislation, allowing football to re-start across Bedfordshire. All clubs should have a Covid-19 Risk Assessment in place to ensure compliance.

We have worked closely with Local Councils in Bedfordshire to open parks and public areas for football, but I am becoming increasingly concerned about reports of clubs and spectators breaking the rules and not adhering to Social Distancing. We run the risk of parks being closed and games being cancelled if this continues so I am writing to you all to reach out and ask you to help us keep football safe and Covid-secure.

If spectators do not abide by the rules, there will be no more football, it will have to be stopped to prevent the risk of infection; the health of our football community is more important than matches and we will have no choice but to cancel games and training.

I am therefore asking you all to be extra vigilant and to challenge others where rules are being broken. Failure to abide by the rules is not a football disciplinary matter, it is a legal requirement and should be reported to the authorities. Clubs are responsible for the behaviour of their own spectators but we all have a duty to ensure that nobody is put at risk and to support our players and volunteers by remembering the rule of 6 and to maintain Social Distancing, even outside.

Re-starting football has been a challenge for everyone involved and has only been made possible by the hard work and commitment our football community. But it is vital that we all adhere to the rules to ensure it can continue in a safe and secure way.